Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 9th December, 2022.

I, LEO VARADKAR, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving full effect to Council Regulation (EU) No 224/2014 of 10 March 2014¹ as amended, hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Central African Republic) (No. 3) Regulations 2022.

2. (1) In these Regulations -

“Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EU) No 224/2014 of 10 March 2014¹ as amended by the European acts specified in Schedule 1;

“European act” means an act adopted by an institution of the European Union or an institution of the European Communities.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Council Regulation has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Regulation.

3. A person who contravenes a provision of the Council Regulation specified in Schedule 2 shall be guilty of an offence.

4. Notwithstanding Regulation 3, a person who has received an authorisation under Article 6, 7, 8 or 9 of the Council Regulation may, subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of such authorisation, do such of the things as are so authorised.

5. A person who is guilty of an offence under Regulation 3 shall be liable -

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

6. A competent authority in the State, following such consultation as it considers necessary with other competent authorities, for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of the Council Regulation or these Regulations, may give in writing such directions to a person as it sees fit.

7. A person who fails to comply with a direction given under Regulation 6 within the time specified in the direction shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

8. Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

9. (1) Proceedings for an offence under these Regulations in relation to an act committed outside the State may be taken in any place in the State and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed in that place.

(2) Where a person is charged with an offence referred to in paragraph (1), no further proceedings in the matter (other than any remand in custody or on bail) may be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(3) In proceedings for an offence referred to in paragraph (1),

(a) a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and stating that a passport was issued by that Department to a person on a specified date, and

(b) a certificate that is signed by an officer of the Minister for Justice and stating that, to the best of the officer’s knowledge and belief, the person has not ceased to be an Irish citizen,

is evidence that the person was an Irish citizen on the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed, and is taken to have been signed by the person purporting to have signed it, unless the contrary is shown.

(4) A person who has been acquitted or convicted of an offence in a place outside the State shall not be proceeded against for an offence under these Regulations in relation to an act committed outside the State consisting of the conduct, or substantially the same conduct, that constituted the offence of which the person has been acquitted or convicted.

10. The European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Central African Republic) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 ( S.I. No. 243 of 2022 ) are revoked.

Schedule 1

Council Regulation

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 691/2014 of 23 June 2014²

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1276/2014 of 1 December 2014³

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/324 of 2 March 2015⁴

Council Regulation (EU) 2015/734 of 7 May 2015⁵

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1485 of 2 September 2015⁶

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2454 of 23 December 2015⁷

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/354 of 11 March 2016⁸

Council Regulation (EU) 2016/555 of 11 April 2016⁹

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1442 of 31 August 2016¹⁰

Council Regulation (EU) 2017/400 of 7 March 2017¹¹

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/890 of 24 May 2017¹²

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/906 of 29 May 2017¹³

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1090 of 20 June 2017¹⁴

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/325 of 5 March 2018¹⁵

Council Regulation (EU) 2018/387 of 12 March 2018¹⁶

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/698 of 8 May 2018¹⁷

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/757 of 13 May 2019¹⁸

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1574 of 20 September 2019¹⁹

Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1735 of 17 October 2019²⁰

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/582 of 28 April 2020²¹

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/717 of 28 May 2020²²

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1171 of 7 August 2020²³

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1194 of 12 August 2020²⁴

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1311 of 21 September 2020²⁵

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/628 of 16 April 2021²⁶

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/707 of 29 April 2021²⁷

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1819 of 18 October 2021²⁸

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/21 of 10 January 2022²⁹

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1621 of 20 September 2022³⁰

Schedule 2

Provision of Council Regulation

Article 2

Article 5(1) and (2)

Article 11(1)

Article 12

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

28 November, 2022.

LEO VARADKAR,

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide for the enforcement of restrictive measures contained in Council Regulation (EU) No 224/2014 as amended, regarding restrictive measures concerning Central African Republic.

The Regulations provide that competent authorities of the State may issue directions for the purpose of giving full effect to the sanctions.

The Regulations create offences for breach of the Council Regulations or for failure to comply with the directions of competent authorities of the State with regard to implementation of the sanctions and provides for appropriate penalties.

1 OJ L 70, 11.3.2014, p.1

1 OJ L 70, 11.3.2014, p.1

2 OJ L 183, 24.6.2014, p.6

3 OJ L 346, 2.12.2014, p. 19

4 OJ L 58, 3.3.2015, p. 39

5 OJ L 117, 8.5.2015, p. 11

6 OJ L 229, 3.9.2015, p. 1

7 OJ L 339, 24.12.2015, p.36

8 OJ L 67, 12.3.2016, p.18

9 OJ L 96, 12.4.2016, p.1

10 OJ L 235, 1.9.2016, p.1

11 OJ L 63, 9.3.2017, p.1

12 OJ L 138, 25.5.2017, p.1

13 OJ L 139, 30.5.2017, p.2

14 OJ L 158, 21.6.2017, p.1

15 OJ L 63, 6.3.2018, p.3

16 OJ L 69, 13.3.2018, p.9

17 OJ L 117, 8.5.2018, p.1

18 OJ L 125, 14.5.2019, p.1

19 OJ L 243, 23.9.19, p.1

20 OJ L 265, 18.10.19, p.1

21 OJ L 137, 29.4.2020, p.1

22 OJ L 168, 29.5.2020, p.61

23 OJ L 260, 10.8.2020, p.1

24 OJ L 266, 13.8.2020, p.1

25 OJ L 308, 22.9.2020, p.1

26 OJ L 132, 19.4.2021, p.1

27 OJ L 147, 30.4.2021, p.3

28 OJ L 369, 19.10.2021, p.1

29 OJ L 5I, 10.1.2022, p.1

30 OJ L 244, 21.9.2022, p.1