UK Offence Report

Provisions supplementary to articles 11 to 13

article 14(3) of The Eritrea and Ethiopia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2000

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

3 Each of the following persons shall be guilty of an offence under this Order, that is to say— a a master of a ship who disobeys any direction given under article 11(2)(a) of this Order: b a master of a ship or a charterer or an operator or a commander of an aircraft or an operator or a driver of a vehicle who— i without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails within a reasonable time to comply with any request made under article 11, 12 or 13 of this Order by any person empowered to make it, or ii in response to such a request, furnishes any information or produces any document which to his knowledge is false in a material particular, or recklessly furnishes any information or produces any document which is false in a material particular, to such a person; c a master or a member of a crew of a ship or a charterer or an operator or a commander or a member of a crew on an aircraft or an operator or a driver of a vehicle who wilfully obstructs any such person (or any person acting under the authority of any such person) in the exercise of his powers under article 11, 12 or 13 of this Order.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a master
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (recklessly, wilfully).

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully, recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

an aircraft or an operator or a driver of a vehicle who— i without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails within a reasonable time to comply with any request made under article 11, 12 or 13 of this Order by any person empowered to make it, or ii in response to such a request, furnishes any information or produces any document which to his knowle

What would breach article 14(3)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Eritrea and Ethiopia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2000.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
6 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
14 June 2000
In force from
16 June 2000
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order, made under the United Nations Act 1946, applies to each of the territories specified in Schedule 3. It imposes restrictions, pursuant to a decision of the Security Council of the United Nations in its resolution 1298 of 17th May 2000, on the delivery and supply of arms and related matériel, and on the provision of related technical assistance and training, to Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source