The Nicaragua (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
| Year | 2020 |
2020 No. 610
Exiting The European Union
Sanctions
The Nicaragua (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
Made 18th June 2020
Laid before Parliament 22th June 2020
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2)
The Secretary of State1, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1(1)(c) and (3)(b), 3(1)(a) and (d)(i), 4, 9(2)(a), 10(2)(a) and (c), (3) and (4), 11, 15(2)(a) and (b), (3), (4)(b), (5) and (6), 16, 17(2) to (5) and (8), 21(1), 54(1) and (2), 56 and 62(4) and (5) of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 20182, and having decided, upon consideration of the matters set out in sections 2(2) and 56(1) of that Act, that it is appropriate to do so, makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
General
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Nicaragua (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
(2) These Regulations come into force in accordance with regulations made under section 56 of the Act.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018;
“arrangement” includes any agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions, whether or not legally enforceable (but see paragraph 12 of Schedule 1 for the meaning of that term in that Schedule);
“conduct” includes acts and omissions;
“document” includes information recorded in any form and, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, references to its production include producing a copy of the information in legible form;
“the EU Nicaragua Regulation” means Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1716 of 14 October 2019 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Nicaragua3, as it has effect in EU law;
“serious human rights violation or abuse” means a serious violation or abuse of any of the human rights specified in regulation 4(c);
“Treasury licence” means a licence under regulation 20(1);
“United Kingdom person” has the same meaning as in section 21 of the Act.
Application of prohibitions and requirements outside the United Kingdom
3.—(1) A United Kingdom person may contravene a relevant prohibition by conduct wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom.
(2) Any person may contravene a relevant prohibition by conduct in the territorial sea.
(3) In this regulation, a “relevant prohibition” means any prohibition imposed by—
(a)
(a) regulation 9(2) (confidential information),
(b)
(b) Part 3 (Finance), or
(c)
(c) a condition of a Treasury licence.
(4) A United Kingdom person may comply, or fail to comply, with a relevant requirement by conduct wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom.
(5) Any person may comply, or fail to comply, with a relevant requirement by conduct in the territorial sea.
(6) In this regulation a “relevant requirement” means any requirement imposed—
(a)
(a) by or under Part 6 (Information and records), or by reason of a request made under a power conferred by that Part, or
(b)
(b) by a condition of a Treasury licence.
(7) Nothing in this regulation is to be taken to prevent a relevant prohibition or a relevant requirement from applying to conduct (by any person) in the United Kingdom.
Purposes
4. The purposes of the regulations contained in this instrument that are made under section 1 of the Act are to encourage the Government of Nicaragua to—
(a) respect democratic principles and institutions, the separation of powers and the rule of law in Nicaragua;
(b) refrain from actions, policies and activities which repress civil society in Nicaragua;
(c) comply with international human rights law and to respect human rights, including in particular to—
(i) respect the right to life of persons in Nicaragua;
(ii) respect the right of persons not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Nicaragua, including inhuman and degrading conditions in prisons;
(iii) respect the right to liberty and security, including refraining from arbitrary arrest and detention of persons in Nicaragua;
(iv) afford persons in Nicaragua charged with criminal offences the right to a fair trial;
(v) afford journalists, human rights defenders and other persons in Nicaragua the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly;
(vi) secure the human rights of persons in Nicaragua without discrimination, including on the basis of a person’s sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
PART 2
Designation of persons
Power to designate persons
5.—(1) The Secretary of State may designate persons4by name for the purposes of any of the following—
(a)
(a) regulations 11 to 15 (asset-freeze etc.);
(b)
(b) regulation 17 (immigration).
(2) The Secretary of State may designate different persons for the purposes of different provisions mentioned in paragraph (1).
Designation criteria
6.—(1) The Secretary of State may not designate a person under regulation 5 (power to designate persons) unless the Secretary of State—
(a)
(a) has reasonable grounds to suspect that that person is an involved person, and
(b)
(b) considers that the designation of that person is appropriate, having regard to—
(i) the purposes stated in regulation 4 (purposes), and
(ii) the likely significant effects of the designation on that person (as they appear to the Secretary of State to be on the basis of the information that the Secretary of State has).
(2) In this regulation an “involved person” means a person who—
(a)
(a) is or has been involved in—
(i) the commission of a serious human rights violation or abuse in Nicaragua,
(ii) the repression of civil society or democratic opposition in Nicaragua, or
(iii) other actions, policies or activities which undermine democracy or the rule of law in Nicaragua,
(b)
(b) is owned or controlled directly or indirectly (within the meaning of regulation 7) by a person who is or has been so involved,
(c)
(c) is acting on behalf of or at the direction of a person who is or has been so involved, or
(d)
(d) is a member of, or associated with, a person who is or has been so involved.
(3) Any reference in this regulation to being involved in an activity set out in paragraph (2)(a) above includes being so involved in whatever way and wherever any actions constituting the involvement take place, and in particular includes—
(a)
(a) being responsible for, engaging in, providing support for, or promoting any such activity;
(b)
(b) providing financial services, or making available funds or economic resources, that could contribute to any such activity;
(c)
(c) being involved in the supply to Nicaragua of goods or technology which could contribute to any such activity, or in providing financial services relating to such supply;
(d)
(d) being involved in assisting the contravention or circumvention of any relevant provision.
(4) In this regulation “relevant provision” means—
(a)
(a) any provision of Part 3 (Finance);
(b)
(b) any provision of the law of a country other than the United Kingdom made for purposes corresponding to a purpose of any provision of Part 3.
(5) Nothing in any sub-paragraph of paragraph (3) is to be taken to limit the meaning of any of the other sub-paragraphs of that paragraph.
Meaning of “owned or controlled directly or indirectly”
7.—(1) A person who is not an individual (“C”) is “owned or controlled directly or indirectly” by another person (“P”) if either of the following two conditions is met (or both are met).
(2) The first condition is that P—
(a)
(a) holds directly or indirectly more than 50% of the shares in C,
(b)
(b) holds directly or indirectly more than 50% of the voting rights in C, or
(c)
(c) holds the right directly or indirectly to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of C.
(3) Schedule 1 contains provision applying for the purpose of interpreting paragraph (2).
(4) The second condition is that it is reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances, to expect that P would (if P chose to) be able, in most cases or in significant respects, by whatever means and whether directly or indirectly, to achieve the result that affairs of C are conducted in accordance with P’s wishes.
Notification and publicity where designation power used
8.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies where the Secretary of State—
(a)
(a) has made a designation under regulation 5 (power to designate persons), or
(b)
(b) has by virtue of section 22 of the Act varied or revoked a designation made under that regulation.
(2) The Secretary of State—
(a)
(a) must without delay take such steps as are reasonably practicable to inform the designated person of the designation, variation or revocation, and
(b)
(b) must take steps to publicise the designation, variation or revocation.
(3) The information given under paragraph (2)(a) where a designation is made must include a statement of reasons.
(4) In this regulation a “statement of reasons”, in relation to a designation, means a brief statement of the matters that the Secretary of State knows, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, in relation to the designated person which have led the Secretary of State to make the designation.
(5) Matters that would otherwise be required by paragraph (4) to be included in a statement of reasons may be excluded from it where the Secretary of State considers that they should be excluded—
(a)
(a) in the interests of national security or international relations,
(b)
(b) for reasons connected with the prevention or detection of serious crime in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or
(c)
(c) in the interests of justice.
(6) The steps taken under...
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