United Nations Sanctions (Iraq) Regulation
(Enacting provision omitted—E.R. 1 of 2023)
[22 August 1997]
(Format changes—E.R. 1 of 2023)
In this Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires—
Authority (管理當局) means the occupying powers of Iraq under unified command and referred to as the Authority in the Preamble to Resolution 1483; (L.N. 132 of 2004) authorized officer (獲授權人員) means—(a)a police officer;(b)any person holding an office specified in Schedule 1 to the Customs and Excise Service Ordinance (Cap. 342); or(c)a public officer employed in the Customs and Excise Department in the Trade Controls Officer Grade; (L.N. 132 of 2004) commander (機長), in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the flight crew designated as the commander of the aircraft by the operator of the aircraft, or, failing such a person, the person who is for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft; (L.N. 132 of 2004) Commissioner (關長) means the Commissioner of Customs and Excise and any Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Excise; (L.N. 132 of 2004) HKSAR (特區) means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China; licence (特許) means a licence granted under section 3A; (L.N. 132 of 2004) master (船長), in relation to a ship, includes any person (other than a pilot) for the time being in charge of the ship; operator (營運人), in relation to an aircraft or to a vehicle, means the person for the time being having the management of the aircraft or the vehicle; (L.N. 132 of 2004) owner (擁有人), where the owner of a ship is not the operator, means the operator and any person to whom it is chartered; person in Iraq (在伊拉克的人) includes any body constituted or incorporated under the law of Iraq and any body carrying on business (whether within Iraq or not) which is controlled by persons or bodies resident in Iraq or constituted or incorporated under the law of Iraq; prohibited goods (禁制物品) means—(a)arms and related material of all types, including all forms of conventional military equipment (including equipment for paramilitary forces); and(b)any spare parts, components or their means of production for such equipment; (L.N. 132 of 2004) Resolution 1483 (《第1483號決議》) means Resolution 1483 (2003) adopted by the Security Council of the United Nations on 22 May 2003; (L.N. 132 of 2004) ship (船舶) includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled by oars. (L.N. 132 of 2004)(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
The Chief Executive shall grant a licence for the supply, delivery or carriage of prohibited goods or the doing of an act calculated to promote the supply or delivery of prohibited goods if it is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief Executive that the goods is required by the Authority to serve the purposes of Resolution 1483 and other resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations related to it.
No person shall—
make any statement or provide or produce any information or document that he knows to be false in a material particular; or
recklessly make any statement or provide or produce any information or document that is false in a material particular,
for the purposes of obtaining a licence.
A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable—
on conviction on indictment to a fine and to imprisonment for 2 years; or
on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
Except under the authority of a licence, no person shall— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
supply or deliver or agree to supply or deliver to or to the order of any person in Iraq any prohibited goods that are not in Iraq;
supply or deliver or agree to supply or deliver any prohibited goods to any person, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that they will be supplied or delivered to or to the order of a person in Iraq or that they will be used for the purposes of any business carried on in or operated from Iraq; or
do any act calculated to promote the supply or delivery of any prohibited goods to any person in Iraq or for the purpose of any business carried on in or operated from Iraq in contravention of any of the provisions of this section. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
This section applies to—
a person within the HKSAR; and
a person acting elsewhere who is—
both a Hong Kong permanent resident and a Chinese national; or
a body incorporated or constituted under the law of the HKSAR. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable—
on conviction on indictment to a fine and to imprisonment for 7 years; or
on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it is a defence for a person charged to prove that he did not know and had no reason to believe—
that the goods were prohibited goods; or
that the goods were to be supplied or delivered—
to, or to the order of, a person in Iraq; or
for the purposes of any business carried on in or operated from Iraq. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
Without prejudice to the generality of section 4, no ship, aircraft or vehicle to which this section applies shall, except under the authority of a licence, be used for the carriage of any prohibited goods if the carriage is, or forms part of, carriage from any place outside Iraq to any place in Iraq or to any person for the purposes of any business carried on in or operated from Iraq. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
This section does not apply if—
the carriage of the prohibited goods is performed in the course of the supply or delivery of the prohibited goods; and
the supply or delivery was authorized by a licence. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
This section applies to— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
a ship that is registered in the HKSAR;
an aircraft that is registered in the HKSAR;
any other ship or aircraft that is for the time being chartered to a person who is—
within the HKSAR;
both a Hong Kong permanent resident and a Chinese national; or
a body incorporated or constituted under the law of the HKSAR; and
a vehicle within the HKSAR. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
If any ship, aircraft or vehicle is used in contravention of subsection (2), each specified person commits an offence and is liable— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
on conviction on indictment to a fine and to imprisonment for 7 years; or
on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it is a defence for a person charged to prove that he did not know and had no reason to believe—
that the goods were prohibited goods; or
that the carriage of the goods was, or formed part of, carriage from any place outside Iraq to any place in Iraq or to any person for the purposes of any business carried on in or operated from Iraq. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prejudice any other provision of law prohibiting or restricting the use of ships, aircraft or vehicles. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
If an authorized officer has reason to suspect that a ship has been, is being or is about to be used in contravention of section 7(2), he may—
either alone or accompanied and assisted by any person acting under his authority, board the ship and search it and, for that purpose, use or authorize the use of reasonable force; and
request the master or charterer of the ship to furnish such information relating to the ship and its cargo and produce for his inspection such documents so relating and such cargo as he may specify. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
If an authorized officer has reason to suspect that a ship is being or is about to be used in contravention of section 7(2), he may (either there and then or on consideration of any information furnished or document or cargo produced in pursuance of a request made under subsection (1)(b)), with a view to preventing the commission, or the continued commission, of such a contravention or in order that enquiries may be pursued, take one or more of the following actions—
direct the master or charterer of the ship to refrain, except with the consent of an authorized officer, from unloading such part of the ship’s cargo at such port as the authorized officer may specify;
request the master or charterer of the ship to take one or more of the following steps—
to cause the ship and any of its cargo not to proceed with the voyage on which it is then engaged or about to engage until the master or charterer is notified by an authorized officer that the ship and its cargo may so proceed;
(if the ship is in the HKSAR) to cause the ship and any of its cargo to remain in the HKSAR until the master or charterer is notified by an authorized officer that the ship and its cargo may depart;
(if the ship is in any other place) to take the ship and any of its cargo to such port as is specified by an authorized officer and to cause the ship and its cargo to remain in that port until the master or charterer is notified by an authorized officer that the ship and its cargo may depart;
to take the ship and any of its cargo to such other destination as may be specified by an authorized officer in agreement with the master or charterer. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Without prejudice to subsection (8), if an authorized officer has reason to suspect that a request that has been made under subsection (1A)(b) in respect of a ship may not be complied with, he may take such steps as appear to him to be necessary to secure compliance with that request and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may for that purpose—
enter, or authorize entry, on any land and on that ship;
detain, or authorize the detention of, that ship and any of its cargo; and
use, or authorize the use of, reasonable force. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
If an authorized officer has reason to suspect that any aircraft has been or is being or is about to be used in contravention of section 7(2), that authorized officer may request the charterer, the operator and the commander of the aircraft or any of them to furnish such information relating to the aircraft and its cargo and produce for his inspection such documents so relating and such cargo as he may specify, and that authorized officer may (either alone or accompanied and assisted by persons under his authority) board the aircraft and search it and, for that purpose, may use or authorize the use of reasonable force; and, if the aircraft is then in the HKSAR, any such authorized officer (either there and then or upon consideration of any information furnished or document or cargo produced in pursuance of such a request) may further request the charterer, the operator and the commander or any of them to cause the aircraft and any of its cargo to remain in the HKSAR until the charterer, operator or commander is, or (if the further request is made to all of them) all of them are, notified by an authorized officer that the aircraft and its cargo may depart; and the charterer, the operator and the commander shall comply with any such request. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (8), if an authorized officer has reason to suspect that any request that an aircraft and any of its cargo should remain in the HKSAR that has been made under subsection (3) may not be complied with, that authorized officer may take such steps as appear to him to be necessary to secure compliance with that request and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may for that purpose— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
enter, or authorize entry, upon any land and upon that aircraft;
detain, or authorize the detention of, that aircraft and any of its cargo; and (L.N. 132 of 2004)
use, or authorize the use of, reasonable force.
If an authorized officer has reason to suspect that a vehicle has been, is being or is about to be used in contravention of section 7(2), he may—
either alone or accompanied and assisted by any person acting under his authority, board the vehicle and search it and, for that purpose, use or authorize the use of reasonable force;
request the operator or driver of the vehicle to furnish such information relating to the vehicle and any articles carried on it and produce for his inspection such documents so relating and such articles as he may specify; and
(either there and then or on consideration of any information furnished or document or articles produced in pursuance of a request made under paragraph (b)) further request the operator or driver to take the vehicle and any articles carried on it to such place as is specified by an authorized officer and to cause the vehicle and the articles to remain in that place until the operator or driver is notified by an authorized officer that the vehicle and the articles may depart. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Without prejudice to subsection (8), if an authorized officer has reason to suspect that a request that has been made under subsection (4A)(c) in respect of a vehicle may not be complied with, he may take such steps as appear to him to be necessary to secure compliance with that request and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may for that purpose—
enter, or authorize entry on, any land and enter, or authorize entry of, that vehicle;
detain, or authorize the detention of, that vehicle and any articles carried on it; and
use, or authorize the use of, reasonable force. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Subject to subsections (4D) and (4E), subsections (2), (4) and (4B) do not authorize—
the detention for more than 12 hours of any ship;
the detention for more than 6 hours of any aircraft; or
the detention for more than 12 hours of any vehicle. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
The Chief Secretary for Administration may, by order in writing under his hand, authorize the detention of a ship referred to in subsection (4C)(a) for further periods of not more than 12 hours each or authorize the detention of an aircraft referred to in subsection (4C)(b) for further periods of not more than 6 hours each, and any such order shall state the times from which and for which the order shall be effective. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
The Commissioner may, by order in writing under his hand, authorize the detention of a vehicle referred to in subsection (4C)(c) for further periods of not more than 12 hours each, and any such order shall state the times from which and for which the order shall be effective. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
No information furnished or document produced by any person in pursuance of a request made under this section shall be disclosed except—
with the consent of the person by whom the information was furnished or the document was produced: Provided that a person who has obtained information or is in possession of a document only in his capacity as servant or agent of another person may not give consent for the purposes of this paragraph but such consent may instead be given by any person who is entitled to that information or to the possession of that document in his own right;
to any person who would have been empowered under this section to request that it be furnished or produced;
on the authority of the Chief Executive, subject to the information or document being transmitted through and with the approval of the instructing authority, to any organ of the United Nations or to any person in the service of the United Nations or of the Government of any place outside the People’s Republic of China for the purpose of assisting the United Nations or that Government in securing compliance with or detecting evasion of measures in relation to Iraq decided upon by the Security Council of the United Nations; or
with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any proceedings for an offence under this Regulation. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Any power conferred by this section to request the furnishing of information or the production of a document or of cargo or of articles for inspection shall include a power to specify whether the information should be furnished orally or in writing and in what form and to specify the time by which and the place in which the information should be furnished or the document or cargo or articles should be produced for inspection. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
A person who—
fails to comply with any direction given to him under subsection (1A);
without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with a request made of him under subsection (1), (1A), (3) or (4A) within a reasonable time; or
obstructs an authorized officer (or any person acting under the authority of an authorized officer) in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1), (1A), (2), (3), (4), (4A) or (4B),
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
A person who, in response to a request made of him under subsection (1), (3) or (4A), furnishes or produces to an authorized officer any information, explanation or document that he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly furnishes or produces to the officer any information, explanation or document that is false in a material particular, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prejudice any other provision of law conferring powers or imposing restrictions or enabling restrictions to be imposed with respect to ships, aircraft or vehicles. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
A person who destroys, mutilates, defaces, secretes or removes any document or article with intent to evade any of the provisions of this Regulation commits an offence and is liable—
on conviction on indictment to a fine and to imprisonment for 2 years; or
on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
The provisions of the Schedule shall have effect in order to facilitate the obtaining of evidence relating to an offence under this Regulation.
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
Where any body corporate is guilty of an offence against this Regulation 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 of 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.
Summary proceedings for an offence under this Regulation, being an offence alleged to have been committed outside the HKSAR, may be commenced at any time not later than 12 months from the date on which the person charged first enters the HKSAR after committing the offence.
No proceedings for an offence against this Regulation shall be instituted except by or with the consent of the Secretary for Justice.
The Chief Executive may to such extent and subject to such restrictions and conditions as he may think proper, delegate or authorize the delegation of any of his powers under this Regulation to any person, or class or description of persons, approved by him, and references in this Regulation to the Chief Executive shall be construed accordingly.
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
Before or on exercising a power conferred by this Regulation, an authorized officer shall, on request, produce evidence of his identity and authority.
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
Any provision of this Regulation which prohibits the doing of a thing except under the authority of a licence shall not have effect in relation to any such thing done in a place outside the HKSAR by a person who is ordinarily resident in, or by a body corporate incorporated or constituted under the law of, that place, provided that it is so done under the authority of a licence or with permission granted, in accordance with any law in force in that place (being a law substantially corresponding to the relevant provision of this Regulation), by the authority competent in that behalf under that law. (L.N. 132 of 2004)
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
If any magistrate or judge is satisfied by information on oath given by an authorized officer— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence under this Regulation has been or is being committed and that evidence relating to the offence is to be found on any premises specified in the information, or in any vehicle, ship or aircraft so specified,
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
he may grant a search warrant authorizing an authorized officer, together with any other persons named in the warrant, to enter the premises specified in the information or, as the case may be, any premises upon which the vehicle, ship or aircraft so specified may be, at any time within one month from the date of the warrant and to search the premises or, as the case may be, the vehicle, ship or aircraft.
A person authorized by any such warrant to search any premises or any vehicle, ship or aircraft may search every person who is found in, or whom he has reasonable ground to believe to have recently left or to be about to enter, those premises or that vehicle, ship or aircraft and may seize any document or article found on the premises or in the vehicle, ship or aircraft or on such person which he has reasonable ground to believe to be evidence relating to an offence under this Regulation, or to take in relation to any such document or article any other steps which may appear necessary for preserving it and preventing interference with it: Provided that no person shall in pursuance of any warrant issued under this section be searched except by a person of the same sex.
Where, by virtue of this section, a person is empowered to enter any premises, vehicle, ship or aircraft he may use such force as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.
Any documents or articles of which possession is taken under this section may be retained for a period of 3 months or, if within that period there are commenced any proceedings for an offence as aforesaid to which they are relevant, until the conclusion of those proceedings.
No document seized under subsection (2) shall be disclosed except— (L.N. 132 of 2004)
with the consent of the person from whom the document was seized: Provided that a person who is in possession of a document only in his capacity as servant or agent of another person may not give consent for the purposes of this paragraph but such consent may instead be given by any person who is entitled to the possession of that document in his own right;
(Repealed L.N. 132 of 2004)
on the authority of the Chief Executive, subject to the document being transmitted through and with the approval of the instructing authority, to any organ of the United Nations or to any person in the service of the United Nations or to the Government of any place outside the People’s Republic of China for the purpose of assisting the United Nations or that Government in securing compliance with or detecting evasion of measures in relation to Iraq decided upon by the Security Council of the United Nations; or
with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any proceedings for an offence under this Regulation.
A person who obstructs another person in the exercise of his powers under this Schedule commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months.