UK Offence Report

Providing or carrying restricted goods

article 7(1) of The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2015 (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 sell, supply, transfer or export (directly or indirectly) restricted goods—

a to any non-governmental person in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or

b for use by any non-governmental person in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
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 7(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. Selling the goods under the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2015 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

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
10 June 2015
In force from
8 July 2015
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 Democratic Republic of the Congo by the United Nations Security Council, most recently renewed by resolution 2198 (2015) of 29th January 2015. This Order also reflects the implementation of these sanctions by the European Union in Council Decision 2010/788/CFSP adopted on 20th December 2010 and Council Regulation 1183/2005 adopted on 18th July 2005, as amended by Council Decision 2015/620/CFSP and Council Regulation 2015/613, both adopted on 20th April 2015. This Order revokes and replaces the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2012, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2005, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2005 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2003. The sanctions comprise an arms embargo against non-governmental persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an asset freeze and travel ban against persons designated by the United Nations Sanctions Committee as engaging in, or providing support for, acts that threaten the peace, stability or security of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This 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