UK Offence Report

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article 56(17) of The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

The provision has been revoked, but a saving provision keeps it prosecutable for conduct before a stated date.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

17 In this Article— “the appropriate criminal intent” means an intent to commit an offence under— section 5(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (possession of controlled drug with intent to supply to another); or section 68(2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (exportation etc. with intent to evade

a prohibition or restriction);

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
importing or exporting without authority
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 (with intent to).

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: with intent to.

What would breach article 56(17)?

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. Moving the goods across the border under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 without the licence the instrument requires.
  2. Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
  3. Sending goods in transit through the United Kingdom, where the provision catches transit as well as import and export.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
Revoked, but still prosecutable
Revoked by
The Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010
Made
2 August 1989
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

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

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes changes in the law in Northern Ireland relating to the powers of the police in the investigation of crime and to evidence in criminal proceedings. Parts II to V deal with police powers to stop and search persons and vehicles, to enter and search premises, as well as powers of arrest and detention. Part VI is concerned with the questioning and treatment of the persons arrested and detained. Under Part VII the Secretary of State is required to issue codes of practice for the detention, treatment, questioning and identification of persons by the police and for the searching of premises and the seizure of property by the police. Part VIII deals with documentary evidence in criminal proceedings and Part IX with evidence generally in such proceedings. Part X contains a number of general provisions relating to the police.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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 “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