UK Offence Report

1 It shall be an offence for a person – a to contravene, or to fail to comply with, any specified Community…

regulation 7(1) of The Genetically Modified Organisms (Traceability and Labelling) Regulations (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 It shall be an offence for a person – a to contravene, or to fail to comply with, any specified Community provision; b to obstruct an inspector in the exercise of a power conferred by regulation 4; c without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under regulation 4; d without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with the requirements of a notice issued under regulation 5 or regulation 6; e knowingly or recklessly to make a statement or furnish any information that is false or misleading in a material particular where the statement is made or the information is furnished in purported compliance with – i any requirement imposed by a specified Community provision; or ii a request of an inspector made for a purpose in connection with the execution or enforcement of these Regulations; or f intentionally to make a false entry in any record required to be kept under a specified Community provision.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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, knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

“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: knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

tor in the exercise of a power conferred by regulation 4; c without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under regulation 4; d without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with the requirements of a notice issued under regulation 5 or regulation 6; e knowingly or recklessly to make a statement or furnish any informat

What would breach regulation 7(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 Genetically Modified Organisms (Traceability and Labelling) Regulations (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)
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
24 May 2005
In force from
30 June 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 Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations make provision as respects Northern Ireland, for the execution and enforcement of Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22nd September 2003 concerning the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability and labelling of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms and amending Directive 2001/18/EC (O.J. No. L268, 18.10.2003, p. 24). Regulation 3 provides for the enforcement of the Regulations and the specified Community provisions (the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 specified in the Schedule) and makes provision for the appointment of inspectors. Regulation 4 sets out the powers of inspectors, including the power to carry out tests and inspections and to take samples. Regulation 5 makes provision for district councils and the Department to obtain information. Regulation 6 provides for the service by inspectors of notices dealing with incorrectly labelled products. Regulation 7 makes it an offence to contravene the specified Community provisions; to obstruct inspectors in the exercise of powers under these Regulations; and to give false information. It sets out a due diligence defence in respect of the contravention of the specified Community provisions. Regulation 8 makes provision for offences committed by third parties. Regulation 9 makes provision for offences committed by corporate bodies. Regulations 10 and 11 prescribe penalties and specify time limits for bringing prosecutions. A Regulatory Impact Assessment for these Regulations has been prepared and can be obtained at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/gmria.pdf Copies of the European Council Regulation and Directive may be obtained at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html and from The Stationery Office Ltd., 16 Arthur Street, Belfast, BT1 4GD.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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