Sexual Offences Act 2003

72 Offences outside the United Kingdom E+W+N.I.

(1) Subject to subsection (2), any act done by a person in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom which—

(a) constituted an offence under the law in force in that country or territory, and

(b) would constitute a sexual offence to which this section applies if it had been done in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland,

constitutes that sexual offence under the law of that part of the United Kingdom.

(2) Proceedings by virtue of this section may be brought only against a person who was on 1st September 1997, or has since become, a British citizen or resident in the United Kingdom.

(3) An act punishable under the law in force in any country or territory constitutes an offence under that law for the purposes of this section, however it is described in that law.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), the condition in subsection (1)(a) is to be taken to be met unless, not later than rules of court may provide, the defendant serves on the prosecution a notice—

(a) stating that, on the facts as alleged with respect to the act in question, the condition is not in his opinion met,

(b) showing his grounds for that opinion, and

(c) requiring the prosecution to prove that it is met.

(5) The court, if it thinks fit, may permit the defendant to require the prosecution to prove that the condition is met without service of a notice under subsection (4).

(6) In the Crown Court the question whether the condition is met is to be decided by the judge alone.

(7) Schedule 2 lists the sexual offences to which this section applies.