Explosive Substances Act 1883

The Explosive Substances Act 1883 (c. 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use (or conspire or intend to use) any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes place. A person guilty of an offence under this law is liable to life imprisonment.

Under the Act, it is also an offence, subject to imprisonment for two years, to possess explosives under suspicious circumstances.

Anyone who helps someone to commit a crime under this law by providing money, materials, premises, or any other assistance is tried and punished as severely as the person who actually uses the explosives.

Witnesses who are called during the official investigation or the trial can be arrested to prevent them from absconding and do not have the right of silence to protect themselves from self-incrimination. On the other hand, self-incriminating evidence from a witness cannot be used in a different criminal or civil proceeding.

It is obvious that any instance of terrorism involving any kind of bomb is necessarily a crime under Explosive Substances Act 1883 (as well as being a crime under the law against attempted murder). In fact, for many decades the Explosive Substances Act was the basis for the prosecution of terrorist cases, such as S-Plan in 1939, the Birmingham Six in 1975, Tony Lecomber in 1985, and the Talbot Street bomb-making haul in 2006.

Since 2000, there has been a series of special terrorism laws which appear to supersede the Explosive Substances Act in that they can also be used to investigate and prosecute those who misuse explosives to endanger life and property for illegitimate purposes (usually to further their own political causes).

The terrorism acts have been applied in the cases such as the 2004 Financial buildings plot and 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in which the intent to misuse explosives is alleged. However, since no actual explosive substances have been found, the Explosive Substances Act cannot be made to apply.

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