1988 No. 2019
F3The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988
Made
Coming into force
In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by section 141(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 M1, a draft of this instrument having been laid before Parliament and having been approved by each House of Parliament, I hereby make the following Order:
I11
This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 and shall come into force two months after the day on which it is made.
I22
The Schedule to this Order shall have effect.
SCHEDULE
I31
Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons) shall apply to the following descriptions of weapons, other than weapons of those descriptions which are antiques for the purposes of this Schedule:
a
a knuckleduster, that is, a band of metal or other hard material worn on one or more fingers, and designed to cause injury, and any weapon incorporating a knuckleduster;
b
a swordstick, that is, a hollow walking-stick or cane containing a blade which may be used as a sword;
c
the weapon sometimes known as a “handclaw”, being a band of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn around the hand;
d
the weapon sometimes known as a “belt buckle knife”, being a buckle which incorporates or conceals a knife;
e
the weapon sometimes known as a “push dagger”, being a knife the handle of which fits within a clenched fist and the blade of which protrudes from between two fingers;
f
the weapon sometimes known as a “hollow kubotan”, being a cylindrical container containing a number of sharp spikes;
g
the weapon sometimes known as a “footclaw”, being a bar of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn strapped to the foot;
h
the weapon sometimes known as a “shuriken”, “shaken” or “death star”, being a hard non-flexible plate having three or more sharp radiating points and designed to be thrown;
i
the weapon sometimes known as a “balisong” or “butterfly knife”, being a blade enclosed by its handle, which is designed to split down the middle, without the operation of a spring or other mechanical means, to reveal the blade;
j
the weapon sometimes known as a “telescopic truncheon”, being a truncheon which extends automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to its handle;
k
the weapon sometimes known as a “blowpipe” or “blow gun”, being a hollow tube out of which hard pellets or darts are shot by the use of breath;
l
the weapon sometimes known as a “kusari gama”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle;
m
the weapon sometimes known as a “kyoketsu shoge”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hooked knife;
n
the weapon sometimes known as a “manrikigusari” or “kusari”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip;
F1o
a disguised knife, that is any knife which has a concealed blade or concealed sharp point and is designed to appear to be an everyday object of a kind commonly carried on the person or in a handbag, briefcase, or other hand luggage (such as a comb, brush, writing instrument, cigarette lighter, key, lipstick or telephone);
F2p
a stealth knife, that is a knife or spike, which has a blade, or sharp point, made from a material that is not readily detectable by apparatus used for detecting metal and which is not designed for domestic use or for use in the processing, preparation or consumption of food or as a toy;
q
a straight, side-handled or friction-lock truncheon (sometimes known as a baton);
F5r
a sword with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, the length of the blade shall be the straight line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade;
F9s
the weapon sometimes known as a “zombie knife”, “zombie killer knife” or “zombie slayer knife”, being a blade with—
i
a cutting edge;
ii
a serrated edge; and
iii
images or words (whether on the blade or handle) that suggest that it is to be used for the purpose of violence.
F11t
the weapon sometimes known as a “cyclone knife” or “spiral knife” being a weapon with—
i
a handle,
ii
a blade with two or more cutting edges, each of which forms a helix, and
iii
a sharp point at the end of the blade.
I42
For the purposes of this Schedule, a weapon is an antique if it was manufactured more than 100 years before the date of any offence alleged to have been committed in respect of that weapon under subsection (1) F12or (1A) of the said section 141 or section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 M2(improper importation).
F4F73
It shall be a defence for a person charged—
a
with an offence under section 141(1) F13or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; or
b
with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979,
in respect of any conduct of his relating to a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that the weapon in question was made before 1954 or was made at any other time according to traditional methods of making swords by hand.
4
F141
It shall be a defence for a person charged—
a
with an offence under section 141(1) F15or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; or
b
with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979,
in respect of any conduct of his relating to a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the weapon available for the purposes of the organisation and holding of a permitted activity for which public liability insurance is held in relation to liabilities to third parties arising from or in connection with the organisation and holding of such an activity.
F162
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect of any conduct of that person relating to a weapon to which section 141 of that Act applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that the person's conduct was for the purpose only of participating in a permitted activity of a kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (1).
5
For the purposes of paragraph 4—
“historical re-enactment” means any presentation or other event held for the purpose of re-enacting an event from the past or of illustrating conduct from a particular time or period in the past;
“insurance” means a contract of insurance or other arrangement made for the purpose of indemnifying a person or persons named in the contract or under the arrangement;
“permitted activity” means an historical re-enactment or a sporting activity;
“sporting activity” means the practising of a sport which requires the use of a weapon described in paragraph 1(r);
“third parties” includes participants in, and spectators of, a permitted activity and members of the public.
F65A
F171
It shall be a defence for a person charged—
a
with an offence under section 141(1) F18or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; or
b
with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979,
in respect of any conduct of his relating to a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the weapon available for the purposes of use F19in religious ceremoniesF19for religious reasons.
F202
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect of a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that the person possessed the weapon for religious reasons only.
F105B
1
Sub-paragraph (2) applies to—
a
a person charged with an offence under section 141(1) or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect of any conduct of the person relating to a curved sword, and
b
a person charged with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 in respect of any conduct of the person relating to a curved sword.
2
It is a defence for the person to show that the person's conduct was for the purpose only of making the sword available for presentation by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.
3
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of giving a curved sword to another person to show that the person's conduct consisted of the presentation of the sword by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.
4
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of possession of a curved sword in private to show that—
a
the person was a Sikh at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed and possessed the sword for the purpose only of presenting it to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event, or
b
the sword was presented to the person by a Sikh at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.
5
In this paragraph—
“curved sword” means a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r);
“Sikh” means a follower of the Sikh religion.
6
For the purposes of F8paragraphs 3, 4 F21, 5A and 5B, a person shall be taken to have shown a matter specified in those paragraphs if—
a
sufficient evidence of that matter is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it; and
b
the contrary is not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Order revoked (S.) (29.9.2005) by The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005 (S.S.I. 2005/483), art. 3