Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 7th April, 2023.

I, SIMON COVENEY, 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 (EC) No 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005¹ , as amended, hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo) Regulations 2023.

2. (1) In these Regulations -

“Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005¹ 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 1b, 3(1), 3(2), 4(1) or 4b(1) 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. European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo) (No. 4) Regulations 2022 ( S.I. No. 634 of 2022 ) are revoked.

Schedule 1

Council Regulation

1. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1824/2005 of 9 November 2005²

2. Commission Regulation (EC) No 84/2006 of 18 January 2006³

3. Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006⁴

4. Commission Regulation (EC) No 201/2007 of 23 February 2007⁵

5. Commission Regulation (EC) No 400/2007 of 12 April 2007⁶

6. Commission Regulation (EC) No 933/2007 of 3 August 2007⁷

7. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1096/2007 of 20 September 2007⁸

8. Commission Regulation (EC) No 242/2009 of 20 March 2009⁹

9. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1250/2010 of 22 December 2010¹⁰

10. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1097/2011 of 25 October 2011¹¹

11. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 7/2012 of 5 January 2012¹²

12. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1251/2012 of 20 December 2012¹³

13. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 53/2013 of 22 January 2013¹⁴

14. Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 of 13 May 2013¹⁵

15. Council Regulation (EU) No 521/2013 of 6 June 2013¹⁶

16. Council Regulation (EU) No 271/2014 of 17 March 2014¹⁷

17. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1275/2014 of 1 December 2014¹⁸

18. Council Regulation (EU) 2015/613 of 20 April 2015¹⁹

19. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/614 of 20 April 2015²⁰

20. Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1165 of 18 July 2016²¹

21. Council Regulation (EU) 2016/2230 of 12 December 2016²²

22. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/199 of 6 February 2017²³

23. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/396 of 7 March 2017²⁴

24. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/904 of 29 May 2017²⁵

25. Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1326 of 17 July 2017²⁶

26. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/197 of 9 February 2018²⁷

27. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/569 of 12 April 2018²⁸

28. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1931 of 10 December 2018²⁹

29. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2101 of 9 December 2019³⁰

30. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/189 of 12 February 2020³¹

31. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/415 of 19 March 2020³²

32. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1507 of 16 October 2020³³

33. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2021 of 10 December 2020³⁴

34. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2133 of 17 December 2020³⁵

35. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1863 of 22 October 2021³⁶

36. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2176 of 9 December 2021³⁷

37. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2177 of 9 December 2021³⁸

38. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1009 of 27 June 2022³⁹

39. Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2237 of 14 November 2022⁴⁰

40. Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2373 of 5 December 2022⁴¹

41. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2401 of 8 December 2022⁴²

Schedule 2

Provision of Council Regulation

Article 1a

Article 2

Article 6(1)

Article 7b

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

23 February, 2023.

SIMON COVENEY,

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 1183/2005 regarding restrictive measures concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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 L193, 23.7.2005, p.1

1 OJ L193, 23.7.2005, p.1

2 OJ L 294, 10.11.2005, p.3

3 OJ L 14, 19.1.2006, p.14

4 OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p.1

5 OJ L 59, 27.2.2007, p.73

6 OJ L 98, 13.4.2007, p.20

7 OJ L 204, 4.8.2007, p.5

8 OJ L 246, 21.9.2007, p.29

9 OJ L 75, 21.3.2009, p.8

10 OJ L 341, 23.12.2010, p.11

11 OJ L 285, 1.11.2011, p.2

12 OJ L 4, 7.1.2012, p.1

13 OJ L 352, 21.12.2012, p.42

14 OJ L 20, 23.1.2013, p.46

15 OJ L 158, 10.6.2013, p.1

16 OJ L 156, 8.6.2013, p.1

17 OJ L 79, 18.3.2014, p.35

18 OJ L 346, 2.12.2014, p.3

19 OJ L 102, 21.4.2015, p.3

20 OJ L 102, 21.4.2015, p.10

21 OJ L 193, 19.7.2016, p.15

22 OJ L 336, 12.12.2016, p.1

23 OJ L 32, 7.2.2017, p.1

24 OJ L 60, 8.3.2017, p.9

25 OJ L 138 I, 29.5.2017, p.1

26 OJ L 185, 18.7.2017, p.19

27 OJ L 38, 10.2.2018, p.2

28 OJ L 95, 13.4.2018, p.9

29 OJ L 314, 11.12.2018, p.1

30 OJ L318, 10.12.2019, p.1

31 OJ L 40, 13.2.2020, p.1

32 OJ L 86, 20.3.2020, p.1

33 OJ L 345, 19.10.2020, p.1

34 OJ L 419, 11.12.2020, p.5

35 OJ L 430, 18.12.2020, p.8

36 OJ L 377, 25.10.2021, p.1

37 OJ L 443, 10.12.2021, p.1

38 OJ L 443, 10.12.2021, p.3

39 OJ L 170, 28.06.2022, p.15

40 OJ L 294, 15.11.2022, p.1

41 OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p.79

42 OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p.32