THE scope of the country’s emergency powers under the state of emergency (SoE) has been widened to include tougher controls on weapons and banned prison items, following the signing of the Emergency Powers (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations, 2025 by President Christine Kangaloo on August 7.

The changes replace the previous focus on firearms with a broader range of prohibited items, introduce new legal definitions, and specifically target the smuggling of contraband into prisons.

The key changes adopts official definitions for “prison” and “prisoner” from the Prisons Act, “weapon” from the Anti-Terrorism Act, and “prohibited article” from the Prisons Act.