TNAG-2029-FCO40-2891-Hong-Kong-freezing-of-Kuwaiti-and-Iraqi-assets-1990 — Page 170

Mr Furness, HKD

From:

147

AKB 020126

)S:

Paul Fifoot

Legal Advisers

Advisem

12 September 1990

Date:

CC

Mr Waterworth

IRAQ/KUWAIT (UN SANCTIONS) (DEPENDENT TERRITORIES) ORDER 1990

1.

The Merchant Shipping Act does have a variety of references to customs officers but the only reference to Customs amongst those sections quoted in Hong Kong telno 2733 -see(+6) is section 85; that may well be an institutional reference. The references in sections 15, 68, 256 and 692(1), and it is the latter which is the important one, are all to officers of customs. Different references are to officers of customs of HM Dominions (section 76), officers of customs in a British possession (section 356) and officers of customs at any port in HM Dominions (section 19).

2. The upshot of all this is that officer of customs is not confined to officers in the British customs service and I would not even be prepared to say that it is so confined unless some formula such as that set out in sections 19, 76 or 356 is used.

3.

Indeed, I do not think those issues are particularly relevant to the Sanctions Order. The Sanctions Order is aimed at the dependent territories listed in its Schedule 2 and the powers of investigation referred to in Article 8(i) must be capable of being exercised in those dependent territories. The reference to authorised officer in section 81 is, I believe, intended as a reference which should be given effect, so far as is possible, within of the dependent territories. In my view, therefore, officer of customs in section 692 (1) of the 1984 Act is, for the purposes of the Order, capable of extending to the customs officers of the dependent territories concerned.

4 PFABC

Paul Fifoot