UK Offence Report

SCHEDULE 7

SCHEDULE 7 of The Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

Interference with meters 12

1 If any person intentionally or by culpable negligence—

a alters the register of any meter used for measuring the quantity of electricity supplied to any premises by an electricity supplier; or

b prevents any such meter from duly registering the quantity of electricity supplied, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

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

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally.

The defence, as drafted

y proceedings in respect of an offence under this paragraph it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. 4 No proceedings shall be instituted in respect of an offence under this paragraph except by or on behalf of the Director. Meter examiners 5 1 The Director shal

What would breach SCHEDULE 7?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ 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.

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
Revoked by
The Enterprise Act 2002 (Consequential and Supplemental Provisions) Order 2003
Revoked on
20 June 2003
Made
11 February 1992
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

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

This Order— a provides for the appointment and functions of a Director General of Electricity Supply for Northern Ireland and of a Consumer Committee for Electricity; b makes new provision with respect to the supply of electricity through electric lines and the generation and transmission of electricity for such supply; c abolishes the General Consumer Council’s functions in relation to electricity; and d provides for the vesting of the assets and liabilities of Northern Ireland Electricity in companies nominated by the Department and the subsequent dissolution of Northern Ireland Electricity.

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 is “guilty of an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
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