UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 37(2) of Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (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

2 A person who contravenes any other provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

a on conviction on indictment, to

a fine or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding

2 years or to both;

b on summary conviction, to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding

3 months or to 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 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 regulation 37(2)?

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 contravenes any other provisions of these Regulations.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
17 February 1998
In force from
Not determined
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 implement in Northern Ireland Council Directive 89/662/EEC concerning veterinary checks in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the single market (O.J. No. L395, 30.12.89, p. 13), Council Directive 90/675/EEC laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries (O.J. No. L373, 31.12.90, p. 1) and Council Directive 92/118/EEC laying down animal health and public health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of products not subject to the said requirements laid down in specific Community rules referred to in Annex A(I) to Directive 89/662/EEC and, as regards pathogens, to Directive 90/425/EEC (O.J. No. L62, 15.3.93, p. 49). They will also implement in relation to imports of specified meat and fishery products, inspection charge requirements laid down in Council Directive 96/43/EC (O.J. No. L162, 1.7.96, p. 1) and in relation to imports of products of animal origin imported from New Zealand charges specified in the New Zealand Equivalence Agreement attached to Council Decision 97/132/EC (O.J. No. L57, 26.2.97, p. 4) and Council Decision 97/131/EC (O.J. No. L57, 26.2.97, p. 1). The Regulations revoke and re-enact the Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 and the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) (Charges) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993. Part II deals with enforcement. The Regulations make provision for their joint execution and enforcement by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (“the Department”) and district councils. The Department does, however, have power to give directions to district councils concerning their execution and enforcement of the Regulations (regulations 3 and 4). They give powers of entry and inspection to enforce the Directives (regulation 5) and place a duty on district councils to provide returns (regulation 6). They place a duty to give reasons for decisions (regulation 7). Part III deals with intra-Community trade. In this regard the Regulations make it an offence to export products of animal origin except in accordance with specified provisions (regulation 9). They provide for registration by, or notification to, the Department of certain establishments which produce or process or supply for export products of animal origin covered by Council Directive 92/118/EEC (regulations 10 and 11). They provide for the inspection and checking of imports, make provision for the removal of documents and place duties on consignees (regulations 12 to 14). They regulate consignments posing a risk to health and provide for repeated irregularities by an exporting establishment in Northern Ireland (regulations 15 and 16). Parts IV and V relate to third country trade. In this regard the regulations require that imports of products of animal origin from third countries must be through border inspection posts in the European Communities (regulations 19 and 26). The Regulations also prescribe the procedure for such imports (regulations 20, 21 and 26). They regulate procedures in free zones and warehouses and transhipment under customs control (regulations 22, 23 and 26) and establish procedures for consignments posing a risk to health and illegal consignments (regulations 24 and 26). Part VI relates to inspection charges in relation to imports of specified meat and fishery products and also in relation to products of animal origin imported from New Zealand, under the terms of the New Zealand Equivalence Agreement. The Department or district council is required to make a charge for the performance of their functions (regulation 28) and provide for the calculation of charges for health inspection and control exercises (regulation 29). They lay down who is liable to pay the charges (regulation 31) and provide that goods can be held until the charges have been paid (regulation 32). They require the Department and district councils to provide on request information relating to the charges and to consider any representations made concerning the charges by any person notified and require district councils to pass the information regarding the calculation of the charges, together with any representations, to the Department if it so requires (regulation 33) and sets out an appeal procedure (regulation 34). Part VII relates to serious threats to health in other countries. A procedure is provided whereby products from an area outside Northern Ireland suffering from disease can be prevented from entering Northern Ireland (regulation 35). Part VIII relates to offences and penalties (regulations 36 to 38) and Part IX disapplies the provisions listed in Schedule 5 from imports to which these Regulations apply (regulation 39).

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 0.92.

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