{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/cluster-munitions-prohibitions-act-2010/section-7",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/cluster-munitions-prohibitions-act-2010/section-7.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2010/11",
  "legislation_title": "Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/cluster-munitions-prohibitions-act-2010",
  "path": "section/7",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "7",
  "heading": "Defences relating to state of mind of defendant etc.",
  "text": "(1) It is a defence for a person (P) charged with an offence under section 2(1)(a) or (c) to (g) to show that, at the time of the conduct constituting the offence, P neither knew nor suspected, nor had reason to suspect, that the object in question was a prohibited munition.\n(2) It is a defence for a person (P) charged with an offence under section 2(1)(e) to show that, having come to know or suspect while the object in question was in P's possession that it was a prohibited munition, P took all reasonable steps, as soon as reasonably practicable after P first had that knowledge or suspicion, to inform the Secretary of State, or a constable or member of a service police force, of P's knowledge or suspicion.\n(3) It is a defence for a person (P) charged with an offence under section 2(1)(e) to show that P did not have any knowledge or suspicion that the object in question was a prohibited munition, nor any reason for such a suspicion, until P became aware of the Secretary of State's exercise in the case of that object of a power conferred on the Secretary of State by this Act.\n(4) It is a defence for a person (P) charged with an offence under section 2(2) to show that, at the time of the assistance, encouragement or inducement, P neither knew nor suspected, nor had reason to suspect, that the conduct assisted, encouraged or induced related, or might relate, to a prohibited munition.\n(5) In subsection (2), “service police force” means—\n(a) the Royal Navy Police,\n(b) the Royal Military Police, or\n(c) the Royal Air Force Police.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/11/section/7",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:10:11.160553+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}