UK Offence Report

Investigation of suspected ships, aircraft or vehicles

article 21(6) of The Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2012 (revoked)

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

6 It is an offence for

a relevant person to—

a fail without reasonable excuse to comply with

a requirement under paragraph (1)(c), (d) or (e),

b knowingly or recklessly provide information or

a document which is false in

a material particular in response to

a requirement under paragraph (1)(c), or

c otherwise intentionally obstruct an authorised officer, or

a person acting under the officer’s authority, in the exercise of any power conferred by this article.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 (intentionally, knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

“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: knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

6 It is an offence for a relevant person to— a fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement under paragraph (1)(c), (d) or (e), b knowingly or recklessly provide information or a document which is false in a material particular in response to a requirement under paragraph (1)(c), or c otherwise intentionally obstruct an

What would breach article 21(6)?

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 Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2012.
  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
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
12 December 2012
In force from
9 January 2013
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 amends the Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2012 (“the principal Order”). The principal Order gives effect in specified Overseas Territories to sanctions in respect of Syria adopted by the European Union in Council Decision 2011/782/CFSP adopted on 1st December 2011 (“the Council Decision”) and EU Council Regulation No 36/2012 adopted on 18th January 2012 (“the Council Regulation”), as amended. This Order amends the principal Order to give effect to changes to the sanctions measures adopted by the European Union in Council Decision 2012/420/CFSP adopted on 23rd July 2012 and in Council Decision 2012/634/CFSP adopted on 15th October 2012. The changes to which this Order gives effect are a seizure and disposal measure in relation to items which might be used for internal repression or for the manufacture and maintenance of products which could be used for internal repression as listed in Annexes I and Ia to the Council Regulation, new exemptions to the asset freeze and a prohibition on the purchase, import and transport of arms from, or originating in, Syria. The opportunity has also been taken to update, and make minor corrections to, the drafting of the principal Order.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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