Nurse v Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Canserve Ltd v Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Privy Council [2019] UKPC 43, Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lady Arden and Lord Kitchin, 19 March; 28 November 2019

Import controls - Mens rea - Regulatory offences - Strict liability

The second appellant imported a container into Trinidad and Tobago, the customs declaration having been signed by the first appellant. The declaration described the goods as office furniture. When the container was inspected, it was found to contain gaming machines, which were prohibited from importation in Trinidad and Tobago. The appellants were charged with making a false declaration in a customs declaration contrary to sections 212(a), 213(a) and 214 of the Customs Act (Trinidad and Tobago). They argued in their defence that they did not know the container contained gaming machines. The magistrate held there was no case to answer. The Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution's appeal, holding that all three offences were ones of strict liability. It was submitted on their behalf before the Privy Council that the Court of Appeal was wrong to conclude that the offences were ones of strict liability. It was submitted on behalf of the appellants that section 212(a) required proof of knowledge that the customs declaration was false, section 213(a) required proof that the defendants knew that they were importing the particular goods alleged, and that these goods were prohibited from importation, and section 214 required proof of knowledge that the goods imported did not correspond to the relevant customs declaration. It was also submitted on behalf of the second appellant that the Board should consider the halfway house that was adopted by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v City of Sault Ste Marie [1978] 2 SCR 1299.