The Visiting Forces Act 1952 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

.
Section 3
provides immunity against prosecution for certain offences in the courts of

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

by members of visiting forces and, by virtue of the 1964 Act, international headquarters. See

offence against the person In criminal law, the term offence against the person or crime against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person. They are usually analysed by division into the fol ...

and

offence against property Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, propert ...

for the meaning of those terms. The Act is extended b
section 1(2)
of, and th
Schedule
to the

International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Extent

The Act applies specifically to the forces of the countries (mostly members of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

) listed in s.1(1)(a) (as amended from time to time) and additionally to the forces of any other country authorised by an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

. The Act is in force throughout the United Kingdom.

References

External links

* {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1952 United Kingdom military law 1952 in military history