DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR PREMISES ACT 1987
1987 CHAPTER 46
An Act to make provision as to what land is diplomatic
or consular premises; to give the Secretary of State power to vest certain land
in himself; to impose on him a duty to sell land vested in him in the exercise
of that power; to give certain provisions of the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations the force
of law in the United Kingdom by amending Schedule 1 to the Diplomatic
Privileges Act 1964 and Schedule 1 to the Consular Relations Act 1968; to amend
section 9 (2) of the Criminal Law Act 1977; and for connected purposes.
[15th May 1987]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
PART I
DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR PREMISES
1 Acquisition and loss by land of diplomatic
or consular status.
(1)
Subject to subsection (2) below, where a State desires that land shall be
diplomatic or consular premises, it shall apply to the Secretary of State for
his consent to the land being such premises.
(2) A
State need not make such an application in relation to land if the Secretary of
State accepted it as diplomatic or consular premises immediately before the
coming into force of this section.
(3) In no
case is land to be regarded as a State’s diplomatic or consular premises for the
purposes of any enactment or rule of law unless it has been so accepted or the
Secretary of State has given that State consent under this section in relation
to it; and if—
(a) a
State ceases to use land for the purposes of its mission or exclusively for the
purposes of a consular post; or
(b) the
Secretary of State withdraws his acceptance or consent in relation to land,it
thereupon ceases to be diplomatic or consular premises for the purposes of all
enactments and rules of law.
(4) The
Secretary of State shall only give or withdraw consent or withdraw acceptance
if he is satisfied that to do so is permissible under international law.
(5) In
determining whether to do so he shall have regard to all material
considerations, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of
this subsection—
(a) to
the safety of the public;
(b) to
national security; and
(c) to
town and country planning.
(6) If a
State intends to cease using land as premises of its mission or as consular
premises, it shall give the Secretary of State notice of that intention,
specifying the date on which it intends to cease so using them.
(7) In
any proceedings a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Secretary
of State stating any fact relevant to the question whether or not land was at
any time diplomatic or consular premises shall be conclusive of that fact.
2 Vesting of former diplomatic or
consular premises.
(1)
Where—
(a) the
Secretary of State formerly accepted land as diplomatic or consular premises
but did not accept it as such premises immediately before the coming into force
of this section; or
(b) land
has ceased to be diplomatic or consular premises after the coming into force of
this section but not less than 12 months before the exercise of the power
conferred on the Secretary of State by this subsection,the Secretary of State
may by order provide that this section shall apply to that land.
(2) The
Secretary of State shall only exercise the power conferred by subsection (1)
above if he is satisfied that to do so is permissible under international law.
(3) In
determining whether to exercise it he shall have regard to all material
considerations, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of
this subsection, to any of the considerations mentioned in section 1(5) above
that appears to him to be relevant.
(4) An
order under subsection (1) above shall be made by statutory instrument, and a
statutory instrument containing any such order shall be subject to annulment in
pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(5) The
Secretary of State may by deed poll vest in himself such estate or interest in
land to which this section applies as appears to him to be appropriate.
(6) A
deed poll under this section may also comprise any portion of a building in
which the former diplomatic or consular premises are situated.
(7) In
relation to land in Scotland
(8)
Subject to subsection (9) below, in a case falling within paragraph (a) of
subsection (1) above the Secretary of State may only exercise the power
conferred by that subsection before the end of the period of two months
beginning with the date on which this section comes into force.
(9) In
such a case the power continues to be exercisable after the end of that period
if the Secretary of State within that period—
(a)
certifies that he reserves the right to exercise it; and
(b) unless
he considers it inappropriate or impracticable to do so, serves a copy of the
certificate on the owner of any estate or interest in the land.
(10)
Where—
(a)
circumstances have arisen in consequence of which the power conferred by
subsection (1) above is exercisable; but
(b) the
Secretary of State serves on the owner of the land in relation to which it has
become exercisable notice that he does not intend to exercise the power in
relation to that land,it shall cease to be exercisable in relation to it in
consequence of those circumstances.
(11) If—
(a) the
Secretary of State has exercised the power conferred by subsection (1) above in
relation to land; but
(b)
serves on the owner notice that he does not intend to execute a deed poll under
this section, or if the land is in Scotland to make an order under it, relating
to the land,the power to vest conferred by this section shall cease to be
exercisable.
3 Duty of sale.
(1) Where
an estate or interest in land has vested in the Secretary of State under section
2 above, it shall be his duty to sell it as soon as it is reasonably
practicable to do so, taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the price is
the best that can reasonably be obtained.
(2) The
Secretary of State shall apply the purchase money—
(a) firstly
in payment of expenses properly incurred by him as incidental to the sale or
any attempted sale;
(b)
secondly in discharge of prior incumbrances to which the sale is not made
subject or in the making of any payments to mortgagees required by Schedule 1
to this Act;
(c)
thirdly in payment of expenses relating to the land reasonably incurred by him
on repairs or security;
(d)
fourthly in discharge of such liabilities to pay rates or sums in lieu of rates
on the land or on any other land as the Secretary of State thinks fit;
(e)
fifthly in discharge of such judgment debts arising out of matters relating to
the land or to any other land as he thinks fit,and, subject to subsection (3)
below, shall pay any residue to the person divested of the estate or interest.
(3) Where
a State was divested but there is no person with whom Her Majesty’s Government
of the United Kingdom
(4) A sum
held by the Secretary of State under subsection (3) above shall be placed in a
bank account bearing interest at such rate as the Treasury may approve.
4 Provisions supplementary to sections 2
and 3.
Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect to
supplement sections 2 and 3 above in England
and Wales , Part II shall
have effect to supplement them in Scotland
and Part III shall have effect to supplement them in Northern Ireland
5 Interpretation of Part I.
In this Part of this Act—
“consular
post” and “consular premises” have the meanings given by the definitions in
paragraph 1(a) and (j) of Article 1 of the 1963 Convention as that Article has
effect in the United Kingdom by virtue of section 1 of and Schedule 1 to the
M1 Consular Relations Act 1968;
“diplomatic
premises” means premises of the mission of a State;
“mortgage”
includes a charge or lien for securing money or money’s worth, and references
to mortgagees shall be construed accordingly;
“premises
of the mission” has the meaning given by the definition in Article 1(i) of the
1961 Convention as that Article has effect in the United Kingdom by virtue of
section 2 of and Schedule 1 to the M2Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964;
“the 1961
Convention” means the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961;
and
“the 1963
Convention” means the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations signed in 1963.
PART II
AMENDMENTS OF
DIPLOMATIC PRIVILEGES ACT 1964, CONSULAR RELATIONS ACT 1968, AND CRIMINAL LAW
ACT 1977
6 Amendments of 1964 and
1968 Acts.
Schedule 2 to this
Act shall have effect for the purpose of making amendments in Schedule 1 to the
M3Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and Schedule 1 to the M4Consular Relations Act
1968 (provisions of 1961 and 1963 Conventions having force of law in the United Kingdom
7 Amendments of 1977 Act.
(1)In section 9(2) of the M5Criminal Law Act
1977—
(a)the following paragraph shall be inserted
after paragraph (a)—
“(aa)the premises of a closed diplomatic
mission;” and
(b)the following paragraph shall be inserted
after paragraph (b)—
“(bb)the premises of a closed consular post;”.
(2)The following subsection shall be inserted
after that subsection—
“(2A)In subsection (2) above—
“the
premises of a closed diplomatic mission” means premises which fall within
Article 45 of the Convention mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above (as that
Article has effect in the United Kingdom by virtue of the section and Schedule
mentioned in that paragraph); and
“the
premises of a closed consular post” means premises which fall within Article 27
of the Convention mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above (as that Article has
effect in the United Kingdom by virtue of the section and Schedule mentioned in
that paragraph);”.
PART III
SUPPLEMENTARY
8 Financial provision.
There shall be paid
out of money provided by Parliament any expenses of the Secretary of State
under this Act.
9 Short title,
commencement and extent.
(1)This Act
may be cited as the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987.
(2)This
Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order
made by statutory instrument appoint and different days may be appointed in
pursuance of this section for different provisions or different purposes of the
same provision.
(3)This
Act extends to Northern
Ireland
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE 1
Section 4.
PROVISIONS
SUPPLEMENTARY TO SECTIONS 2 AND 3
PART I
Interpretation
1 In this Part of this
Schedule—
“the
registrar” means the Chief Land Registrar;
“the
registry” means Her Majesty’s Land Registry;
“the
searches rules” means the M6 Land
Registration (Official Searches) Rules 1986 and any rules amending or replacing
them;
and
expressions defined in section 3 of the M7
Land Registration Act 1925 have the meanings assigned to them by that section.
General
[F1 2 (1) If
the Secretary of State gives notice to the registrar that he has reason to
believe that any register or document in the custody of the registrar may
contain information relating to any person or property specified in the notice
which would be of assistance to him in connection with the exercise of the
power conferred on him by section 2 above, the registrar shall permit him to
inspect and make copies of and extracts from any such register or document so
far as it relates to any such person or property.
(2) The following
paragraph shall be inserted after subsection (1)(a) of section 112 of the Land
Registration Act 1925 (inspection of register and other documents at Land
Registry)—
“(aa)to
paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987
(power of Secretary of State to inspect register in connection with exercise of
power to vest in himself former diplomatic or consular premises);”.]
3 A deed
poll under section 2 above shall have effect to vest in the Secretary of State
the benefit of any covenant touching and concerning the land to which the deed
relates but not annexed to it if, immediately before the vesting of the estate
to which the deed relates, the covenant was enforceable by the person divested
of that estate.
4 Where—
(a)a term
of years has vested in the Secretary of State under section 2 above; and
(b)assignment
of the term is absolutely prohibited,
the
prohibition shall be treated, in relation to an assignment on sale under
section 3 above, as if it were a provision to the effect that the term may not
be assigned without the consent of the landlord and that such consent shall not
be unreasonably withheld.
Registered land
5 (1) If
an estate which the Secretary of State proposes to vest in himself is
registered land—
(a) he
shall be treated for the purposes of the searches rules as a purchaser within
the meaning of those rules; and
(b) the
deed vesting the registered land in him shall be treated for the purposes of
those rules as the instrument effecting the purchase.
(2) If
after vesting registered land in himself the Secretary of State lodges the
vesting deed at the registry the registrar shall register him as the proprietor
of the land.
Unregistered land
6 A
conveyance by the Secretary of State under this Act shall have effect if the
estate conveyed is not registered land—
(a)to
vest the estate conveyed in the purchaser free from any mortgage to which the
sale is not made subject; and
(b)to
extinguish any other person’s title to the estate conveyed.
7 (1) Where
by virtue of paragraph 6 above land is discharged from a mortgage, the mortgagee
shall be entitled, subject to the following provisions of this paragraph and to
the claims of any prior mortgagee, to have the proceeds of sale applied in
payment of the sums secured by the mortgage.
(2) The
Secretary of State may by publishing such notice or notices as he thinks
appropriate require any person who claims to be entitled to a payment under
sub-paragraph (1) above to send particulars of his claim to the Secretary of
State within the time, not being less than two months, fixed in the notice or,
where more than one is published, in the last of them.
(3) At
the end of the time fixed by the notice or, where more than one is published,
the last of them, the Secretary of State shall not be liable to any person of
whose claim he has not then received particulars.
8 Where,
after land has become vested in the Secretary of State under section 2 above, a
person retains possession of any document relating to the title to the land, he
shall be deemed to have given the Secretary of State an acknowledgment in
writing of the Secretary of State’s right to production of that document and to
delivery of copies thereof and (except where he retains possession of the
document as mortgagee of trustee or otherwise in a fiduciary capacity) an
undertaking for safe custody thereof; and section 64 of the M8Law of Property
Act 1925 shall have effect accordingly, and on the basis that the
acknowledgment and undertaking did not contain any such expression of contrary
intention as is mentioned in that section.
PART II
9 In this
Part of this Schedule “order” means an order under section 2(5) above.
10 An order
shall contain a particular description of the lands affected or a description
by reference of those lands in the manner provided by section 61 of the M9 Conveyancing
11 On the
date on which an order is made, the land specified in the order, together with
the right to enter upon and take possession of it, shall vest in the Secretary
of State.
12 (1)Where
the Secretary of State has effected a sale of the premises or any part thereof
and grants to the purchaser or his nominee a disposition of the subjects sold,
which bears to be in implement of the sale and which does not bear to be
subject to a prior security, then, on that disposition being duly recorded or
(as the case may be) registered, those subjects shall be disburdened of any
heritable security or diligence affecting the subjects.
(2)Where
on a sale as aforesaid the premises remain subject to a prior security, the
recording of a disposition under sub-paragraph (1) above shall not affect the
rights of the creditor in that security, but the Secretary of State shall have
the like right as the debtor to redeem the security.
13 Where a
lease has vested in the Secretary of State by virtue of an order and that lease
prohibits assignation absolutely, that prohibition shall be treated as if it
were a prohibition to the extent only that the lease shall not be assigned
without the consent of the landlord, such consent not to be unreasonably nor
unfairly withheld nor delayed.
14 Where,
after land has become vested in the Secretary of State under section 2 above, a
person retains possession of any document relating to the title to the land, he
shall be deemed to have given to the Secretary of State an acknowledgment in
writing of the right of the Secretary of State to production of that document
and to delivery of copies thereof and (except where he retains possession of
the document as heritable creditor or as trustee or otherwise in a fiduciary
capacity) an undertaking for safe custody thereof.
15 After an
order has been made it may be recorded in the General Register of Sasines or
(as the case may be) in the Land Register of Scotland.
PART III
Interpretation
16 In this
Part of this Schedule—
“estate”
includes interest;
“registered
land” means land the title to which is registered under the M10Land
Registration Act (Northern
Ireland
“unregistered
land” means land the title to which is not registered under the Land
Registration Act (Northern
Ireland
General
17 (1) Where—
(a) a
tenancy has vested in the Secretary of State under section 2 above; and
(b) assignment
of the tenancy is absolutely prohibited,
the
prohibition shall be treated, in relation to an assignment on sale under
section 3 above, as if it were a provision to the effect that the tenancy may
not be assigned without the consent of the landlord and that such consent shall
not be unreasonably withheld.
(2)In
this paragraph “tenancy” includes a fee farm grant.
18 A deed
poll under section 2 above shall have effect to vest in the Secretary of State
the benefit of any covenant touching and concerning the land to which the deed
relates but not annexed to it if, immediately before the vesting of the estate
to which the deed relates, the covenant was enforceable by the person divested
of that estate.
Registered land
19 (1) If an
estate which the Secretary of State proposes to vest in himself under section 2
above is registered land—
(a)he
shall have a right, in accordance with the prescribed procedure, to inspect and
make copies of the whole or any part of any register or document in the custody
of the registrar relating to that estate; and
(b)he
shall be treated for the purposes of the priority search provisions as if he
were a person who has entered into a contract to purchase that estate, and any
reference in those provisions to purchase shall be construed accordingly.
(2) If
after vesting registered land in himself the Secretary of State lodges the
vesting deed at the registry, the registrar—
(a) shall
register him as the owner of the estate specified in the deed poll; and
(b) shall
issue him a certificate showing the title to the estate.
(3) The
registrar may, if he thinks fit, register the title of the Secretary of State
to an estate under sub-paragraph (2) above notwithstanding that the Secretary
of State has not produced to him the land certificate relating to the land in
which the estate subsists and, where the registrar does so, he shall enter a
note to that effect in the register.
(4) In
this paragraph—
“the priority search provisions” means section
81(3) and (4) of the M11Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and the
provisions of the M12Land Registration (Northern Ireland) Rules 1977 relating
to priority searches and any rules amending or replacing those provisions;
“the
registrar” means the Registrar of Titles in Northern Ireland
“the
registry” means the Land Registry in Northern Ireland
and
expressions defined in section 94 of the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland
Unregistered land
20 A
conveyance by the Secretary of State under this Act of unregistered land shall
have effect—
(a) to
vest the estate conveyed in the purchaser free from any mortgage to which the
sale is not made subject; and
(b) to
extinguish any other person’s title to the estate conveyed.
21 Where,
after land has become vested in the Secretary of State under section 2 above, a
person retains possession of any document relating to the title of the land, he
shall be deemed to have given the Secretary of State an acknowledgement in
writing of the Secretary of State’s right to production of that document and to
delivery of copies thereof and (except where he retains possession of the
document as mortgagee or trustee or otherwise in a fiduciary capacity) an
undertaking for safe custody thereof; and section 19 of the M13Conveyancing Act
1881 shall have effect accordingly, and on the basis that the acknowledgement
and undertaking did not contain any such expression of contrary intention as is
mentioned in that section.
22 (1) Where
by virtue of paragraph 20 above land is discharged from a mortgage, the
mortgagee shall be entitled, subject to the following provisions of this
paragraph and to the claims of any prior mortgagee, to have the proceeds of
sale applied in payment of the sums secured by the mortgage.
(2) The
Secretary of State may, by publishing such notice or notices as he thinks
appropriate, require any person who claims to be entitled to a payment under
sub-paragraph (1) above to send particulars of his claim to the Secretary of
State within the time, not being less than two months, fixed in the notice or,
where more than one notice is published, in the last of them.
(3)t the
end of the time fixed by the notice or, where more than one is published, the
last of them, the Secretary of State shall not be liable to any person of whose
claim he has not then received particulars.
(4) If
after executing a deed poll under section 2 above with respect to unregistered
land, the Secretary of State lodges it at the registry of deeds, the registrar
shall register it.
SCHEDULE 2
Section 6.
AMENDMENTS OF 1964
AND 1968 ACTS
1 The
following shall be inserted at the end of Schedule 1 to the 1964 Act—
“ARTICLE
45
If diplomatic relations are broken off between two States, or if a
mission is permanently or temporarily recalled:
(a) the
receiving State must, even in case of armed conflict, respect and protect the
premises of the mission, together with its property and archives;
(b) the
sending State may entrust the custody of the premises of the mission, together
with its property and archives, to a third State acceptable to the receiving
State;
(c) the
sending State may entrust the protection of its interests and those of its
nationals to a third State acceptable to the receiving State.”.
2 Schedule
1 to the 1968 Act shall have effect subject to the following amendments.
3 The
following shall be inserted after the heading “CHAPTER 1. - CONSULAR RELATIONS
IN GENERAL”—
“SECTION I.
— ESTABLISHMENT AND
CONDUCT OF CONSULAR RELATIONS”.
4 The
following shall be inserted after Article 17—
“SECTION II.
— END OF CONSULAR
FUNCTIONS
ARTICLE
27
Protection
of consular premises and archives and of the interests of the sending State in
exceptional circumstances
1 In the event of the
severance of consular relations between two States:
(a) the
receiving State shall, even in case of armed conflict, respect and protect the
consular premises, together with the property of the consular post and the
consular archives;
(b) the
sending State may entrust the custody of the consular premises, together with
the property contained therein and the consular archives, to a third State
acceptable to the receiving State;
(c) the sending
State may entrust the protection of its interests and those of its nationals to
a third State acceptable to the receiving State.
2 In the event of the
temporary or permanent closure of a consular post, the provisions of
sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply. In addition,
(a) if
the sending State, although not represented in the receiving State by a
diplomatic mission, has another consular post in the territory of that State,
that consular post may be entrusted with the custody of the premises of the
consular post which has been closed, together with the property contained
therein and the consular archives, and, with the consent of the receiving
State, with the exercise of consular functions in the district of that consular
post; or
(b) if the sending State has no diplomatic
mission and no other consular post in the receiving State, the provisions of
sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.”.
5 The following paragraph shall be
inserted after paragraph 2 of Article 31—
“3 Subject to the provisions
of paragraph 2 of this Article, the receiving State is under a special duty to
take all appropriate steps to protect the consular premises against any
intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the consular
post or impairment of its dignity.”.
6 The following shall be inserted after
Article 58—
“ARTICLE
59
Protection of the consular premises
The
receiving State shall take such steps as may be necessary to protect the
consular premises of a consular post headed by an honorary consular officer
against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of
the consular post or impairment of its dignity.”.
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