Crimes and Criminal Procedure - 18 USC Section 37

01/19/04

Sec. 37. Violence at international airports

(a) Offense. - A person who unlawfully and intentionally, using
any device, substance, or weapon -

(1) performs an act of violence against a person at an airport
serving international civil aviation that causes or is likely to
cause serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of this
title) or death; or

(2) destroys or seriously damages the facilities of an airport
serving international civil aviation or a civil aircraft not in
service located thereon or disrupts the services of the airport,
if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety at that
airport, or attempts or conspires to do such an act, shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both; and
if the death of any person results from conduct prohibited by this
subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term
of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction. - There is jurisdiction over the prohibited
activity in subsection (a) if -

(1) the prohibited activity takes place in the United States;
or

(2) the prohibited activity takes place outside the United
States and (A) the offender is later found in the United States;
or (B) an offender or a victim is a national of the United States
(as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22))).
(c) Bar to Prosecution. - It is a bar to Federal prosecution
under subsection (a) for conduct that occurred within the United
States that the conduct involved was during or in relation to a
labor dispute, and such conduct is prohibited as a felony under the
law of the State in which it was committed. For purposes of this
section, the term "labor dispute" has the meaning set forth in
section 2(c) (!1) of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, as amended (29
U.S.C. 113(c)), and the term "State" means a State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory,
or possession of the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 60021(c) of Pub. L. 103-322 provided that: "The amendment
made by subsection (a) [enacting this section] shall take effect on
the later of -

"(1) the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 13, 1994]; or

"(2) the date on which the Protocol for the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil
Aviation, Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, done at
Montreal on 23 September 1971, has come into force and the United
States has become a party to the Protocol." [Protocol came into
force and United States became a party to the Protocol Nov. 18,
1994, Treaty Doc. 100-19.]

Last modified: April 12, 2006