UK Offence Report

Providing assistance related to restricted goods

article 8(1) of The Central African Republic (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2014 (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 It is an offence for a person to knowingly provide (directly or indirectly) assistance relating to the sale, supply, transfer or export of restricted goods — a to a designated person, b to any person in the Central African Republic, or c for use in the Central African Republic.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 8(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 Central African Republic (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2014 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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
6 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
6 months

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
27 May 2014
In force from
24 June 2014
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 gives effect in specified Overseas Territories to sanctions imposed on the Central African Republic by United Nations Security Council resolutions 2127 (2013) of 5th December 2013 and 2134 (2014) of 28th January 2014. The Order also reflects the implementation of these sanctions by the European Union in Council Decisions 2013/798/CFSP and 2014/125/CFSP. The sanctions imposed include an arms embargo and a prohibition on the supply of related assistance to the Central African Republic, including the supply of armed mercenary personnel, and an asset freeze against persons designated by the United Nations Security Council as: a engaging in or providing support for acts that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic, or that fuel violence; b acting in violation of the arms embargo established in paragraph 54 of resolution 2127 (2013); c being involved in planning, directing, or committing acts that violate international human rights law or international humanitarian law, as applicable, or that constitute human rights abuses or violations, including acts involving sexual violence; d recruiting or using children in armed conflict in the Central African Republic, in violation of applicable international law; e providing support for armed groups or criminal networks through the illicit exploitation of natural resources, including diamonds and wildlife and wildlife products, in the Central African Republic; f obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Central African Republic; g being involved in planning, directing, sponsoring, or conducting attacks against UN missions or other international security presences; h being leaders of, having provided support to, or having acted for or on behalf of or at the direction of, an entity designated by the Security Council Sanctions Committee; i acting on behalf of or at the direction of persons, entities or bodies listed in points (a) to (h), or entities owned or controlled by them. The Order makes provision for the Governor to license certain activities in line with exemptions under the sanctions regime.

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