Official Secrets Act 1989
E98629
The Official Secrets Act 1989 is a UK law that criminalizes the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive government and security information by officials, journalists, and others.
Aliases (2)
Statements (66)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
→
United Kingdom statute → |
| administeredBy |
UK government
→
|
| amends |
Official Secrets Act 1911
→
|
| appliesTo |
Crown servants
→
government contractors → members of the security and intelligence services → other persons receiving official information in confidence → |
| appliesToInformation |
defence information
→
information useful to criminals or terrorists → international relations information → security and intelligence information → |
| canAffect |
civil servants
→
journalists → members of the armed forces → |
| citation |
1989 c. 6
→
|
| commencementDate |
1989-08-01
→
|
| country |
United Kingdom
→
|
| criminalizes |
unauthorized disclosure of official information
→
|
| definesOffence |
disclosure relating to crime and special investigation powers
→
disclosure relating to defence → disclosure relating to international relations → disclosure relating to security or intelligence → further disclosure of protected information → unauthorized disclosure by government contractors → |
| jurisdiction |
United Kingdom
→
|
| languageOfText |
English
→
|
| legalArea |
constitutional law
→
criminal law → |
| maximumPenaltyOnIndictment |
2 years imprisonment
→
fine → |
| parliament |
Parliament of the United Kingdom
NERFINISHED
→
|
| purpose |
to protect sensitive official information from unauthorized disclosure
→
|
| region |
England and Wales
→
Northern Ireland → Scotland → |
| relatedLegislation |
Official Secrets Act 1911
NERFINISHED
→
Official Secrets Act 1920 NERFINISHED → Official Secrets Act 1939 NERFINISHED → |
| removesDefence |
public interest defence
→
|
| repealed |
false
→
|
| replaced |
Official Secrets Act 1911 section 2
→
|
| replacesMensReaStandardOf |
Official Secrets Act 1911 section 2
NERFINISHED
→
|
| royalAssentDate |
1989-05-11
→
|
| section |
section 1
→
section 10 → section 11 → section 12 → section 13 → section 14 → section 15 → section 16 → section 2 → section 3 → section 4 → section 5 → section 6 → section 7 → section 8 → section 9 → |
| shortTitle |
Official Secrets Act 1989
→
|
| subjectMatter |
government information
→
national security → official secrets → state security → |
| yearEnacted |
1989
→
|
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston
("Official Secrets Act (United Kingdom)")
→
British press → |
subjectTo |
|
British intelligence
→
|
legalFramework |
|
Official Secrets Act 1989
("Official Secrets Act 1911 section 2")
→
|
replaced |
|
Official Secrets Act 1989
→
|
shortTitle |