What would breach article 23A(1) of The Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997?

Not doing what the provision requires under the Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, by the time it requires it to be done. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit.

Q: Is article 23A(1) of The Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 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 (believes that, dishonestly, knows or believes that).

article 23A(1) of The Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
Indictable only
Miscellaneous

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 A person is guilty of an offence if— a a wrongful credit has been made to an account kept by him or in respect of which he has any right or interest; b he knows or believes that the credit is wrongful; and c he dishonestly fails to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to secure that the credit is cancelled.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: 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 (believes that, dishonestly, knows or believes that).

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: dishonestly, knows or believes that, believes that.

What would breach article 23A(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.

Not doing what the provision requires under the Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, by the time it requires it to be done.
Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Indictable only — tried in the Crown Court
Maximum fine: Not determined
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment): 10 years

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.

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: 12 February 1997
In force from: 23 March 1997
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 is made only for purposes corresponding to the purposes of the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996. This Order amends the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 by inserting two new offences of dishonestly obtaining a money transfer by deception, and of dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit. It also amends the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 to enable certain loans to be treated as services that can be obtained by deception.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Obtaining a money transfer by deceptionarticle 15A(1)
Obtaining a money transfer by deceptionarticle 3(1)
Dishonestly retaining a wrongful creditarticle 4(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 Theft (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
MiscellaneousOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1997