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The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 in Scotland

S.I. 1988/2019 · Made 17 November 1988 · Extends to United Kingdom

Not fully up to date. 1 change made by later legislation has not yet been written into this text, which is revised to 16 July 2026.

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ProvisionChangeMade by
Sch. para. 1(s)insertedOffensive Weapons Act 2019 s. 47(2)

CRIMINAL LAW, ENGLAND AND WALES

CRIMINAL LAW, NORTHERN IRELAND

CRIMINAL LAW, SCOTLAND

Made 17th November 1988

Coming into force 18th January 1989

In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by section 141(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 M1, a draft of this instrument having been laid before Parliament and having been approved by each House of Parliament, I hereby make the following Order:

Annotations to the whole text

Textual amendments

F1

Order revoked (S.) (29.9.2005) by The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005 (S.S.I. 2005/483), art. 3

Marginal citations

M1

1988 c. 33.

Contents

  1. 1Article 1
  2. 2Article 2
  3. Signature
  4. Schedule
  5. 1Paragraph 1
  6. 2Paragraph 2
  7. 5BParagraph 5B
  8. Explanatory note

1I1F1

This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 and shall come into force two months after the day on which it is made.

2I1F1

The Schedule to this Order shall have effect.

Signature

F1Douglas Hurd

One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State

Home Office

1I1F1

Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons) shall apply to the following descriptions of weapons, other than weapons of those descriptions which are antiques for the purposes of this Schedule:

(a)

a knuckleduster, that is, a band of metal or other hard material worn on one or more fingers, and designed to cause injury, and any weapon incorporating a knuckleduster;

(b)

a swordstick, that is, a hollow walking-stick or cane containing a blade which may be used as a sword;

(c)

the weapon sometimes known as a “handclaw”, being a band of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn around the hand;

(d)

the weapon sometimes known as a “belt buckle knife”, being a buckle which incorporates or conceals a knife;

(e)

the weapon sometimes known as a “push dagger”, being a knife the handle of which fits within a clenched fist and the blade of which protrudes from between two fingers;

(f)

the weapon sometimes known as a “hollow kubotan”, being a cylindrical container containing a number of sharp spikes;

(g)

the weapon sometimes known as a “footclaw”, being a bar of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn strapped to the foot;

(h)

the weapon sometimes known as a “shuriken”, “shaken” or “death star”, being a hard non-flexible plate having three or more sharp radiating points and designed to be thrown;

(i)

the weapon sometimes known as a “balisong” or “butterfly knife”, being a blade enclosed by its handle, which is designed to split down the middle, without the operation of a spring or other mechanical means, to reveal the blade;

(j)

the weapon sometimes known as a “telescopic truncheon”, being a truncheon which extends automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to its handle;

(k)

the weapon sometimes known as a “blowpipe” or “blow gun”, being a hollow tube out of which hard pellets or darts are shot by the use of breath;

(l)

the weapon sometimes known as a “kusari gama”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle;

(m)

the weapon sometimes known as a “kyoketsu shoge”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hooked knife;

(n)

the weapon sometimes known as a “manrikigusari” or “kusari”, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip;

(F2o)

a disguised knife, that is any knife which has a concealed blade or concealed sharp point and is designed to appear to be an everyday object of a kind commonly carried on the person or in a handbag, briefcase, or other hand luggage (such as a comb, brush, writing instrument, cigarette lighter, key, lipstick or telephone);

(F3p)

a stealth knife, that is a knife or spike, which has a blade, or sharp point, made from a material that is not readily detectable by apparatus used for detecting metal and which is not designed for domestic use or for use in the processing, preparation or consumption of food or as a toy;

(q)

a straight, side-handled or friction-lock truncheon (sometimes known as a baton);

(F4r)

a sword with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, the length of the blade shall be the straight line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade;

(F5s)

the weapon sometimes known as a “zombie knife”, “zombie killer knife” or “zombie slayer knife”, being a blade with—

(i)

a cutting edge;

(ii)

a serrated edge; and

(iii)

images or words (whether on the blade or handle) that suggest that it is to be used for the purpose of violence.

(F6sa)

the weapon sometimes known as a “zombie-style knife” or “zombie-style machete”, being a bladed article with—

(i)

a plain cutting edge;

(ii)

a sharp pointed end; and

(iii)

a blade of over 8 inches in length (the length of the blade being the straight-line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade),

which also has one or more of the features specified in paragraph 1A and which is not a weapon that falls under paragraph 1(s);

(F7t)

the weapon sometimes known as a “cyclone knife” or “spiral knife” being a weapon with—

(i)

a handle,

(ii)

a blade with two or more cutting edges, each of which forms a helix, and

(iii)

a sharp point at the end of the blade.

(F8u)

the weapon sometimes known as a “ninja sword”, being a sword with—

(i)

a blade whose length is at least 14 inches, but no more than 24 inches (the length of the blade being the straight-line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade),

(ii)

a primary straight cutting edge,

(iii)

a secondary straight cutting edge,

(iv)

a blunt spine, and

(v)

either a tanto style point or a reversed tanto style point.

2I1F1

For the purposes of this Schedule, a weapon is an antique if it was manufactured more than 100 years before the date of any offence alleged to have been committed in respect of that weapon under subsection (1) F2or (1A) of the said section 141 or section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 M1(improper importation).

5BF1F2

(1)

Sub-paragraph (2) applies to—

(a)

a person charged with an offence under section 141(1) or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect of any conduct of the person relating to a curved sword F3, zombie-style knife or zombie-style machete, and

(b)

a person charged with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 in respect of any conduct of the person relating to a curved sword , zombie-style knife or zombie-style machete.

(2)

It is a defence for the person to show that the person's conduct was for the purpose only of making the sword F4, knife or machete available for presentation by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.

(3)

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of giving a curved sword , zombie-style knife or zombie-style machete to another person to show that the person's conduct consisted of the presentation of the sword , knife or machete by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.

(4)

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of possession of a curved sword , zombie-style knife or zombie-style machete in private to show that—

(a)

the person was a Sikh at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed and possessed the sword , knife or machete for the purpose only of presenting it to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event, or

(b)

the sword , knife or machete was presented to the person by a Sikh at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.

(5)

In this paragraph—

  • “curved sword” means a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r);

  • F5“zombie-style knife or zombie-style machete” means a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(sa);

  • “Sikh” means a follower of the Sikh religion.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that any person who manufactures, sells or hires or offers for sale or hire, exposes or has in his possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or lends or gives to any other person, a weapon to which that section applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both. The importation of any such weapon is prohibited.

There are defences under the section in respect of weapons which are made available to a museum or gallery or used for cultural, artistic or educational purposes if lent or hired from a museum or gallery, and in respect of weapons used for the purposes of the Crown or of a visiting force as defined in subsection (6) of that section.

This Order specifies descriptions of weapons to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies. Antique weapons, which are defined as weapons over 100 years old at the time of an alleged offence, are excluded.

By virtue of article 1 the Order comes into force two months after it is made.