European Union (UN Firearms Protocol) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 624/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 22nd December, 2020.

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) for the purposes of giving full effect to Regulation (EU) No 258/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 20121 , hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (UN Firearms Protocol) Regulations 2020.

2. (1) (a) “EU Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 258/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 implementing Article 10 of the United Nations’ Protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, and establishing export authorisation, and import and transit measures for firearms, their parts and components and ammunition1 .

(b) “goods to which the EU Regulation applies” means goods the export of which may take place under the EU Regulation and which are listed in Annex I to the EU Regulation.

(c) “Minister” means the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

(d) “applicant” means an individual or entity that has applied for an export authorisation or simplified procedures.

(e) “appeals officer” means an officer acting under the authority of the Minister to review a decision to refuse to grant an export authorisation, or not to apply simplified procedures.

(f) “prescribed period” means the time period set out in Regulation 7.

(g) “simplified procedures” means simplified procedures applied under Regulation 5.

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

3. The Minister is the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the EU Regulation.

4. (1) The Minister may appoint such and so many persons as he or she thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the EU Regulation and these Regulations.

(2) The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a warrant of her or her appointment and when exercising a power conferred by these Regulations, the authorised officer shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant or a copy of it to that person for inspection.

(3) The Minister may terminate the appointment of an authorised officer whether or not the appointment was for a fixed period.

(4) The appointment of an authorised officer ceases –

(a) If it is terminated under paragraph (3)

(b) If it is for a fixed period, on the expiry of that period, or

(c) If the person appointed as an officer of the Minister, upon the person ceasing to be such an officer.

(5) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the EU Regulation and these Regulations, do one or more of the following:

(a) Subject to paragraph (6), enter at all reasonable times any place at which the authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that books, records or other documents relating to the EU Regulation are kept;

(b) at such place, inspect and take copies of any books, records or other documents (including books, records or documents stored in non-legible form) that the authorised officer finds in the course of his or her inspection;

(c) remove any such books, records or other documents from such place and return them for such period as he or she reasonable...