UK Offence Report

Prohibition on putting into circulation products with excess residues

regulation 3(4) of Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (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

4 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or causes or permits any other person to contravene the prohibition in paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable— a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and b on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

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.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

4 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or causes or permits any other person to contravene the prohibition in paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable— a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and b on conviction on indictment, to

What would breach regulation 3(4)?

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 or causes or permits any other person to contravene the prohibition in paragraph (1).
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, 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
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
12 May 2006
In force from
30 June 2006
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 are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and section 16(2) of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and consolidate and replace the provisions of the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (S.R. 2002 No. 20) as amended by S.R. 2002 No. 27, S.R. 2002 No. 250, S.R. 2003 No. 123, S.R. 2003 No. 379, S.R. 2003 No. 435, S.R. 2004 No. 200, S.R. 2004 No. 367, S.R. 2005 No. 51 and S.R. 2005 No. 401 — see regulation 6 and Schedule 4 for revocations. To the extent that the Regulations are made under the European Communities Act 1972, regulation 3 and Part II of Schedule 2 specify maximum levels of pesticide residues which crops, food and feeding stuffs may contain in implementation of Council Directive 76/896/EEC (O.J. No. L340, 9.12.1976, p. 26) relating to fruit and vegetables, Council Directive 86/362/EEC (O.J. No. L221, 7.8.86, p. 37) and Council Directive 86/363/EEC (O.J. No. L221, 7.8.86, p. 43) as regards cereals and products of animal origin, and Council Directive 90/642/EEC (O.J. No. L350, 14.12.90, p. 71) as regards certain products of plant origin (including fruit and vegetables), as amended (these Directives as so amended being referred to in these Regulations as “the Residues Directives”). In particular, these Regulations specify new maximum residue levels on products of plant origin including cereals for the pesticides Carfentrazone-ethyl, Fenamidone, Isoxaflutole, Maleic Hydrazide, Mecoprop, Mecoprop-P, Propyzamide, Trifloxystrobin in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/37/EC (O.J. No. L141, 4.6.2005, p. 10); on products of plant origin, cereals and foodstuffs of animal origin for Amitraz in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/46/EC (O.J. No. L177, 9.7.2005, p. 35); on products of plant origin, cereals and foodstuffs of animal origin for Flufenacet, Fosthiazate, Iodosulfuron-methyl sodium, Iprodione, Mesotrione, Molinate, Picoxystrobin, Propiconazole, Silthiofam in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/48/EC (O.J. No. L219, 24.8.2005, p. 29); on cereals and certain products of animal and plant origin for Bromoxynil, Dimethenamid-P, Flazasulfuron, Flurtamone, Mepanipyrim, Propoxycarbazone, Pyraclostrobin, Quinoxyfen, Zoxamide in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/70/EC (O.J. No. L276, 21.10.2005, p. 35); on certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables for Ethofumesate, Lambda-cyhalothrin, Methomyl, Pymetrozine and Thiabendazole in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/74/EC (O.J. No. L282, 26.10.2005, p. 9); on cereals and certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables for Azoxystrobin, Bifenthrin, Cyromazine, Kresoxim-methyl and Metalaxyl in implementation of Commission Directive 2005/76/EC (O.J. No. L293, 9.11.2005, p. 14); on cereals and certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables for Carbofuran in implementation of Commission Directive 2006/4/EC (O.J. No. L23, 27.1.2006, p. 69); on certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables for Diquat in implementation of Commission Directive 2006/9/EC (O.J. No. L22, 26.1.2006, p. 24) and on cereals, foodstuffs of animal origin and certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables for the Benomyl group in implementation of Commission Directive 2006/30/EC (O.J. No. L75, 14.3.2006, p. 7). To the extent that these Regulations are made under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, they specify maximum levels of pesticide residues which may be left in crops, food and feeding stuffs which are the subject of the Residues Directives. Since they are made under section 16(2)(k) of that Act, regulation 3 and Part I of Schedule 2 do no more than specify the maximum residue level which may be left in a particular product. Regulation 3 also creates offences, specifies penalties, provides defences and confers enforcement powers where maximum residue levels have been exceeded in respect of products put into circulation. The Regulations also confer powers to seize and dispose of products where maximum residue levels have been exceeded (regulation 4) and prescribe how much of a particular product is to be taken into account in determining whether a maximum residue level has been exceeded in accordance with Council Directive 90/642/EEC (regulation 5(a) and Schedule 3). Provision is also made with regard to the manner for determining whether maximum residue levels have been exceeded when found in dried or processed products or composite foods, so far as these are the subject of the Residues Directives (regulation 5(c) and (d)). These Regulations revoke the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (S.R. 2002 No. 20 as amended by S.R. 2002 No. 27, S.R. 2002 No. 250, S.R. 2003 No. 123, S.R. 2003 No. 379, S.R. 2003 No. 435, S.R. 2004 No. 200, S.R. 2004 No. 367, S.R. 2005 No. 51 and S.R. 2005 No. 401).

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