Obstruction

regulation 6(1) of Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

• Status not determined
• Requires proof of a state of mind
• Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlife

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 who—

a intentionally obstructs any other person acting in the execution of these Regulations;

b without reasonable cause, fails to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require of him for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations; or

c furnishes to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information which he knows to be false or misleading, 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

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 regulation 6(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 Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.
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

Not determined

Maximum fine

Not determined

Maximum prison (summary)

Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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.

• Animal cruelty: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 July 2017

  Covers cruelty to and neglect of animals, and the associated disqualification and deprivation orders.

• 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

30 January 1998

In force from

2 February 1998

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 create offences for breach of— Article 4.3 (imports of cattle from third countries) Article 4.5 (removal of ear tags) Article 7.1 First Indent (keeping a register) Article 7.1 Second Indent (Notification of movements, births and deaths) Article 7.3 (provision of information) Article 7.4 (production and retention of the register) of Council Regulation 820/97/EC (establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products (O.J. No. L117, 7.5.97, p. 1). They provide that the competent authority for the purposes of Articles 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 7.3 and 7.4 of that Regulation is the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland. They specify the form of a register and when it shall be filled in (regulation 3 and the Schedule). The Regulations also give powers to inspectors and officers of the Department (regulations 4 and 5), and create offences of obstruction (regulation 6). Breach of the Regulations is an offence punishable— for obstruction and failure to give assistance and information, on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both; for any other offence, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment not exceeding three months or to both; on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both (regulation 7). The Regulations also revoke parts of the Animals (Records) Order and parts of the Tuberculosis Control Order (Northern Ireland) 1964. They amend the Suckler Cow Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 and the Beef Special Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (regulation 8).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

• Enforcement of the Council Regulationregulation 3(1)
• Enforcement of the Council Regulationregulation 3(2)
• Powers of an officer of the Departmentregulation 5(3)

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.
• Cattle Identification (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
• Dogs, animals, hunting and wildlifeOther offences on the same subject
• Offences created in 1998