UK Offence Report

1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie on him – a…

article 14(1) of The Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003 (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 A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie on him –

a he contravenes Articles 3, 5, 7, 8(1); or

b he intentionally obstructs an inspector in the exercise of his powers given by or under Article 13(1)(b) or (2).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie on him – a he contravenes Articles 3, 5, 7, 8(1); or b he intentionally obstructs an inspector in the exercise of his powers given by or under Article 13(1)(b) or (2).

What would breach article 14(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 Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003.
  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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Not determined
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

the level is stated but no money value is given: this instrument extends outside the United Kingdom, where the standard scale set by s.122(1) of the Sentencing Act 2020 does not run.

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.

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
25 March 2003
In force from
16 April 2003
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 implements as respects Northern Ireland Commission Decision 2002/757/EC of 19th September 2002 (O.J. No. L252, 20.9.2002, p. 37) insofar as it relates to plants including forest trees but not in relation to wood and bark which are the subject of a separate Order. It also revokes the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 (the revoked Order) (Article 15). The Order prohibits the introduction and spread of the plant pest Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus identified as causing Sudden Oak Death syndrome in certain species of oak in the USA and harm to other plant species, including Rhododendron and Viburnum (Article 3). It controls the landing of plants of a number of susceptible species from the USA, requiring such material to be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates which may be issued only after specific checks have been carried out during production and before consignment; or alternatively, where the material originates in a part of the USA recognised by plant health authorities as free from the pest, confirming that fact (Article 4 and Schedule 1). Material despatched from the USA before 16th April 2003 is not subject to this Order (Article 6), but the controls in Article 3 of the revoked Order will continue to apply to the susceptible material (as defined in that Order) which was despatched from the USA before 16th April 2003 and which enters Northern Ireland after 16th April 2003 (Article 15). Landing of Rhododendron and Viburnum from other countries outside the European Community (“the EC”) apart from the USA is also controlled in that such material must have a plant passport when it is moved within Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the EC (Article 5). Plants of Rhododendron and Viburnum produced in Northern Ireland or originating anywhere else in the EC (which includes, for these purposes, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man), must be accompanied by a plant passport when they are moved, and are subject to further controls on their movement (Article 7 and Schedule 2). The Order requires producers of Rhododendron and Viburnum in Northern Ireland wishing to move such material to be registered if they are not already registered under the principal Plant Health Order (the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993, as amended) (Article 8). Provisions similar to those in the principal Plant Health Order apply to authorisations to registered traders to enable them to issue plant passports under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as the official plant health service in Northern Ireland (Article 9). There are some exceptions to the movement restrictions in the case of persons not acting in the course of a trade, business or undertaking, and there is provision (Article 12) for licensed landing, movement and keeping of the prohibited pest for research purposes. Plant Health Inspectors' enforcement powers are provided for in Article 13 and offences similar to those created in the principal Plant Health Order are created in respect of the production of plant passports pursuant to this Order. Offences are also created in respect of the introduction or spread of the pest and compliance with the key provisions of the Order (Article 14).

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