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Goods are subject to export prohibitions or controls from the UK if they can be used for:

• torture
• capital punishment
• cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

These goods are controlled by the Torture Goods Regulations.

Goods controlled by the Torture Goods Regulations include drugs used in executions by lethal injection. The export of pancuronium bromide and propofol to the United States is also controlled under UK legislation.

Legislation

In Great Britain, the following regulations apply:

The assimilated Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Exports from Great Britain to EU member states may require a licence, depending on the type of goods.

In Northern Ireland, Regulation 2019/125 applies.

Exports from Northern Ireland to?EU?member?states do not require a licence (except in specific circumstances).?

Exports from Northern Ireland to Great Britain require a licence.

Associated secondary legislation

Licensing, enforcement and penalties powers are in the Export Control Order 2008 (as amended).

How the Torture Goods Regulations affect exporters

Regulating trade in certain kinds of equipment

The Torture Goods Regulations list 3 categories of goods:

• those which have no practical use other than for the purposes of capital punishment, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• those that have legitimate law enforcement applications but could be used for the purpose of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• those that could be used for the purpose of capital punishment

The export of the first category of goods is prohibited, except in specific circumstances.

The other 2 categories of items may be authorised by export licence.

Goods that are prohibited

Annex II of the Torture Goods Regulations lists goods which have no practical use other than for the purposes of capital punishment, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Any export or import of these goods is prohibited. The supply of technical assistance in connection with these goods is also prohibited.

These goods include:

• gallows and guillotines
• electric chairs for the purpose of execution of human beings
• airtight vaults
• automatic drug injection systems
• electric shock devices, thumb-cuffs, finger-cuffs, thumbscrews and finger-screws
• bar fetters, leg restraints and gang chains
• cuffs for restraining human beings
• restraint chairs
• shackle boards and shackle beds
• cage beds
• net beds
• batons or truncheons with metal spikes
• whips with multiple lashes or fitted with barbs, hooks or spikes

An exemption from this export prohibition can only be made if the goods are to be exhibited in a public display in a museum because of their historic significance. If this exemption applies, you will need an export licence, from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

Goods that require an export authorisation

You will need a licence from DBT to export the goods listed in Annex III and IV of the Torture Goods Regulations. The supply of brokering services and the supply of technical assistance in respect of the goods listed in Annex III or in Annex IV to the Torture Goods Regulations is also subject to authorisation.

Annex III of the Torture Goods Regulations lists goods that could be used for the purpose of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, but also have legitimate applications, for example:

• shackles and gang-chains, certain individual cuffs or rings
• spit hoods
• portable electric shock devices
• devices for the purpose of riot control or self-protection by the administration or dissemination of an incapacitating chemical
• certain pepper sprays

For the Torture Goods Regulations an export licence is not required for goods listed in Annex III when:

• the goods only pass through the territory of the United Kingdom, i.e. goods which are not assigned a customs approved treatment or use other than the transit procedure within the meaning given by paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, including storage of goods in a free zone
• the export is to other countries, provided that the goods will be used by the military or civil personnel of the UK, if they are taking part in a UN peace-keeping or crisis management operation in the country concerned, or in an operation based on agreements between the UK and another country in the field of defence.

Annex IV of the Torture Goods Regulations lists goods that could be used for the purpose of capital punishment, but also have legitimate medical applications.

An export authorisation for goods listed in Annex IV is not required where the goods only pass through the territory of the UK, goods which are not assigned a customs approved treatment or use other than the transit procedure within the meaning given by paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, including storage of goods in a free zone.

Export controls in relation to other regulatory controls for drugs

Exporters should be aware that other regulatory controls applying to the supply or export of these drugs are included under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as administered by the Home Office).

It is an exporters responsibility to ensure that all regulatory requirements are complied with and to apply for licences from all individual relevant regulatory authorities, as necessary.

Additional UK controls on drugs

Article 4A of the Export Control Order 2008 controls the export of the drugs pancuronium bromide and propofol to the USA.

Pancuronium bromide and propofol are included on the list of human and veterinary medicinal products that are prohibited for export to the USA when they are in a form suitable for injection, or for preparation of an injection.

Any person seeking to export these drugs from the UK to the USA requires an export licence issued by DBT.

A licence will be refused if the end use is execution or if we consider that there is an unacceptable risk that the drug will be diverted for use in execution. The control covers both direct and indirect export of products from the UK to the USA. The indirect control applies when the initial destination is not the USA, but the exporter knows that the goods will be re-exported, and that the ultimate destination is the USA.

Apply for an export licence

Check whether the goods you propose to export are controlled under these Regulations and whether they require a licence.

For the export of drugs controlled under Annex IV of the Torture Goods Regulation, check if your export is subject to other licensing requirements administered by either the Home Office, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or the Veterina

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