The Yemen (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

PART 2 U.K. Designation of persons

Power to designate persons U.K.

5.—(1) The Secretary of State may designate persons M1 by name for the purposes of any of the following—

(a) regulation 12 to 16 (asset-freeze etc.);

[F1 (aa) regulation 17A (director disqualification sanctions);]

(b) regulation 18 (immigration);

(c) regulations 20 to 27 (arms embargo etc.).

(2) The Secretary of State may designate different persons for the purposes of different provisions mentioned in paragraph (1).

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 5(1)(aa) inserted (5.6.2024) by The Sanctions (EU Exit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/644), regs. 1(2), 16(3)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 5 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I2 Reg. 5 in force at 14.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 “Person” is defined by section 9(5) of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 to include (in addition to an individual and a body of persons corporate or unincorporate) any organisation and any association or combination of persons.

Criteria for designating a person U.K.

6.—(1) The Secretary of State may not designate a person under regulation 5 unless the Secretary of State—

(a) has reasonable grounds to suspect that that person is an involved person, and

(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) is or has been involved in a relevant activity,

(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) is acting on behalf of or at the direction of a person who is or has been so involved, or

(d) is a member of, or associated with, a person who is or has been so involved.

(3) In this regulation, a “relevant activity” means—

(a) the commission of a serious human rights violation or abuse, or violation of international humanitarian law applicable to the armed conflicts in Yemen including, in particular, in relation to—

(i) rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence;

(ii) recruitment or use of children in armed conflicts;

(iii) any of the rights referred to in regulation 4(2)(e);

(b) obstruction of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance in Yemen;

(c) obstruction of or undermining the successful completion of the political transition as outlined in the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and Implementation Mechanism Agreement;

(d) impeding the implementation of the final report of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, including in particular, through acts of violence, or attacks on essential infrastructure in Yemen;

(e) any other acts which threaten the peace, security or stability of Yemen.

(4) Any reference in this regulation to being involved in a relevant activity includes being so involved in whatever way, and wherever, any actions constituting the involvement take place, and in particular includes—

(a) being responsible for, engaging in, providing support for, or promoting any such activity;

(b) providing financial services, or making available funds or economic resources, that could contribute to any such activity;

(c) being involved in the supply of military goods or military technology to a designated person or in providing financial services or other assistance relating to such supply;

(d) being involved in assisting the contravention or circumvention of any relevant provision.

(5) In this regulation, “relevant provision” means—

(a) any provision of Part 3 (Finance) or Part 5 (Trade);

(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 (Finance) or Part 5 (Trade);

(c) any provision of the resolutions mentioned in regulations 4(3).

(6) Nothing in any sub-paragraph of paragraph (3) or (4) is to be taken to limit the meaning of any of the other sub-paragraphs of those paragraphs.

(7) In this regulation, “military goods” and “military technology” have the meanings given by Part 5.

Commencement Information

I3 Reg. 6 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I4 Reg. 6 in force at 14.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(1)

Meaning of “owned or controlled directly or indirectly” U.K.

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) holds directly or indirectly more than 50% of the shares in C,

(b) holds directly or indirectly more than 50% of the voting rights in C, or

(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.

Commencement Information

I5 Reg. 7 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I6 Reg. 7 in force at 14.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(1)

Notification and publicity where designation power used U.K.

8.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies where the Secretary of State—

(a) has made a designation under regulation 5, or

(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) must without delay take such steps as are reasonably practicable to inform the designated person of the designation, variation or revocation, and

(b) must take steps to publicise the designation, variation or revocation.

(3) The information given under paragraph (2)(a) above 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) in the interests of national security or international relations,

(b) for reasons connected with the prevention or detection of serious crime in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or

(c) in the interests of justice.

(6) The steps taken under paragraph (2)(b) above must—

(a) unless one or more of the restricted publicity conditions is met, be steps to publicise generally—

(i) the designation, variation or revocation, and

(ii) in the case of a designation, the statement of reasons;

(b) if one or more of those conditions is met, be steps to inform only such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate of the designation, variation or revocation and (in the case of a designation) of the contents of the statement of reasons.

(7) The “restricted publicity conditions” are as follows—

(a) the designation is of a person believed by the Secretary of State to be an individual under the age of 18;

(b) the Secretary of State considers that disclosure of the designation, variation or revocation should be restricted—

(i) in the interests of national security or international relations,

(ii) for reasons connected with the prevention or detection of serious crime in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or

(iii) in the interests of justice.

(8) Paragraph (9) applies if—

(a) when a designation is made one or more of the restricted publicity conditions is met, but

(b) at any time when the designation has effect, it becomes the case that none of the restricted publicity conditions is met.

(9) The Secretary of State must—

(a) take such steps as are reasonably practicable to inform the designated person that none of the restricted publicity conditions is now met, and

(b) take steps to publicise generally the designation and the statement of reasons relating to it.

Commencement Information

I7 Reg. 8 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I8 Reg. 8 in force at 14.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(1)

Confidential information in certain cases where designation power used U.K.

9.—(1) Where the Secretary of State in accordance with regulation 8(7)(b) informs only certain persons of a designation, variation or revocation and (in the case of a designation) of the contents of the statement of reasons, the Secretary of State may specify that any of that information is to be treated as confidential.

(2) A person (“P”) who—

(a) is provided with information that is to be treated as confidential in accordance with paragraph (1), or

(b) obtains such information,

must not, subject to paragraph (3), disclose it if P knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that the information is to be treated as confidential.

(3) The prohibition in paragraph (2) does not apply to any disclosure made by P with lawful authority.

(4) For this purpose information is disclosed with lawful authority only if and to the extent that—

(a) the disclosure is by, or is authorised by, the Secretary of State,

(b) the disclosure is by or with the consent of the person who is or was the subject of the designation,

(c) the disclosure is necessary to give effect to a requirement imposed under or by virtue of these Regulations or any other enactment, or

(d) the disclosure is required, under rules of court, tribunal rules or a court or tribunal order, for the purposes of legal proceedings of any description.

(5) This regulation does not prevent the disclosure of information that is already, or has previously been, available to the public from other sources.

(6) A person who contravenes the prohibition in paragraph (2) commits an offence.

(7) The High Court (in Scotland, the Court of Session) may, on the application of—

(a) the person who is the subject of the information, or

(b) the Secretary of State,

grant an injunction (in Scotland, an interdict) to prevent a breach of the prohibition in paragraph (2).

(8) In paragraph (4)(c), “enactment” has the meaning given by section 54(6) of the Act.

Commencement Information

I9 Reg. 9 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I10 Reg. 9 in force at 31.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(2)

Designation of persons named by or under UN Security Council Resolutions U.K.

10.—(1) Each person for the time being named for the purposes of paragraph 11 of resolution 2140 by the Security Council or the Committee is a designated person for the purposes of regulations 12 to 16 (asset-freeze etc.) (whose purposes include compliance with the UN obligations mentioned in regulation 4(3)(a) and (b) M2 ).

(2) Each person for the time being named for the purposes of paragraph 14 of resolution 2216 by the Security Council or the Committee is a designated person for the purposes of regulation 20 to 27 (trade etc.) (whose purposes include compliance with the UN obligations mentioned in regulation 4(3)(c)).

(3) Nothing in this regulation affects the power under regulation 5 to designate persons (in addition to those designated by this regulation) for the purposes of those regulations mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2).

Commencement Information

I11 Reg. 10 not in force at made date, see reg. 1(2)

I12 Reg. 10 in force at 14.12.2020 by S.I. 2020/1514, reg. 20(1)

Marginal Citations

M2 Section 13 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 requires that where the purposes of a provision of regulations under section 1 include compliance with a UN obligation to take particular measures in relation to UN-named persons (which is the case with the regulations mentioned in regulation 10), the regulations must provide for those persons to be designated persons for the purposes of that provision.