Offences in relation to civil process

article 42(2) of County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980

Revoked, but still prosecutable
Requires proof of a state of mind
Either way
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justice

The provision has been revoked, but a saving provision keeps it prosecutable for conduct before a stated date. A person can still be charged with something it is no longer an offence to do.

What the provision says

2 Any person who—
a delivers or causes to be delivered to any other person any paper falsely purporting to be, or to be
a copy of, any civil bill or other process of
a county court, knowing it to be false; or
b acts or professes to act under any false colour or pretence of the process or authority of
a county court; shall be guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds: a person
Conduct: breaching the provision
Fault element: Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowing it to be).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowing it to be.

What would breach article 42(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine: £1,000
Standard scale: Level 3
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status: Revoked, but still prosecutable
Revoked by: The County Courts (Financial Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2013
Revoked on: 25 February 2013
Made: 19 March 1980
In force from: Not determined
Extent: N.I.

How this was established: revoked, but a saving provision keeps the offence prosecutable for conduct before the stated date.

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis: the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence: 0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justiceOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1980