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The Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1937
The Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1937
London, 18 March 1937
Present,
The King's Most Excellent Majesty, Lord President Lord Steward Marquis of Zetland, Lord Amulree, Major Tryon, Sir Harry Eve:—
Whereas Palestine is a territory in respect of which a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations has been accepted by His Majesty;
And whereas by Treaty, grant, usage, sufferance, and other lawful means His Majesty has power and jurisdiction in Palestine;
And whereas by the Palestine (Defence) Orders in Council, 1931 and 1936, provision was made for securing the public safety and the defence of Palestine;
And whereas it is expedient to make other provision for that purpose :
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in this behalf by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise, in His Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows :—
PART I.
General.
1. Short title.
This Order may be cited as the Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1937.
2. Interpretation.
(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them—
"Palestine" does not include that part of the area under Mandate known as Trans-Jordan;
"High Commissioner" includes every person for the time being administering the Government of Palestine;
"Law" includes any order of His Majesty in Council except this Order, and any Ordinance, Ottoman law, order, rule, regulation, by-law, or other law for the time being in force in Palestine;
"the Order of 1931" means the Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1931;
"the Order of 1936" means the Palestine Martial Law (Defence) Order in Council, 1936.
(2) The Interpretation Act shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
(3) For the avoidance of doubts it is hereby declared that any reference to Palestine in this Order or in the Order of 1931, or the Order of 1936, includes a reference to the territorial waters adjacent thereto.
3. Commencement.
(1) The provisions of Part II of this Order shall have effect, only by virtue of a Proclamation made by the High Commissioner directing that the said provisions shall come into operation; and whenever such a Proclamation is made, the said provisions shall come into operation on such date as may be specified in the Proclamation, shall continue in operation until a further Proclamation directing that they shall cease to have effect is made by the High Commissioner, and shall then cease to have effect except as respects things previously done or omitted to be done.
(2) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Order, this Order shall come into operation forthwith.
4. Power to amend or revoke this Order.
His Majesty may from time to time revoke, add to, amend Power to amend or otherwise vary this Order.
5. Extent.
This Order extends to the whole of Palestine.
PART II.
Defence Regulations.
6. Defence Regulations
(1) The High Commissioner may make such regulations (in this Order referred to as "Defence Regulations") as appear to him in his unfettered discretion to be necessary or expedient for securing the public safety, the defence of Palestine, the maintenance of public order and the suppression of mutiny, rebellion and riot, and for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by the preceding sub-section, Defence Regulations may —
(a) make provision for the detention of persons and the deportation and exclusion of persons from Palestine;
(b) authorise —
(i) the taking of possession or control, on behalf of His Majesty, of any property or undertaking;
(ii) the acquisition on behalf of His Majesty of any property;
(iii) the doing of work on any land (including the demolition, destruction and removal of property);
(c) authorise the entering and search of any premises;
(d) amend any law, suspend the operation of any law, and apply any law with or without modification;
(e) provide for charging, in respect of granting or issuing any licence, permit, certificate or other document for the purposes of the Regulations, such fee as may be prescribed by or under the Regulations;
(f) provide for payment of compensation and remuneration to persons affected by the Regulations;
(g) provide —
(i) for the apprehension of persons offending against the Regulations;
(ii) for the trial by civil courts (including Courts of Summary Jurisdiction) of such persons;
(iii) for the trial by such military courts as may be established by Defence Regulations, of persons committing offences against Defence Regulations either before or after the date of the establishment of such courts, and of persons committing offences under any other law after that date;
(iv) for the imposition by any civil court or by any military court established as aforesaid, of such punishments as may be prescribed, in the case of offences against Defence Regulations, by Defence Regulations, and, in the case of other offences, by the law for the time being in force;
(v) for the imposition of fines upon bodies of persons or upon corporations and the forfeiture and destruction of property as punitive measures, whether the actual offenders can or cannot be identified;
(vi) for the procedure and practice of such military courts as aforesaid;
(vii) for appeals from judgments or orders of such military courts, or that there shall be no such appeal; and
(viii) that judgments, orders and proceedings of such military courts shall not be called in question, whether by writ or otherwise or challenged in any manner whatever by or before any court, otherwise than by way of any appeal provided for by Defence Regulations.
(3) Defence Regulations may provide for empowering such authorities, persons or classes of persons as may be specified in the Regulations to make orders, rules and by-laws for any of the purposes for which such Regulations are authorised by this Order to be made, and may contain such incidental and supplementary provisions as appear to the High Commissioner to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Regulations.
(4) A Defence Regulation or any order, rule or by-law made in pursuance of such a Regulation shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any law; and any provision of a law which may be inconsistent with any Defence Regulation or any such order, rule or by-law shall, whether that provision shall or shall not have been amended, modified or suspended in its operation under this section, to the extent of such inconsistency have no effect so long as such Regulation, order rule or by-law shall remain in force.
7. Delegation of functions by High Commissioner
The High Commissioner, if he thinks fit, may by Proclamation delegate his functions under section 6 of this Order to the General Officer Commanding the Forces in Palestine, subject to such limitations and conditions (if any) as may be specified in the Proclamation; and any such Proclamation may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Proclamation of the High Commissioner, but the variation or revocation of any such Proclamation shall not affect the operation of any Defence Regulations made by virtue of that Proclamation.
PART III.
Transitional and Supplementary Provisions.
8. Saving of High Commissioner's powers
The powers conferred by or under this Order shall be, and the powers conferred by the Order of 1931 and the Order of 1936 shall be, and shall be deemed always to have been, in addition to, and not in derogation of, the powers conferred upon the High Commissioner by or under the Palestine Order in Council, 1922, and any Orders amending that Order, or otherwise.
9. Saving for Regulations under Order of 1931.
Nothing in the Order of 1936 shall be deemed to have affected any Regulations made under the Order of 1931 which were in force on the twenty-ninth day of September, 1936, but all such Regulations shall be deemed to have continued in force, subject nevertheless, as from the date of any revocation, repeal, amendment or other variation thereof by Regulations made under the Palestine (Defence) Orders in Council, 1931 and 1936, to such revocation, repeal, amendment or variation; and accordingly, no conviction for an offence under, and nothing done in pursuance of, the said Regulations shall be deemed to have been unauthorised or unlawful on the ground that the said Regulations in force on the twenty-ninth day of September, 1936, were not in force after that date.
10. Revocation of Orders of 1931 and 1936.
On the date upon which Part II of this Order is first given effect by Proclamation, the Order of 1931 and the Order of 1936 shall be revoked :
Provided that nothing in this revocation shall affect any Regulations in force at the date aforesaid (including the Regulations referred to in the preceding section) but all such Regulations shall continue in force, and shall be deemed to be Defence Regulations, for the purposes of Part II of this Order, and may be rescinded, revoked, amended or varied accordingly.
11. Construction of references to revoked Orders.
References in any law to the Order of 1931 or the Order of 1936 or both of those Orders shall be construed as including references to Parts I and III of this Order and, as from the date upon which those Orders are revoked, to Part II of this Order.
12. Validity of instruments.
Any document purporting to be an instrument (whether legislative or executive) made or issued in pursuance of, or for the purposes of,
(1) this Order, the Order of 1931, the Order of 1936, or
(2) any provision contained in, or having effect by virtue of, Defence Regulations or any Regulations made under the Order of 1931 or the Order of 1936,
shall be deemed to be an instrument validly made or issued as aforesaid, and the validity of the provisions contained in the document shall not be called in question in any court or in any other manner whatsoever.
13. Proof of instruments.
Every document purporting to be an instrument (whether legislative or executive) made or issued by any authority or person in pursuance of, or for the purposes of,
(1) this Order, the Order of 1931, the Order of 1936, or
(2) any provision contained in, or having effect by virtue of, Defence Regulations or any Regulations made under the Order of 1931 or the Order of 1936,
and to be signed by, or on behalf of, that authority or person, shall be received in evidence and shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be an instrument made or issued by that authority or person, as the case may be.
M. P. .4. Hankey
PROCLAMATION
by
His Excellency General Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, G.C.M.G., K.B.E., C.I.E.. D.S.O.. High Commissioner for Palestine.
Whereas by an Order of His Majesty in Council known as the Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1937, it is inter alia provided that the provisions of Part II of such Order shall have effect only by virtue of a Proclamation made bv the High Commissioner directing that the said provisions shall come into operation;
Now, therefore, I, General Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, G.C.M.G., K.B.E., C.I.E., D.S.O., High Commissioner for Palestine, do hereby proclaim that the provisions of Part II of the said Palestine (Defence) Order in Council, 1937, shall come into operation on the 24th day of March, 1937.
24th March, 1937.
A. G. WAUCHOPE
High Commissioner.
Source: Supplement No. 2 to the Palestine Gazette Extraordinary No. 675 (24th March, 1937), p. 268-273.