ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines Act
9. International military operations
Edition: 2022-12-31 · In force
9. International military operations
(1)A person is not guilty of an offence under section 6 in respect of any conduct of his which—(a)takes place in the course of, or for the purposes of, a military operation to which this section applies, or the planning of such an operation; and(b)is not, and does not relate to, the laying of anti-personnel mines in contravention of the Ottawa Convention.(2)In proceedings for an offence under section 6 in respect of any conduct, it is a defence for the accused to satisfy the court that—(a)the conduct was in the course of, or for the purpose of, a military operation or the planning of a military operation;(b)the conduct was not the laying of an anti-personnel mine;(c)at the time of the conduct he believed on reasonable grounds that the operation was or would be an operation to which this section applies; and(d)he did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that the conduct related to the laying of anti-personnel mines in contravention of the Ottawa Convention.(3)This section applies to a military operation—(a)which takes place wholly or mainly outside Kenya;(b)which involves the participation both of members of the defence forces of the Republic and of members of the defence forces of a State other than Kenya; and(c)in the course of which there is or may be some deployment of anti-personnel mines by members of the defence forces of one or more States that are not parties to the Ottawa Convention, but in the course of which such mines are not to be laid in contravention of that Convention.(4)If in any proceedings any question arises whether any actual or planned military operation involved the participation of any person, a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Cabinet Secretary stating any fact relating to that question shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.(5)For the purposes of this section, the laying of anti-personnel mines shall be deemed to be in contravention of the Ottawa Convention in any circumstances other than those where the mines are laid by members of the defence forces of a State that is not a party to that Convention.(6)For the purposes of this section, a State is a party to the Ottawa Convention if, under Article 16 of that Convention, that State has ratified, accepted or approved that Convention or has acceded to it and either—(a)that Convention is in force in relation to that State; or(b)paragraph 1 of Article 1 of that Convention is being provisionally applied in relation to that State in accordance with Article 18.(7)The defences available under this section in respect of an offence under section 6 extend to apply in respect of any offence of conspiring or attempting to commit the offence concerned.