UK Offence Report

Fines on summary conviction

article 4(2) of The Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984

The instrument creating this offence has not been revoked so far as the data shows.

What the provision says

2 In the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981—

a in Article 46(4) (maximum fine on summary conviction of an indictable offence tried summarily) for “£1,000” there shall be substituted the words “ the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article

4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 ”;

b in Article 54 (fine in lieu of imprisonment)—

i in paragraph (1) for the words “a summary offence” there shall be substituted the words “ an offence ”;

ii for the words “not exceeding £200” there shall be substituted the words— which—

a for an offence punishable on conviction on indictment or on summary conviction, shall not exceed the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article

4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984; and

b for an offence punishable on summary conviction only, shall—

i not exceed £200; and

ii not be of such an amount as would subject the offender, in default of payment of fine, to

a longer term of imprisonment or detention than the term to which he is liable on conviction of the offence;

iii paragraph (2) shall be omitted.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 4(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.

  1. On these words it is an offence to exceed the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article 4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.
  2. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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.

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
In force
Made
18 May 1984
In force from
Not determined
Extent
N.I.

How this was established: read from the revised (currently in force) text.

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
Confidence
0.72 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