UK Offence Report

Amendments to the principal Order

article 4 of The Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (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

4 For article 11, substitute— Offences related to crude oil and petroleum products listed in Annex IV 11

1 A person to whom this Order applies (“P”) commits an offence if P knowingly—

a imports crude oil or petroleum products listed in Annex IV to the Council Regulation into the Territory if the products originated in Syria, or have been exported from Syria;

b purchases crude oil or petroleum products listed in Annex IV to the Council Regulation which are located in or which originated in Syria;

c transports crude oil or petroleum products listed in Annex IV to the Council Regulation if the products originated in Syria, or are being exported from Syria to any other country;

d provides (directly or indirectly) financing or financial assistance related to the import of crude oil and petroleum products listed in Annex IV to the Council Regulation if the products originated in Syria, or have been imported from Syria; or

e provides (directly or indirectly) financing or financial assistance related to the purchase or transport of crude oil and petroleum products listed in Annex IV to the Council Regulation if the products originated in Syria, or have been imported from Syria.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 4?

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 Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2017 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
Not determined
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
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
15 February 2017
In force from
15 March 2017
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 Syria (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1755) (as amended) (“the principal Order”). The principal Order gives effect in specified Overseas Territories to sanctions in respect of Syria adopted by the European Union (“EU”) in Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 (OJ No L 016, 19.1.2012, p1) (as amended). The amendments made in this Order give effect to changes adopted by the EU in Council Regulation (EU) No 2016/2137 (OJ No L 332/3, 7.12.2016). In particular, this Order reflects amendments to the EU sanctions regime against Syria in respect of the purchase and transport (and associated financing) of petroleum products in Syria. It also makes related amendments to offences in the principal Order relating to making available funds or economic resources to designated persons, as well as other minor amendments to the definition, licensing and offence provisions.

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