Emergency Powers Ordinance 2026

1. Short title and commencement

This Ordinance may be cited as the Emergency Powers Ordinance 2026 and comes into force on the day appointed by notice in the Gazette.

2. Interpretation

In this Ordinance:

"the Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Coral Island Police Service;

"curfew order" means an order made under section 7;

"emergency" means a storm, earthquake, fire, flood, epidemic, serious threat to public safety, or armed threat to the security of Coral Island, that cannot be dealt with effectively under the ordinary law;

"emergency regulations" means regulations made under section 5;

"evacuation order" means an order made under section 8;

"island waters" has the meaning given by section 2 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026;

"the standard scale" means the standard scale of fines in section 14 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026;

"state of emergency" means a state of emergency proclaimed under section 3 while it is in force.

3. Proclamation of a state of emergency

(1) Where the President is satisfied that an emergency exists or is imminent, the President may by proclamation declare a state of emergency in the whole of Coral Island and island waters, or in a stated part.

(2) The proclamation states the nature of the emergency and the area to which it applies. It is published in the Gazette and takes effect on publication.

(3) The President may revoke a proclamation, or reduce the area to which it applies, at any time by a further proclamation.

4. Duration and extension

(1) A state of emergency ends 14 days after it takes effect, unless it is revoked sooner or extended.

(2) The Island Assembly may by resolution extend a state of emergency for up to 30 days at a time. Until the first Island Assembly is elected, the Transitional Council may do so under Article 17 of the Constitution.

(3) Every resolution extending a state of emergency is published in the Gazette.

5. Emergency regulations

(1) During a state of emergency the President may make such regulations as are reasonably necessary to deal with the emergency, including regulations about:
(a) the movement of people, vehicles, vessels and aircraft;
(b) the closure of places;
(c) curfews and evacuation;
(d) the requisition of property; and
(e) the supply and distribution of essential supplies.

(2) Emergency regulations are published as legal notices and take effect on publication.

(3) Emergency regulations lapse when the state of emergency ends, or sooner if they say so. Their lapse does not affect anything done under them, or proceedings for an offence committed while they were in force.

6. Limits on emergency regulations

(1) Emergency regulations may not:
(a) amend the Constitution or this Ordinance;
(b) create an offence punishable by more than a fine at level 6 on the standard scale or imprisonment for 3 months;
(c) authorise detention without charge beyond the limits in section 12 of the Courts and Criminal Procedure Ordinance 2026;
(d) impose or alter any sentence, or provide for a sentence of death;
(e) suspend the courts; or
(f) prevent a person consulting a legal practitioner.

(2) Every emergency regulation and order must go no further than is reasonably necessary to deal with the emergency, and must be revoked as soon as it is no longer needed.

7. Curfew orders

(1) During a state of emergency the Commissioner, with the approval of the President, may by order require everyone in a stated area to stay indoors between stated times.

(2) A curfew order lasts no more than 24 hours. It may be renewed with the President's approval for further periods of up to 24 hours while the state of emergency continues.

(3) A curfew order does not apply to members of the emergency services and public officers on duty, or to people going to a shelter, seeking medical help or escaping danger.

(4) A curfew order is published on the Government's alerts page and by any other means available, and takes effect at the time it states, which may not be earlier than its publication.

8. Evacuation orders

(1) The Commissioner, or the Office of Disaster Management with the Commissioner's agreement, may by order require everyone in a stated area to leave it, and not to return until the order is lifted.

(2) Outside a state of emergency an evacuation order may be made only where there is an immediate threat to life, and lasts no more than 24 hours.

(3) An evacuation order is published in the same way as a curfew order, and officers may also give it orally in the area.

(4) A police officer may remove from the area a person who does not leave when required, using only reasonable force.

9. Requisition and compensation

(1) During a state of emergency, where emergency regulations so provide, a police officer or another public officer authorised by the President may requisition any vehicle, vessel, building or supplies reasonably needed to deal with the emergency, and gives the owner a written receipt.

(2) The owner is paid fair compensation by the Treasury for the use of the property and for any loss of or damage to it. Claims are made to the Treasury within 90 days after the property is returned.

(3) Any dispute about compensation may be decided by the Island Court.

10. The Office of Disaster Management

The Office of Disaster Management, in the Ministry of Health and Public Safety:
(a) prepares and keeps under review plans for emergencies;
(b) issues public alerts, on the alerts page and by other means;
(c) coordinates the response of the Government's services to an emergency; and
(d) advises the President on whether to proclaim or end a state of emergency.

11. Border lockdown

Nothing in this Ordinance affects the border status, or any lockdown of the airspace and waters, set under section 5 of the Border Security and Airspace Ordinance 2026, which may be set whether or not a state of emergency is in force.

12. Offences

(1) A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes a curfew order or an evacuation order commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for 3 months, or to both.

(2) A person who contravenes emergency regulations commits an offence and is liable to the same penalty, unless the regulations provide a different penalty within the limits in section 6.

13. Review and report

(1) Any person affected may challenge a proclamation, emergency regulation or order made under this Ordinance in the Island Court, which may set it aside in whole or in part if it was not made in accordance with this Ordinance or goes further than is reasonably necessary.

(2) Within 30 days after a state of emergency ends, the President reports to the Island Assembly, or until the first Island Assembly is elected to the Transitional Council, on the emergency, the use made of the powers in this Ordinance and any compensation paid. The report is published.