UK Offence Report

1 If any person wilfully obstructs an authorised person or an accompanying person who are acting under…

regulation 17(1) of Beef Special Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (revoked)

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 If any person wilfully obstructs an authorised person or an accompanying person who are acting under regulation 13, he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

3 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding one month or both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 accompanying 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 (wilfully).

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: wilfully.

What would breach regulation 17(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 Beef Special Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.
  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
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months

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
30 December 1996
In force from
1 January 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 note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations consolidate (with changes) the Beef Special Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, S.R. 1992 No. 569, as amended by S.R. 1993 No. 176, S.R. 1993 No. 480 and S.R. 1994 No. 476. The main change effected by these Regulations is that there is now payable a higher rate premium for uncastrated male bovines (known as “bull premium”). This reflects Council Regulation (EC) No. 2222/96 (O.J. No. L296, 21.11.96, p. 50) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2311/96 (O.J. No. L313, 3.12.96, p. 9). These Regulations make provision for the administration and enforcement of the special premium for male bovines payable under Article 4b of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68 (O.J. No. L148, 28.6.68, p. 24 (O.J./S.E. Vol p. 187)), as amended, and as applied in detail by Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3886/92 (O.J. No. L391, 31.12.92, p. 20), as amended. These Regulations— make provision for the making of applications for first premium, second premium and bull premium (known as “Community premium” (regulations 3, 4 and 5)); enable Community premium otherwise payable to be reduced or withheld and such premium already paid to be recovered where excessive numbers of male bovines are being grazed and maintained on land which the Department has identified as being overgrazed (regulation 10); enable Community premium otherwise payable to be reduced or withheld if the applicant uses unsuitable supplementary feeding methods (regulation 11); require an applicant to retain specified records and other documents (regulation 12); give authorised persons certain enforcement powers (regulation 13); require that specified persons (including applicants for Community premium) give authorised persons such assistance as they may reasonably request (regulation 14); specify circumstances in which Community premium paid to an applicant may be recovered by the Department and prescribe the rate of interest payable on amounts recovered in specified circumstances (regulations 15 and 16); create offences and lay down penalties (regulation 17); specify time limits for bringing prosecutions (regulation 18); revoke a number of statutory rules (regulation 19).

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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