Amendment of the Export Control (Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions) Order 2014

Q: Is article 2(6) of The Export Control (Various Amendments) Order 2015 (revoked) a strict liability offence?

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).

article 2(6) of The Export Control (Various Amendments) Order 2015 (revoked)

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
International sanctions, export control and trade restrictions

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

Offences related to infrastructure in certain sectors 8A Unless authorised by an EU authorisation,
a person who is knowingly concerned in an activity prohibited by Article 2c(1) of the Crimea and Sevastopol Regulation (prohibition on the provision of technical assistance, or brokering, construction or engineering services directly relating to infrastructure in Crimea or Sevastopol in the sectors referred to in Article 2b(1) as defined on the basis of Annex II) with intent to evade the prohibition in that Article commits an offence and may be arrested.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 2(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.

Moving the goods across the border under the Export Control (Various Amendments) Order 2015 without the licence the instrument requires.
Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
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 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.

Sentencing organisations: fines and the means of a corporate defendant All courts in England and Wales
How a fine on a company is arrived at from its turnover. Relevant far beyond the guidelines that state it, because a very large share of the offences in this corpus can only be committed by an organisation.
Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2014
Covers fraud, false accounting, bribery and money laundering, including offences committed by organisations.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 29 January 2015
In force from: 24 February 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 Order makes provision for the enforcement of amended trade restrictions against Russia specified in Council Regulation (EU) No 1290/2014 (OJ No L 349, 5.12.2014, p20) which amends Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine (OJ No L 229, 31.7.2014, p1) (the “Russia Sanctions Regulation”). The Order also provides for the enforcement of new trade and investment restrictions in Crimea and Sevastopol specified in Council Regulation (EU) No 1351/2014 (OJ No L 365, 19.12.2014, p46) which amends Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014 concerning restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol (OJ No L 183, 24.6.2014, p9) (the “Crimea and Sevastopol Regulation”). The Order also makes provision for the enforcement of new trade restrictions against Syria related to jet fuel and fuel additives specified in Council Regulation (EU) No 1323/2014 (OJ No L 358, 13.12.2014, p1) which amends Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ No L 16, 19.1.2012, p1) (the “Syria Sanctions Regulation”). The Order amends the Export Control (Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/2357) (the “Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions Order”) which makes provision for the enforcement of all current trade restrictions against Russia and those in view of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. The Order also amends the Export Control (Syria Sanctions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2012) (the “Syria Sanctions Order”), which makes provision for the enforcement of all current trade restrictions against Syria. The measures against Russia that have been amended relate to: (i) the sale etc. of items listed in Annex II of the Russia Sanctions Regulation and related technical assistance, brokering services and financial assistance; and (ii) the provision of certain associated services for certain types of oil exploration and production. Article 2 of the Order amends the Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions Order to create offences and provide the penalties for contravention of the amended prohibitions set out in new Articles 3(1), 3a(1) and 4(3)(a) and (b) of the Russia Sanctions Regulation. The new trade and investment measures in view of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol include: (i) a ban on all foreign investments and related investment services in Crimea or Sevastopol; (ii) a broadening of the former export prohibition on goods and technology suited for use in the sectors of transport, telecommunications, energy and the prospection, exploration and production of oil, gas and mineral resources, and associated technical assistance, brokering services and financial assistance; (iii) a ban on the provision of technical assistance, or brokering, construction or engineering services relating to infrastructure in Crimea or Sevastopol in those sectors; and (iv) a ban on the provision of services directly related to tourism activities in Crimea or Sevastopol, including a ban on ships providing cruise services and flying a Member State flag or owned or operated by a Union shipowner calling at certain ports in the Crimean Peninsula. Article 2 of the Order amends the Russia, Crimea and Sevastopol Sanctions Order to create offences and provide the penalties for contravention of the new prohibitions set out in new Articles 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d of the Crimea and Sevastopol Regulation. The new restrictive measures against Syria prohibit the sale etc. of jet fuels and fuel additives to any person, entity or body in Syria and for use in Syria and the provision of related financial assistance and brokering services. Article 3 of the Order amends the Syria Sanctions Order to create offences and provide the penalties for contravention of the new prohibitions set out in Article 7a of the Syria Sanctions Regulation. Article 4 of the Order makes a minor amendment to the Export control (Sudan, South Sudan and Central African Republic Sanctions) Regulations 2014 by inserting the word “South” in regulation 5 of those Regulations. An 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Export Control (Various Amendments) Order 2015 (revoked) Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
International sanctions, export control and trade restrictionsOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2015