UK Offence Report

Offences related to goods which could be used for smuggling of migrants etc. set out in Annex VII

article 5A(3) of The Export Control (Syria and Libya Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 2017 (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

3 A person who is knowingly concerned in an activity prohibited by paragraph (1)(b) or (1)(c) with intent to evade that prohibition 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
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 5A(3)?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Export Control (Syria and Libya Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 2017.

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.

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
18 December 2017
In force from
1 February 2018
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 amends the orders which provide for the enforcement of trade restrictions against Syria and Libya. The amendments update the orders, taking account of recent changes made to the EU Regulations imposing the restrictions. The Regulations are Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria (OJ No L 16, 19.1.2012, p.1) (“the Syria Regulation”), as last amended by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2017/1751 (OJ No L 246, 26.9.2017, p.1); and Council Regulation (EU) No 2016/44 of 18 January 2016 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya and repealing Regulation (EU) No 204/2011 (OJ No L 12, 19.1.2016, p.1) (“the Libya Regulation”), as last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2017/1974 of 30 October 2017 (OJ No L 281, 31.10.2017, p.27). Article 2 amends the Export Control (Syria Sanctions) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2012). It updates the definition of “the Syria Regulation” in that Order (such that the latest instrument amending that Regulation is referred to in that definition) and makes a number of changes to article 8 of that Order to reflect changes made to the Syria Regulation. It also provides that an offence, in connection with the purchase, transport etc. of crude oil and petroleum products, is not committed by someone who is authorised. Article 3 amends the Export Control (Libya Sanctions) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/787) (“the Libya Order”) to address the new trade restrictions against Libya concerning goods which could be used for the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings. Article 3(3) inserts new article 5A into the Libya Order. New article 5A creates offences for evading the new trade restrictions concerning these goods i.e. engaging in the various activities described in new Article 2a(1) of the Libya Regulation, read in conjunction with new Article 2a(3) of the Libya Regulation, unless authorised. Article 3(4) amends article 7 of the Libya Order to create new supplementary offences relating to these new trade restrictions – the offences of participating in an activity whose object or effect is to circumvent (or enable or facilitate the contravention of) the new prohibitions. Article 3(5) makes changes to article 9 of the Libya Order, the effect of which is to provide for the penalties applicable to the new offences, and article 3(6) adds a reference to new Article 2a of the Libya Regulation to article 10(2) of that Order. Article 3(6) has the effect that persons involved in activities contravening the new restrictions are caught by certain obligations to provide information pursuant to provisions in the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. 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 this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk. Further information is available from the Export Control Joint Unit, Department for International Trade, 3 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2AW and on the gov.uk website (www.gov.uk).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Neither House could have amended it. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not; the Houses can reject an instrument or record their regret, but they cannot change a word of it. That is the constitutional position for every offence on this site.

The full procedural history →

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