Section 11 Membership.

(1)

A person commits an offence if he belongs or professes to belong to a proscribed organisation.

(2)

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove—

(a)

that the organisation was not proscribed on the last (or only) occasion on which he became a member or began to profess to be a member, and

(b)

that he has not taken part in the activities of the organisation at any time while it was proscribed.

(3)

A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding F114 years, to a fine or to both, or

(b)

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.

(4)

In subsection (2) “proscribed” means proscribed for the purposes of any of the following—

(a)

this Act;

(b)

the M1Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996;

(c)

the M2Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991;

(d)

the M3Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989;

(e)

the M4Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984;

(f)

the M5Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978;

(g)

the M6Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976;

(h)

the M7Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974;

(i)

the M8Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973.

Annotations

F1: Word in s. 11(3)(a) substituted (29.6.2021) by Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), ss. 26(1)(a), 50(2)(m) (with s. 26(3))