What would breach article 122(2) of The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991?

On these words an offence is committed where a person wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of his powers under Article 121. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Supplementary provisions as to powers of entry

Q: Is article 122(2) of The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 a strict liability offence?

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

article 122(2) of The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
Either way
Housing, planning, heritage and land

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 Any person who wilfully obstructs
a person acting in the exercise of his powers under Article 121 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding level
3 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: obstructing an official exercising a power
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 (wilfully).

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: wilfully.

What would breach article 122(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.

On these words an offence is committed where a person wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of his powers under Article 121.
Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.
Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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.

Environmental offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 July 2014
Covers unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste, illegal discharges to air, land and water, and the equivalent offences committed by organisations. It is the guideline that introduced turnover bands for corporate fines, so the size of the defendant company is a starting point rather than a mitigating detail.
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: Status not determined
Made: 21 May 1991
In force from: Not determined
Extent: Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

This Order consolidates the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 and the provisions amending that Order.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Information as to estates in landarticle 125(3)
Information as to estates in landarticle 125(4)
Notification of applications to certain personsarticle 22(6)
Notice requiring planning applicationarticle 23(5)
Control of works for demolition, alteration or extension of listed buildingsarticle 44(1)
Control of works for demolition, alteration or extension of listed buildingsarticle 44(5)
Acts causing or likely to result in damage to listed buildingsarticle 49(1)
Applications for hazardous substances consentarticle 54(3)
Subject to this Part, if there is a contravention of hazardous substances control, the appropriate person…article 61(1)
Penalties for contravention of tree preservation ordersarticle 66(1)
Penalties for contravention of tree preservation ordersarticle 66(2)
Penalties for non-compliance with enforcement noticearticle 72(1)

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.
The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Housing, planning, heritage and landOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1991