The Act Offences Section 40 - Defences: action taken in an emergency
56.Section 40 provides that, if a person undertakes a licensable activity without a licence but does so for the purpose of securing the safety of a vessel, aircraft or structure, or for the purpose of saving life, they have a defence against any charge brought against them. However, this is dependent on the person informing the Scottish Ministers within a reasonable timeframe of the matters listed in section 40(2), on the steps taken being reasonable, and on it not being the fault of the person that the emergency occurred.