UK Offence Report

Separate account of expenditure on publicity.

article 115C(3) of The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1992

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

3 A person having custody of the account who intentionally obstructs

a person in the exercise of the rights conferred by subsection (2) 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 (intentionally).

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: intentionally.

What would breach article 115C(3)?

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 an offence is committed where a person intentionally obstructs a person in the exercise of the rights conferred by subsection (2).
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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
Status not determined
Made
16 March 1992
In force from
17 May 1992
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 new provision with respect to the way district councils exercise certain of their activities, confers new powers in relation to district councils and makes miscellaneous amendments to the law relating to local government. Part II of this Order and Schedule 1 secure that district councils undertake certain activities only if they can do so competitively. Part III regulates certain functions of district councils in connection with public supply or works contracts. Part IV enables the Department of the Environment to establish a scheme to give financial assistance to district councils in respect of expenditure incurred in cases of emergencies or disasters and confers a power on district councils to promote safety in the home and the economic development of their districts. Part V makes miscellaneous amendments to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 and to other statutory provisions relating to district councils. The principal amendments concern— a the issue of a code of local government conduct for members and officers of district councils (Articles 29 and 35); b the restriction on members of committees, who are not councillors, from voting on matters before the committee (Article 32); c the adoption of procedural standing orders (Article 33); d the transfer of officers exercising functions on behalf of 2 or more councils back to individual councils (Article 35); e the inspection by councillors, local electors and other ratepayers of accounts and other documents, other than documents relating to records of officers (Articles 36 and 37); f the power of the local government auditor to issue a prohibition notice to prevent an unlawful expenditure or loss or deficiency (Article 38); g the enforcement of bye-laws by constables (Article 39); h the prohibition of political publicity (Article 41); and i the practice of acupuncture by physiotherapists and chiropodists (Article 50).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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