UK Offence Report

1 It is an offence for a person— a to do anything in contravention of Article 5(1) in relation to something…

article 15(1) of The Genetically Modified Organisms (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

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

1 It is an offence for a person— a to do anything in contravention of Article 5(1) in relation to something which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is, a genetically modified organism; b to fail to comply with Article 5(3) when keeping something which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is, a genetically modified organism; c to do anything in contravention of Article 8(1) or (2) in relation to something which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is, a genetically modified organism; d to fail to comply with any requirement of Article 6(2), (3)(a), (b) or (c) or (4) in relation to something which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is, a genetically modified organism; e to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with Article 5(5) or (6); f to contravene any prohibition imposed on him by a prohibition notice; g without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under Article 12; h to prevent any other person from appearing before or from answering any question to which an inspector may, by virtue of Article 12(3), require an answer; i intentionally to obstruct an inspector in the exercise or performance of his powers or duties, other than his powers or duties under Article 14; j intentionally to obstruct an inspector in the exercise of his powers or duties under Article 14; k to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement imposed by a notice under Article 13; l to make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly to make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, where the statement is made— i in purported compliance with a requirement to furnish any information imposed by or under any provision of this Order; or ii for the purpose of obtaining the grant of a consent to himself or any other person or the variation of a consent; m intentionally to make a false entry in any record required to be kept under Article 5 or 8; n with intent to deceive, to forge or use a document purporting to be issued under Article 8 or required for any purpose thereunder or to make or have in his pos session a document so closely resembling any such document as to be likely to deceive; o falsely to pretend to be an inspector.

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
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: both a mens rea word and an objective standard appear in the offence itself; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

to believe is, a genetically modified organism; e to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with Article 5(5) or (6); f to contravene any prohibition imposed on him by a prohibition notice; g without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under Article 12; h to prevent any other person from appearing before or f

What would breach article 15(1)?

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. 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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
6 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
5 years

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.

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

This Order makes provision in Northern Ireland for the purpose of preventing or minimising any damage to the environment which may arise from the escape or release from human control of genetically modified organisms.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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