The Sierra Leone (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2000

Citation, commencement, operation and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Sierra Leone (United Nations Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2000 and shall come into force on 14th July 2000.

(2) (a) Subject to sub-paragraph (b) below, this Order shall remain in force until 5th January 2002.

(b) If the Security Council of the United Nations takes any decision which has the effect of cancelling, extending or suspending the operation of the resolution adopted by it on 5th July 2000, in whole or in part, this Order shall cease to have effect or its operation shall be extended or suspended, in whole or in part, as the case may be, in accordance with that decision; and particulars of that decision shall be published by the Governor in a notice in the official Gazette of the Territory.

(3) (a) This Order shall extend to the territories listed in Schedule 1 to this Order.

(b) In the application of this Order to any of the said territories the expression “the Territory” in this Order means that territory.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order, “Governor” means the Governor or other officer administering the government of the Territory.

(2) In paragraphs 2(1)(a) and 4(d) of Schedule 2, references to an offence under any enactment relating to customs include references to any offence against any provision of law with respect to any of the matters regulated by this Order that is for the time being in force in any territory to which this Order extends.

Importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone

3.—(1) Except under the authority of a written licence granted by the Governor under this article, no person shall import directly or indirectly to the Territory any rough diamond exported from Sierra Leone on or after 5th July 2000.

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this article, any person who contravenes the provisions of paragraph (1) of this article shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

(3) In the case of proceedings for an offence in contravention of this article, it shall be a defence for the accused person to prove that he did not know and had no reason to suppose that the diamonds in question had been exported from Sierra Leone on or after 5th July 2000.

Offences in connection with applications for written licences, conditions attaching to licences, etc.

4.—(1) If for the purposes of obtaining any written licence under article 3(1) of this Order any person makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which to his knowledge is false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which is false in a material particular he shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

(2) Any person who has done any act under the authority of a written licence granted by the Governor under this Order and who fails to comply with any condition attaching to that licence shall be guilty of an offence under this Order:

• Provided that no person shall be guilty of an offence under this paragraph where he proves that the condition with which he failed to comply was modified, otherwise than with his consent, by the Governor after the doing of the act authorised by the licence.

Obtaining of evidence and information

5.  The provisions of Schedule 2 to this Order shall have effect in order to facilitate the obtaining, by or on behalf of the Governor, of evidence and information for the purpose of securing compliance with or detecting evasion of this Order and in order to facilitate the obtaining, by or on behalf of the Governor, of evidence of the commission of an offence under this Order or, with respect to any of the matters regulated by this Order, of an offence relating to customs.

Penalties and Proceedings

6.—(1) Any person guilty of an offence under article 3(2) of this Order shall be liable:

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence under paragraph 5(b) or (d) of Schedule 2 to this Order shall be liable:

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(3) Any person guilty of an offence under article 4(1) or(2) of this Order shall be liable:

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both;

(b) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent.

(4) Any person guilty of an offence under paragraph 5(a) or (c) of Schedule 2 to this Order shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(5) Where any body corporate is guilty of an offence under this Order, and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(6) Summary proceedings for an offence under this Order, being an offence alleged to have been committed outside the Territory, may be instituted at any time not later than 12 months from the date on which the person charged first enters the Territory after committing the offence.

(7) Proceedings against any person for an offence under this Order may be taken before the appropriate court in the Territory having jurisdiction in the place where that person is for the time being.

(8) No proceedings for an offence under this Order shall be instituted in the Territory except by or with the consent of the principal public officer of the Territory having responsibility for criminal prosecutions:

• Provided that this paragraph shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue or execution of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of such an offence, or the remand in custody or on bail of any person charged with such an offence, notwithstanding that the necessary consent to the institution of proceedings for the offence has not been obtained.

Exercise of Powers of the Governor

7.—(1) The Governor may, to such extent and subject to such restrictions and conditions as he may think proper, delegate or authorise the delegation of any of his powers under this Order to any person, or class or description of persons, approved by him, and references in this Order to the Governor shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Any written licences granted under this Order may be either general or special, may be subject to or without conditions, may be limited so as to expire on a specified date unless renewed and may be varied or revoked by the authority that granted them.

Miscellaneous

8.—(1) Any provision of this Order which prohibits the doing of a thing except under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor shall not have effect in relation to any such thing done anywhere other than the Territory provided that it is duly authorised.

(2) A thing is duly authorised for the purpose of paragraph (1) of this article if it is done under the authority of a licence granted in accordance with any law in force in the place where it is done (being a law substantially corresponding to the relevant provisions of this Order) by the authority competent in that behalf under that law.

A. K. Galloway

Clerk of the Privy Council