Offshore Waters Jurisdiction Act 1976

Offshore Waters Jurisdiction Act 1976

An Act to declare the law relating to offences committed in, on, under, or over waters adjacent to the coast of the State

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Offshore Waters Jurisdiction Act 1976 .

2.   Application of Acts territorially

(1)  It is hereby declared and enacted that to the extent that it is necessary for the peace, order, and good government of the State the penal laws of the State apply to acts and omissions occurring in, on, under, or over –

(a) the internal waters adjacent to the coast of the State;

(b) the territorial sea adjacent to the coast of the State; and

(c) so much of the area referred to in subsection (2) as is beyond those waters and that sea.

(2)  The area referred to in subsection (1) (c) is the area that lies to the southward of Wilson's Promontory in 39 degrees and 12 minutes of south latitude and to the northward of the 45th degree of south latitude, and between the 140th and 150th degrees of longitude east of Greenwich.

3.   Interpretation

In this Act –

internal waters means any waters of the sea on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea;

penal laws means so much of the law of the State as relates to offences and the taking of proceedings or other action in relation thereto;

territorial sea means the territorial sea of Australia so far as it extends from time to time.