Exportation of restricted goods to Somalia

Q: Is article 4 of The Somalia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2002 a strict liability offence?

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

article 4 of The Somalia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2002

Revoked
Requires proof of a state of mind
Either way
International sanctions, export control and trade restrictions

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

4 Any person who, except under the authority of
a licence granted by the Governor under this article, knowingly exports any restricted goods from the Territory to any destination in Somalia or to any destination for the purpose of delivery, directly or indirectly, to or to the order of any person in Somalia, shall be guilty of an offence under 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 person
Conduct: importing or exporting without authority
Fault element: Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly.

What would breach article 4?

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.

Moving the goods across the border under the Somalia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2002 without the licence the instrument requires.
Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
Sending goods in transit through the United Kingdom, where the provision catches transit as well as import and export.

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.

Sentencing organisations: fines and the means of a corporate defendant All courts in England and Wales
How a fine on a company is arrived at from its turnover. Relevant far beyond the guidelines that state it, because a very large share of the offences in this corpus can only be committed by an organisation.
Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2014
Covers fraud, false accounting, bribery and money laundering, including offences committed by organisations.
Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: Revoked
Revoked by: The Somalia (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2012 (revoked)
Revoked on: 9 January 2013
Made: 22 October 2002
In force from: 24 October 2002
Extent: Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

This Order, made under the United Nations Act 1946, applies to each of the territories specified in Schedule 1. It prohibits the direct or indirect supply to Somalia of technical advice, financial and other assistance, and training related to military activities, pursuant to a decision of the Security Council of the United Nations in Resolution 1425 of 22nd July 2002. The opportunity has been taken to include in this Order the provisions of the United Nations Arms Embargoes (Dependant Territories) Order 1995 in so far as that Order relates to the arms embargo imposed on Somalia pursuant to decisions of the Security Council of the United Nations in Resolution Nos. 733 of 23rd January 1992 and 1356 of 19th June 2001.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Provisions supplementary to articles 10 to 12article 13(3)
Supply of restricted goodsarticle 3(1)
Provision of technical advice, assistance or training relating to military activitiesarticle 5
Use of ships, aircraft and vehicles: restricted goodsarticle 6(3)
Customs powers to demand evidence of destination which goods reacharticle 7
Any person who has done any act under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor under this Order…article 8
If for the purpose of obtaining any licence under this Order any person makes any statement or furnishes any…article 8(1)
Any person who has done any act under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor under this Order…article 8(2)
Declaration as to goods: powers of searcharticle 9(2)
Declaration as to goods: powers of searcharticle 9(3)
Any person who— a without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails within the time and in the manner specified…paragraph 5 of SCHEDULE 3

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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Somalia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2002 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
International sanctions, export control and trade restrictionsOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2002