UK Offence Report

Circumvention and contravention of prohibitions

article 19 of The Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol (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

19 It is an offence for

a person to intentionally participate in an activity, knowing that the object or effect of the activity is (directly or indirectly)—

a to circumvent any of the prohibitions in articles

4 to 12; or

b to enable or facilitate the contravention of any such prohibition.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 (intentionally, knowing that, 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: intentionally, knowing that.

What would breach article 19?

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. On these words it is an offence to intentionally participate in an activity, knowing that the object or effect of the activity is (directly or indirectly)— a to circumvent any of the prohibitions in articles 4 to 12.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2014, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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
8 October 2014
In force from
16 October 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 Crimea, Sevastopol and Russia by EU Council Decision 2014/386/CFSP of 23 June 2014 (as amended by EU Council Decision 2014/507/CFSP of 30 July 2014) and EU Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP of 31 July 2014 (as amended by EU Council Decision 2014/659/CFSP of 8 September 2014). The sanctions imposed include— a a ban on the import of goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol; b a ban on financing such imports; c a prohibition on certain investment activities in Crimea and Sevastopol and Russia; d a ban on the supply to Crimea and Sevastopol of equipment and technology related to infrastructure development; e the imposition of an arms embargo on Russia; f a ban on the supply of dual-use equipment and technology to Russia; g a ban on the supply of assistance related to military and dual-use goods h a ban on the transfer of oil exploration technologies to Russia; and i a ban on the provision of services for oil exploration to Russia. 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