Works of Defence Act, 1903

The Works of Defence Act, 1903 lets the government restrict how land near military installations - such as forts, naval stations, and air force bases (referred to as "works of defence") - can be used, in order to keep the surrounding area free of buildings and other obstructions that could compromise the site's defence, while compensating the landowners affected. Section 3 requires the government to formally declare and publish notice of any restrictions it intends to impose. Once that notice is published, Section 4 allows officials to carry out preliminary work such as surveys, and Section 5 requires payment for any damage this causes. Section 7 sets out what kinds of restrictions can actually be imposed, and Section 7A extends similar restrictions specifically to land near airfields.

Sections 8 to 17 describe an inquiry process before restrictions take final effect: affected land must be marked out, measured, and registered (Section 8); people with an interest in the land are notified (Section 9) and can be required to formally state their names and interests (Section 10); a government-appointed Collector then holds an inquiry and makes a compensation award (Section 12), which becomes final unless it is referred onward (Section 13).

Part III (Sections 18-28) lets a landowner who disagrees with the Collector's award have the question of compensation referred to a Court instead, with the proceedings held in open court, specific rules on what the Court can and cannot take into account when fixing compensation (Sections 23-24), and a provision requiring the Collector to pay interest if the Court ultimately awards more than the Collector originally offered (Section 28). Part IV covers how compensation is divided when more than one person has an interest in the affected land, and Part V covers how compensation is paid or deposited, including special arrangements for investing money on behalf of minors or people of unsound mind who cannot manage it themselves. Section 40 exempts compensation awards and agreements from stamp duty and copying fees. Section 43 allows an appeal to the High Court against a Court's award.

This is a very old law from 1903, amended repeatedly since (including changes in 1921, 1961, and 1975 shown in the footnotes). The extract does not include the detail of Section 36 ("Penalties"), so specific penalty amounts for breaching restrictions imposed under this Act cannot be confirmed here and should be checked against the current official text.