UK Offence Report

Provisions supplementary to articles 12 to 14

article 15(3) of The Liberia (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2004

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 12(2)(a); 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 12, 13 or 14 by any person empowered to make it, or ii furnishes any document or information which to his knowledge is false in a material particular, or recklessly furnishes any document or information which is false in a material particular, to such a person in response to such a request; 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 of 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 12, 13 or 14.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 12, 13 or 14 by any person empowered to make it, or ii furnishes any document or information which to his knowledge is false in a material particular, or recklessly furni

What would breach article 15(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 Liberia (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2004.
  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
11 February 2004
In force from
13 February 2004
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 applies to each of the territories specified in Schedule 1. It gives effect to Resolution 1521, adopted by the Security Council of the United Nations on 22nd December 2003, which prohibits the delivery or supply of arms and related matériel, the provision of assistance, advice and training related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance or use of arms and related matériel, and bans the import of diamonds and round logs or timber products from Liberia, and to a Common Position adopted by the Council of the European Union on 10th February 2004 which adopted the measures in Resolution 1521 and applied additional related measures to Liberia. It replaces The Liberia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/ 946), and The Liberia (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) (No. 2) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/1867 as amended by S.I. 2003/1876), which ceased to have effect by virtue of the cancellation of the relevant parts of United Nations Security Council resolution 1343 of 7th March 2001 and resolution 1478 of 6th May 2003.

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