- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Terrorism Act 2000
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Terrorism Act 2000, Section 57 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 09 November 2024. 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
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- Sch. 4 para. 11(1)(aa) inserted by 2003 c. 44 Sch. 36 para. 14(2)
- Sch. 4 para. 11(2A) inserted by 2003 c. 44 Sch. 36 para. 14(3)
- Sch. 4 para. 11(1)(aa) words substituted by 2015 c. 2 Sch. 11 para. 17(2)
- Sch. 4 para. 11(2A) words substituted by 2015 c. 2 Sch. 11 para. 17(3)
- Sch. 8 para. 14(2A) inserted by 2008 c. 28 s. 16(3) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. S. 16 repealed (31.10.2013) by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 14(4)(ba) inserted by 2008 c. 28 s. 16(5) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. S. 16 repealed (31.10.2013) by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 15(1)(aa) (ab) inserted by 2010 c. 17 s. 17(4)(b) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Ss. 16-19 repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 15(2A) inserted by 2010 c. 17 s. 17(7) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Ss. 16-19 repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 15(4) inserted by 2010 c. 17 s. 17(8) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Ss. 16-19 repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 14F(3)(b) and word omitted by 2012 c. 10 Sch. 24 para. 22 (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. The substitution of Sch. 8 para. 14F was repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 14-14I substituted for Sch. 8 para. 14 by 2010 c. 17 s. 17(2) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Ss. 16-19 repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 20(3)-(3C) substituted for Sch. 8 para. 20(3) by 2010 c. 17 s. 18(2)(a) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Ss. 16-19 repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
- Sch. 8 para. 20F(3) words omitted by 2012 c. 10 Sch. 24 para. 23 (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. The insertion of Sch. 8 para. 20F was repealed (31.10.2013) without ever being in force by 2012 c. 9, Sch. 9 para. 4(2), Sch. 10 Pt. 1; S.I. 2013/2104, art. 3(c)(d))
57 Possession for terrorist purposes.U.K.
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)A person commits an offence if he possesses an article in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that his possession is for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.
(2)It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that his possession of the article was not for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.
(3)In proceedings for an offence under this section, if it is proved that an article—
(a)was on any premises at the same time as the accused, or
(b)was on premises of which the accused was the occupier or which he habitually used otherwise than as a member of the public,
the court may assume that the accused possessed the article, unless he proves that he did not know of its presence on the premises or that he had no control over it.
(4)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F115 years] , to a fine or to both, or
(b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 57(4)(a) substituted (13.4.2006) by Terrorism Act 2006 (c. 11), s. 13(1) (with (2)); S.I. 2006/1013, art. 2
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open Schedules only
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
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.
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
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
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.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. 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
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
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.