Clause 61 - Sections 58 to 60: interpretation and jurisdiction
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
Public Bill Committees, 18 September 2003, 3:00 pm
Ms Beverley Hughes (Minister of State (Citizenship and Immigration), Home Office; Stretford & Urmston, Labour)
To respond to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow, clause 61(2) and (3), which applies to international trafficking, means that we can prosecute a British person listed under subsection (3), or an organisation listed under subsection (2)(b), who carries out such activity in any country, whether or not there is an equivalent trafficking offence in that country. If a foreign national commits an offence in the United Kingdom, we can prosecute that person. However, we cannot prosecute a foreign national who commits an offence in another part of the world. As for clause 73, a resident is covered because there is a requirement for dual criminality in such cases. There is no such requirement in relation to the trafficking offences, which is partly why we have drafted such a provision under clause 61.