National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations (Amendment)

Legislation au C1942L00349 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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STATUTORY RULES.

1942. No. 349.

 

REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT 1939-1940.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the National Security Act 1939-1940.

Dated this 7th day of August, 1942.

GOWRIE

Governor-General.

By His Excellencys Command,

J. M. FRASER

for Minister of State for Defence.

 

Amendments of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations,

Heading.

1. The National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations are amended by inserting before regulation 1 the following heading:—

“Part I—Preliminary.”.

Citation.

2. Regulation 1 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations and the heading appearing before that regulation are amended by omitting the words Officers of.

3. After regulation 2 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations the following regulation is inserted:—

Parts.

2a. These Regulations are divided into Parts as follows:—

Part I—Preliminary.

Part II—Officers.

Part III—Temporary Administrative Provisions..

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 10th August, 1942.

† Statutory Rules 1942, No. 206.

5196.—Price 3d.


Heading.

4. After regulation 3 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations the following heading is inserted:—

“Part II.—Officers”.

Leave of absence.

5.—(1.) Regulation 15 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations is amended by omitting sub-regulation (1.).

(2.) Any authority given by the Minister in pursuance of the sub-regulation omitted by this regulation shall continue in force as if given under regulation 21 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations, as amended by these Regulations.

6. After regulation 20 of the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations the following Part is inserted:—

“Part III.—Temporary Administrative Provisions.

Administrative powers.

21.—(1.) Notwithstanding anything contained in any regulation made under the National Security Act 1939-1940 or in any order made under any such regulation, the Minister may exercise all or any of the powers and functions vested by or under any law in force on the, eleventh day of February, 1942, in the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea (other than a regulation under the National Security Act 1939-1940 or any order under any such regulation), in the Administrator or any authority (other than a court) of the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be, or in any officer, and no such authority or officer shall be entitled to exercise any of those powers or functions while he is on leave of absence.

(2.) The Minister may authorize any person to exercise all or any of the powers and functions which the Minister is empowered by this regulation to exercise and that person may, thereupon, exercise those powers and functions accordingly.

(3.) Any reference in any law specified in sub-regulation (1.) of this regulation to any Administrator, authority or officer shall, in relation to anything done or to be done after the commencement of these Regulations, be read as including a reference to the Minister and to any person authorized in pursuance of the last preceding sub-regulation to exercise the powers and functions of the Administrator, authority or officer in relation to which the reference occurs.

Jurisdiction of Supreme Courts vested in Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

22.— (1.) The jurisdiction, powers and functions in and in relation to civil matters vested in or exercisable by the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua and the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea on the eleventh day of February, 1942, are hereby vested in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, in like manner as if the Territories of Papua and New Guinea formed part of the Australian Capital Territory.

(2.) The provisions of the Seat of Government Supreme Court Act 1933-1935 and of the rules of court thereunder shall, so far as applicable, and subject to such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as the Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, by order, determines, apply to that Court in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation.


(3.) In relation to the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation, the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory shall have and may exercise all the powers and functions which the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua and the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea had on the eleventh day of February, 1942, in relation to the jurisdiction of the last-mentioned courts respectively.

‘‘(4.) Any cause, suit, matter or proceeding which is pending in the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua or the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea at the commencement of this regulation, is, by virtue of this regulation, transferred to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory which shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the same.

(5.) In any case where the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua or the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea could alter, vary or supersede any order previously made by it or make some other or further order, the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory shall, by virtue of this regulation, have jurisdiction to alter, vary or supersede that order, or to make some other or further order, as the circumstances of the case and justice require.

(6.) Part VI. of the Seat of Government Supreme Court Act 1933-1935 shall apply in relation to appeals from judgments of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation in like manner as it applies to appeals from judgments of the Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction under that Act.

(7.) The Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory may, in any cause, suit, matter or proceeding before the Court in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation, make such orders or give such directions with regard to the form and manner in which any proceeding or further proceeding in the cause, suit, matter or proceeding shall be taken or continued, or with regard to the service and execution of the process of the Court, as he thinks just.

(8.) Any judgment of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory given or made in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation shall, in the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea, have the force and effect of a judgment of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua or the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea, as the case may be; but within other parts of Australia that judgment shall be deemed to be a judgment of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by the Seat of Government Supreme Court Act 1933-1935.

(9.) Any reference in any law to the Supreme Court of the Territory of Papua or the Supreme Court of the Territory of New Guinea, to a Judge or to the Registrar or any other officer of either of those Courts shall, in relation to anything done or to be done after the commencement of this regulation, be read as including a reference


to the Supreme Court, of the Australian Capital Territory exercising the jurisdiction conferred by this regulation, the Judge of that Court, or the Registrar or other appropriate officer of that Court, as the case requires.

(10.) For the purposes of this regulation the term judgment includes decree, rule and order.

Vesting of certain property.

23.—(1.) All property which was, on the eleventh day of February, 1942, vested in the person holding the office of Public Curator of the Territory of Papua or in the person holding the office of Curator of Intestate Estates of the Territory of New Guinea and which has not, since that date, been lawfully disposed of, shall, subject to these Regulations, be vested in the Minister in the same manner and upon the same trusts and conditions as those in and upon which it was vested in the Public Curator of the Territory of Papua or the Curator of Intestate Estates of the Territory of New Guinea, as the case requires.

(2.) Where a person is authorized by the Minister to exercise the powers and functions of the Public Curator of the Territory of Papua or the Curator of Intestate Estates of the Territory of New Guinea, the Minister may direct that any property vested in the Minister, by virtue of these Regulations, shall be vested in that person and thereupon the property shall vest accordingly.

Suspension of leases, licences, &c.

24.—(1.) Any lease or other interest in, or any licence, permit, right or authority in relation to, any land, or any licence, permit, right or authority in relation to any other matter, granted by the Crown or by the Administration of the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea and in force on the eleventh day of February, 1942, shall, by force of this regulation, be suspended, and be deemed to have been suspended as on and from that date, until a date to be fixed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.

(2.) The power given to the Minister by the last preceding sub-regulation to fix a date for the termination of the suspension shall include power to fix a date for any particular case, or for cases of any particular class, determined according to circumstances.

(3.) During the period of suspension under this regulation of any lease, interest, licence, permit, right or authority, the holder thereof shall have and may exercise the like powers of dealing with it as if it was not suspended but shall not be required to perform any obligations imposed on him in respect of the lease, interest, licence, permit, right or authority.

(4.) Upon the termination of the suspension, the lease, interest, licence, permit, right or authority shall revive and shall continue for a period equivalent to the period of the lease, interest, licence, permit, right or authority which was unexpired at the eleventh day of February, 1942..

Repeal of Schedule.

7. The Schedule to the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations is repealed.

 

By Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.

Overview

The Statutory Rules 1942, No. 349, titled "Regulations under the National Security Act 1939-1940," was enacted by the Governor-General in Council to address administrative and jurisdictional issues arising from the national security context during World War II, particularly concerning the territories of Papua and New Guinea. This legislative instrument amends the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations to enhance the powers of the Minister of Defence and to clarify administrative and judicial arrangements in these territories. The objective was to ensure that the federal government could effectively manage these territories during the war, particularly in the areas of administration, legal jurisdiction, and property management. The Regulations provide for the Minister to exercise powers and functions previously vested in administrators or authorities of Papua and New Guinea, suspend certain leases and licenses, and transfer the jurisdiction of the Supreme Courts of Papua and New Guinea to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. These measures aimed to streamline administrative control and ensure continuity of governance in the face of the war's disruptions.

Scope and Application

The Statutory Rules 1942, No. 349, issued under the National Security Act 1939-1940, amend the National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations. These Regulations apply to officers of the external territories of Papua and New Guinea in relation to their administrative functions, and they are applicable at a national level within the Commonwealth of Australia. The amendments include structural changes to the Regulations by inserting new headings and parts, thus restructuring the document for clarity and ease of reference. Notably, the Regulations empower the Minister to exercise powers and functions previously held by the Administrator or any authority of Papua or New Guinea, and they also transfer the jurisdiction, powers, and functions of the Supreme Courts of Papua and New Guinea to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Additionally, the Regulations vest certain property in the Minister and suspend leases, licenses, and other interests that were in force on 11 February 1942. These provisions reflect the urgent need to consolidate administrative control and legal jurisdiction during a period of national security concern.

Key Provisions

The National Security (Officers of External Territories) Regulations (the "Regulations") are amended to include a new heading and parts, thereby reorganizing the structure of the document. Regulation 1 is modified by omitting the words "Officers of," and a new regulation is inserted to delineate the structure of the Regulations into Parts I (Preliminary), II (Officers), and III (Temporary Administrative Provisions). Additionally, Regulation 15 is amended by omitting sub-regulation (1), with any authority granted under that sub-regulation to continue as if granted under Regulation 21, as amended. A new regulation, Regulation 21, allows the Minister to exercise the powers and functions of the Administrator or any authority of the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea and to delegate these powers to others. Regulation 22 vests the jurisdiction, powers, and functions of the Supreme Courts of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, including the transfer of pending matters and the application of relevant Acts and rules. The Regulations impose several obligations on the parties and entities they govern. Firstly, the Minister is granted extensive powers and functions, which can be exercised directly or delegated to other individuals. This includes the authority to manage property, leases, and other interests vested in the Public Curator of the Territory of Papua or the Curator of Intestate Estates of the Territory of New Guinea. Secondly, the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is mandated to assume the jurisdiction and functions of the Supreme Courts of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea. This involves the transfer of pending matters and the application of relevant Acts and rules. Finally, all leases, licences, permits, rights, and authorities granted by the Crown or the Administration of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea are suspended until a date fixed by the Minister, with the possibility of revival upon termination of the suspension. There are no explicit offences, penalties, or consequences for breach outlined in these Regulations. However, the authority vested in the Minister to exercise powers and functions, and the delegation of these powers, implies that any misuse or improper exercise of these authorities could potentially lead to legal repercussions. Additionally, the vesting of property and the suspension of leases and other interests carry significant implications for the involved parties, and any failure to comply with these provisions could result in legal challenges or other consequences. It is important to note that while specific penalties are not mentioned, the overarching legal framework and any applicable laws would govern the consequences of non-compliance.

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