The Explosive Substances Act 1883 ( 46 & 47 Vict. c. 3) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It makes it illegal to use (or conspire or intend to use) any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes place. A person guilty of an offence under this law is liable to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. Under the act, it is also an offence, subject to imprisonment for life, to possess explosives under suspicious circumstances. Anyone who helps someone to commit a crime under this law by providing money, materials, premises, or any other assistance is tried and punished as severely as the person who actually uses the explosives. The act applies to people within the territorial extent of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as well as to citizens of the United Kingdom acting within the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. Witnesses who are called during the official investigation or the trial can be arrested to prevent them from absconding and do not have the right of silence to protect themselves from self-incrimination. On the other hand, self-incriminating evidence from a witness cannot be used in a different criminal or civil proceeding.

Applications of this act

Any instance of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

involving any kind of bomb is necessarily a crime under Explosive Substances Act 1883 (as well as being a crime under the law against attempted murder). In fact, for many decades the Explosive Substances Act was the basis for the prosecution of terrorist cases, such as

S-Plan The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ...

in 1939, the

Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six men from Northern Ireland who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and q ...

in 1975, Tony Lecomber in 1985, and the Talbot Street bomb-making haul in 2006. Since 2000, there has been a series of special

terrorism laws Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

which appear to supersede the Explosive Substances Act in that they can also be used to investigate and prosecute those who misuse explosives to endanger life and property for illegitimate purposes (usually to further their own political causes). The terrorism acts have been applied in the cases such as the 2004 Financial buildings plot and 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in which the intent to misuse explosives is alleged. However, since no actual explosive substances have been found, the Explosive Substances Act cannot be made to apply. A recent use of the Act was against Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah, who became the first person charged over the London and Glasgow car bomb attacks in 2007. Abdullah, who was arrested after a flaming Jeep was driven into the doors of the arrivals hall at

Glasgow Airport Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport () and formerly Abbotsinch Airport, is an international airport located in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, west of Glasgow city centre. In 2019 it handled 8.84 million passe ...

. The 27-year-old, who was working as a doctor at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, before his arrest, was charged with conspiring to cause explosions under the Explosive Substances Act. The charge alleges he "unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom". In April 2015, Faris al-Khori, a former Syrian doctor, was jailed for 40 months under the Explosives Substances Act for possessing explosive ingredients and bomb-making instructions in properties in Edinburg

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, United Kingdom, Law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1883 English criminal law Explosives