UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

article 7(1) of Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order (Northern Ireland) 1989

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 Without prejudice to the provisions of Article

20 of the Weights and Measures (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, if Article 2(1)(b) or 5(1)(c) is contravened, the occupier of the premises in question shall be guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 7(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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order (Northern Ireland) 1989, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£2,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
4 May 1989
In force from
12 June 1989
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— a consolidates and amends the Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order (Northern Ireland) 1986 and implements Council Directive 88/316/EEC (OJ No. L143, 10.6.1988, p.26); b prescribes a range of quantities listed in the Schedule in which intoxicating liquor and other liquids may only be pre-packed (Article 4); c excludes certain wines known as table wines and grape must from the list of items to be pre-packed in prescribed quantities if made up in securely closed containers before 1st January 1989; and extends the requirement to quantity mark from 5L to 10L with effect from 12th June 1989 (Part I of the Schedule); d adds, with effect from 1st January 1991, sparkling wines to the list of items to be pre-packed in prescribed quantities except when pre-packed for consumption on board aircraft, ships and trains or for sale duty-free; and extends the requirement to quantity mark from 5L to 10L with effect from 12th June I989 (Part II of the Schedule); e adds, with effect from 1st January 1992, spirits and liqueurs to the list of items to be pre-packed in prescribed quantities except when pre-packed for consumption on board aircraft, ships and trains, or for sale duty-free; and extends the requirement to quantity mark from 5L to 10L with effect from 12th June 1989 (Part III of the Schedule); f takes account of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System of the European Economic Community, known as the “harmonised system” which includes a Combined Nomenclature replacing the previous Common Customs Tariff Nomenclature. Contravention of Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 give rise to offences under Article 20 of the Weights and Measures (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 for which the penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding £2,000. In particular, and without prejudice to the provisions of that Article 20, contravention of Articles 2(1)(b) or 5(1)(c) of this Order by the occupier of premises is an offence for which the penalty on summary conviction is a fine not exceeding £2,000.

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 0.92.

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