{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-northern-ireland-order-1996/article-54",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-northern-ireland-order-1996/article-54.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1996/3160",
  "legislation_title": "The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-northern-ireland-order-1996",
  "path": "article/54",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "54",
  "heading": "Sale of knives and certain articles with blade or point to persons under 16",
  "text": "(1) Any person who sells to a person under the age of 18 years an article to which this Article applies shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable\n(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;\n(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years, or to a fine, or to both.\n(2) Subject to paragraph (3), this Article applies to—\n(a) any knife, knife blade or razor blade,\n(b) any axe, and\n(c) any other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person.\n(3) This Article does not apply to any article described in—\n(a) Article 53,\n(b) an order made under section 141(2) of the 1988 c. 33. Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons), or\n(c) an order made by the Secretary of State under this Article.\n(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged under paragraph (1) to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Word in art. 54(1) substituted (1.10.2007) by Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38), ss. 51, 66(2), Sch. 2 para. 10; S.I. 2007/2180, art. 4(c)(d)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in art. 54(1) substituted (16.7.2008) by Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1216 (N.I. 1)), arts. 1(4), 90(7); S.R. 2008/293, art. 2, Sch."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "word inserted",
      "affecting": "ukpga/2019/17",
      "affecting_title": "Offensive Weapons Act 2019"
    },
    {
      "type": "omitted",
      "affecting": "ukpga/2019/17",
      "affecting_title": "Offensive Weapons Act 2019"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukpga/2019/17",
      "affecting_title": "Offensive Weapons Act 2019"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1996/3160/article/54",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:41:32.090681+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."
}