Part XI Miscellaneous
Articles with blades or points and offensive weapons
E1 141A F1 Sale of knives and certain articles with blade or point to persons under sixteen.
C11
Any person who sells to a person under the age of F7eighteen years an article to which this section applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
2
Subject to subsection (3) below, this section 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 section does not apply to any article described in—
F18b
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c
an order made by the Secretary of State under this section.
4
F15Subject to section 141B, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) above to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
5
The power to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
E2 141A F1F2Sale of knives and certain articles with blade or point to persons under eighteen
C1 1
F3Subject to subsection (3A) belowAny person who sellsF16or lets on hire to a person under the age of F8eighteen years an article to which this section applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.
2
Subject to subsection (3) below, this section applies to—
a
any knife, knife blade or razor blade,
b
any axe, F4 . . .
F5ba
any sword; 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 section does not apply to any article described in—
F11b
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c
an order made by the Secretary of State under this section.
F63A
F9Except where section 141C applies, it is not an offence under subsection (1) to sell F13or let on hirea knife or knife blade to a person if—
a
the person is aged 16 or over; and
b
the knife or blade is designed for domestic use.
F174
F14 Except where section 141C applies, it is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) (referred to in this section as “ the accused ”) to show that—
a
the accused believed the person to whom the article was sold or let on hire (referred to in this section as “ the purchaser or hirer ”) to be of or above the relevant age, and
b
either—
i
the accused had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser or hirer's age, or
ii
no reasonable person could have suspected from the purchaser or hirer's appearance that the purchaser or hirer was aged under the relevant age.
4A
For the purposes of subsection (4)(b)(i), the accused is to be treated as having taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser or hirer's age if and only if—
a
the accused was shown any of the documents mentioned in subsection (4B), and
b
the document would have convinced a reasonable person.
4B
Those documents are any document bearing to be—
a
a passport,
F12aa
a UK driving licence,
b
a European Union photocard driving licence, or
c
such other document, or a document of such other description, as the Scottish Ministers may by order prescribe.
4C
In subsection (4), “the relevant age” is—
a
in the case where the article is a knife or knife blade designed for domestic use, 16 years, and
b
in any other case, 18 years.
5
The power to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.