§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether under the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, a vessel which is reasonably suspected of carrying illicitly obtained nuclear material may be arrested by a signatory state's authorities in that state's territorial sea, contiguous zone, or exclusive economic zone, or on the High Seas.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Lord Carrington)The 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material will not come into force until it has been ratified by 21 states (Article 19). The convention deals with the creation of offences (Article 7) and with jurisdiction to try them (Article 8); it does not contain provisions relating to enforcement, for example, by arresting vessels. Such questions of enforcement are matters for the national law of each state party. On ratification we shall need to ensure that our law is in accordance with the requirements of Articles 7 and 8 as well as certain other provisions in the convention such as those relating to extradition.