UK Offence Report

Installation of a satellite-tracking device

article 5(2) of The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Satellite Monitoring Measures) (Northern Ireland) Order 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

2 A person in charge of

a fishing boat which has

a satellite-tracking device installed for the purposes of the Commission Regulation which permits the input or output of false positions is 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
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 article 5(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Satellite Monitoring Measures) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
13 October 2005
In force from
14 November 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 provides for the enforcement in Northern Ireland of Commission Regulation (EC) 2244/2003 (O.J. No. L333, 20.12.03. p. 17) laying down detailed provisions regarding satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems (“the Commission Regulation”). The Order contains provisions relating to relevant Northern Ireland fishing boats, and British and Community fishing boats within the Northern Ireland zone (Articles 5 to 9). The Order contains provisions relating to; the installation of a satellite-tracking device (Article 5); the switching off of a satellite-tracking device in port without prior notification (Article 6); the information to be transmitted by the satellite-tracking device (Article 7); the responsibilities relating to a satellite-tracking device (Article 8) and the technical failure or non-functioning of a satellite-tracking device (Article 9). In addition the Order creates offences in respect of the contravention, by the person in charge of the relevant fishing boat (or the individuals otherwise specifically referred to), of the aforementioned provisions. Further the Order contains provisions relating to third country fishing boats within the Northern Ireland zone (Articles 11 to 14). The Order contains provisions relating to: the installation of satellite-tracking device (Article 11); the information to be transmitted by the satellite-tracking device (Article 12); the responsibilities relating to the satellite-tracking device (Article 13) and the technical failure or non-functioning of the satellite tracking device (Article 14). In addition the Order creates offences in respect of the contravention, by the person in charge of the relevant fishing boat (or the individuals otherwise specifically referred to), of the aforementioned provisions. The Order provides that the person guilty of an offence under it, other than an offence under Article 19 is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and on conviction on indictment to a fine. The Order also provides for the recovery of fines imposed, or treated as imposed by a magistrate’s court (Article 19). For the purposes of enforcing the Commission Regulation the Order confers on British sea-fishery officers the powers to: board fishing boats; test any equipment on board; require the production of documentation relating to the boat, equipment, or fishing or ancillary operations; search the boat; remove the satellite-tracking device or any other equipment on the boat; take the boat to the nearest convenient port and detain the boat (Article 17). Protection of such officers from liability is set out in Article 18 and impeding them is an offence under Article 19, with a fine up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction and a fine on conviction on indictment. Articles 20 and 21 deal with corporate and equivalent offences and admissibility of documents in evidence. Revocation is carried out in Article 22.

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