- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (31/12/2020)
- Original (As made)
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
More Resources
Changes over time for: Section 54
Alternative versions:
- 01/01/2006- Amendment
- 01/10/2007- Amendment
- 16/07/2008- Amendment
- 31/12/2020
Point in time
Status:
Point in time view as at 31/12/2020.
Changes to legislation:
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Section 54 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 09 February 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
Sale of knives and certain articles with blade or point to persons under 16N.I.
54.—(1) Any person who sells to a person under the age of [F118] years an article to which this Article applies shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable
[F2(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years, or to a fine, or to both.]
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Article applies to—
(a)any knife, knife blade or razor blade,
(b)any axe, and
(c)any other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person.
(3) This Article does not apply to any article described in—
(a)Article 53,
(b)an order made under section 141(2) of the [1988 c. 33.] Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons), or
(c)an order made by the Secretary of State under this Article.
(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged under paragraph (1) to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
F1Word in art. 54(1) substituted (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 51, 66(2), Sch. 2 para. 10; S.I. 2007/2180, art. 4(c)(d)
F2Words in art. 54(1) substituted (16.7.2008) by Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1216 (N.I. 1)), arts. 1(4), 90(7); S.R. 2008/293, art. 2, Sch.
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Order
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.