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 11(1) of The Plant Health (Wood and Bark) (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005

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 or fails to comply with Article 3; or

b he contravenes or fails to comply with

a provision or condition of

a notice served under this Order or

a licence granted under Article 26A of the principal Order as applied for the purposes of this Order by Article 7; or

c he intentionally obstructs an inspector or any person authorised by an inspector in the exercise of his powers given by or under this Order.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 or fails to comply with Article 3; or b he contravenes or fails to comply with a provision or condition of a notice served under this Order or a licence granted under Article 26A of the principal Order as ap

What would breach article 11(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 (Wood and Bark) (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005.
  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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
9 May 2005
In force from
30 May 2005
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 in Northern Ireland – a Commission Decision 2002/757/EC of 19th September 2002 (O.J. No. L252, 20.9.2002, p. 37) as amended by Commission Decision 2004/426/EC of 29th April 2004 (O.J. No. L189, 27.5.2004, p. 1) on provisional emergency phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Community of Phytophthora ramorum insofar as they relate to wood and isolated bark but not in relation to plants and trees which are the subject of a separate Order; and b Commission Decision 2004/278/EC (O.J. No. L87, 25.3.2004, p. 31) on the Community position on the amendment of the Appendices to Annex 4 to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade and agricultural products insofar as it relates to wood of Quercus L. The Order prohibits the introduction into and spread within Northern Ireland of the pest Phytophthora ramorum (Article 3). The Order places certain controls on the importation of susceptible wood from the USA, requiring such wood 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 wood originates in a part of the USA recognised by plant health authorities as free from Phytophthora ramorum, confirming that fact (Article 4(1) and the Schedule). Imports of such wood must be notified to an inspector at least three days before landing (Article 4(2)). These requirements do not apply in the case of wood of Quercus L. imported from Switzerland (Article 4(3)). The importation of susceptible bark originating in the USA is prohibited (Article 4(4)). Provisions similar to those in the principal Order apply to the issue of phytosanitary certificates in Northern Ireland (Article 5) and to the effect of phytosanitary certificates issued outside Northern Ireland (Article 6). There is provision for licenses to be granted under the principal Order for the importation, movement and keeping of Phytophthora ramorum for research purposes (Article 7). Provisions similar to those in the principal Order apply to actions which may be required or which may be taken by inspectors (Articles 8 to 10). Offences similar to those created in the principal Order are created in respect of the introduction, spread and movement of Phytophthora ramorum, compliance with notices served under this Order and licences granted under the principal Order as applied for the purposes of this Order and the obstruction of inspectors exercising their powers under this Order (Article 11). The Plant Health (Wood and Bark) (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R. 2003/175) is revoked (Article 12). No regulatory impact assessment has been undertaken in respect of the measures in this Order.

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