Effect of Part II on common law and other statutory provisions

article 6(3) of The Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland) Order 1983

Revoked, but still prosecutable
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Summary only
Drugs and medicines

The provision has been revoked, but a saving provision keeps it prosecutable for conduct before a stated date.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

3 In the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
a in section 12 (1) (a) the reference to an offence under that Act includes
a reference to an offence under Article
3 of attempting to commit such an offence;
b in section
19 for the words from “to attempt” to the end there shall be substituted the words “ to incite another to commit an offence under any other provision of this Act ”.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (with intent to) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses with intent to; which element that governs was not determined.

What would breach article 6(3)?

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 Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland) Order 1983.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine: £500
Maximum prison (summary): 3 months

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.

Drug offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales
Covers importation, supply, production and possession of controlled drugs, with sentencing driven by drug class and the offender's role.
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 Criminal Justice (Serious Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988
Made: 27 July 1983
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

Penalties for conspiracyarticle 11(1)
Penalties for conspiracyarticle 11(2)
Penalties for conspiracyarticle 11(2)(c)
Penalties for conspiracyarticle 11(3)
Penalties for conspiracyarticle 11(4)
Restrictions on the institution of proceedings for conspiracyarticle 12(1)
Abolitions, savings, transitional provisions and amendmentsarticle 13(7)
Abolitions, savings, transitional provisions and amendmentsarticle 13(7)
1 If, with intent to commit an offence to which this Article applies, a person does an act which is more…article 3
If, with intent to commit an offence to which this Article applies, a person does an act which is more than…article 3(1)
Subject to section 8 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (relevance of external law), if this paragraph applies…article 3(1A)
A person may be guilty of attempting to commit an offence to which this Article applies even though the…article 3(2)

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 “commits 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.
The Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Drugs and medicinesOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1983