UK Offence Report

Offences related to equipment and goods and technology listed in Annex I or IX or in the Common Military…

article 6(1) of The Export Control (Syria Sanctions) Order 2013 (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

1 A person who is knowingly concerned in an activity, other than the export of goods, prohibited by any of the following Articles of the Syria Regulation with intent to evade

a prohibition in those Articles commits an offence and may be arrested—

a Article 2a(1)(a) (prohibition on sale etc. of equipment, goods or technology which might be used for internal repression as listed in Annex IA, whether or not originating in the Union to any person, entity or body in Syria, or for use in Syria);

b Article 3(1)(a) (prohibition on provision of technical assistance or brokering services related to equipment goods or technology which might be used for internal repression as listed in Annex IA to any person, entity or body in Syria, or for use in Syria);

c Article 3(1)(b) (prohibition on provision of financing or financial assistance related to goods and technology listed in Annex IA to any person, entity or body in Syria, or for use in Syria);

d Article 3a (prohibition on provision of financing or financial assistance, brokering services, etc. relating to the goods and technology listed in the Common Military List of the European Union for any purchase, import or transport of such items if they originate in Syria, or are being exported from Syria to any other country).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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, with intent to).

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, with intent to.

What would breach article 6(1)?

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. Moving the goods across the border under the Export Control (Syria Sanctions) Order 2013 without the licence the instrument requires.
  2. Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
  3. Sending goods in transit through the United Kingdom, where the provision catches transit as well as import and export.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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 August 2013
In force from
6 September 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 makes provision for certain trade restrictions against Syria and certain Syrian persons. The prohibitions apply to any person in the United Kingdom and United Kingdom persons, as defined in section 11 of the Export Control Act 2002(c. 28), wherever they are in the world. The measures include prohibitions on the export, transfer or the provision of brokering services to Syria or to Syrian persons in relation to equipment or technology which might be used for internal repression as listed in Schedule 2 to the Order. In addition, this Order makes provision for the enforcement of certain new trade sanctions against Syria specified in Council Regulation (EU) No 867/2012 (OJ No L 257, 25.9.2012, p1), Council Regulation (EU) No 325/2013 (OJ No L 102, 11.4.2013, p 1) and Council Regulation (EU) No 697/2013 (OJ No L 198, 23.7.2013, p 28) all of which amend Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (“the Amended Syria Regulation”). It does so by consolidating in one single instrument the enforcement of all current trade restrictions against Syria including those previously covered by the Export Control (Syria Sanctions) and (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/810) as amended by S.I. (S.I. 2012/2125) (the “Syria Order”), which this Order revokes and replaces. The new measures against Syria include prohibitions on the provision of financing or financial assistance, brokering services, etc. relating to the goods and technology in the Common Military List of the European Union for any purchase, import or transport of such items if they originate in Syria, or are being exported from Syria to any other country. Article 2 and Schedule 1 to the Order revoke the Syria Order as well the relevant articles amending that Order in S.I. 2012/2125. In addition, the Order revokes article 8 of S.I. 2011/1304 which designated Syria as an “embargoed destination” for the purposes of the application of stricter trade controls under the Export Control Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/3231). Articles 4 and 5 prohibit the export, transfer or the provision of brokering services to any Syrian person, or for use in Syria, unless authorised by a UK licence. Articles 6 to 14 create offences in relation to the trade restrictions of the Amended Syria Regulation. There are already offences relating to the exportation and importation of prohibited goods, technology, etc. in sections 50, 68 and 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (“the 1979 Act”) (1979 c. 2). Articles 16 sets out the penalties relating to the offences in the Order and makes some consequential modifications to the 1979 Act to ensure that the offences covered by that Act are subject to the same penalties as those in the Order. Article 17 provides for the ancillary provisions which apply to the enforcement of customs and excise legislation to also apply to the enforcement of this Order. Article 18 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the Order and publish a report within five years after this article comes into force and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Order should remain as it is, or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Order or to amend it. A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no or minimal impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies. A copy of the Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside the Order on www.legislation.gov.uk. Further information is available from the Export Control Organisation, BIS, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET and on the gov.uk website (www.gov.uk).

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 “commits 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