EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order)
These Rules amend Part 79 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/3132) to extend existing procedures to challenges to sanctions-related decisions made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (c. 13) (“the 2018 Act”). Section 40 of the 2018 Act enables rules of court to be made which allow the closed material procedure provided for in the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (c. 28) to be used in respect of legal challenges to decisions made under Part 1 of the 2018 Act; for example, challenges to decisions of the Secretary of State or the Treasury designating persons for certain sanctions purposes set out in the 2018 Act and Regulations to be made under that Act. In the course of any such challenge the government will be able to apply to the court for sensitive material to be disclosed only to special advocates and the court, on the basis of this being in the public interest.
An impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen. An impact assessment was produced for the primary legislation and can be found at https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0069/sanctions-and-anti-money-laundering-IA.pdf. That assessment concluded that the introduction of the 2018 Act, and statutory instruments under it to transfer existing sanctions regimes into UK law, would overall reduce uncertainty for business and would not result in significant costs or impact, apart from some familiarisation costs for businesses associated with adapting to the new legislative framework.