UK Offence Report

Powers of authorised officers

regulation 12(8) of The Eggs and Chicks (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (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

8 A person is guilty of an offence if—

a without reasonable excuse, the person fails to comply with any requirement imposed on them by

a direction given by an authorised officer under paragraph (1);

b unless authorised to do so, in writing, by an authorised officer, the person interferes with any packs or containers that have been secured by an authorised officer under paragraph (2); or

c without reasonable excuse, the person fails to comply with any requirement imposed on them by

a direction given by an authorised officer under paragraph (3).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to comply with a notice or direction
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

8 A person is guilty of an offence if— a without reasonable excuse, the person fails to comply with any requirement imposed on them by a direction given by an authorised officer under paragraph (1); b unless authorised to do so, in writing, by an authorised officer, the person interferes with any packs or containers that hav

What would breach regulation 12(8)?

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. Being served with a notice under the Eggs and Chicks (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 and doing nothing by the date it specifies.
  2. Doing part of what the notice requires, where it required all of it.
  3. Disagreeing with the notice and ignoring it, rather than using whatever appeal the instrument provides.

Penalty

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

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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
18 November 2008
In force from
22 December 2008
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 revoke and remake, with modifications, the Eggs and Chicks Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008 No. 98) following the adoption of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (O.J. No. L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1) and two Commission Regulations adopted under that Regulation, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 (O.J. No. L168, 28.6.2008, p. 5) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 (O.J. No. L163, 24.6.2008, p. 6). The 2008 Regulations made provision for the enforcement of certain provisions of Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 of the Council on the production and marketing of eggs for hatching and of farmyard poultry chicks (O.J. No. L 282, 1.11.1975, p. 100), Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1868/77 laying down detailed rules of application for Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 (O.J. No. L 209, 17.8.1977, p. 1). Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 on marketing standards for eggs (O.J. No. L186, 7.7.2006, p. 1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 557/2007 introducing detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 (O.J. No. L 132, 24.5.2007, p. 5). Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 have been repealed by the Single CMO Regulation. Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1868/77 has been repealed by Commission Regulation No. 617/2008 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 557/2007 has been repealed by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008. As regards eggs for hatching and chicks and other eggs, the repealed EC Regulations have been replaced by certain provisions of the Single CMO Regulation, including those in Parts A and C of Annex XIV to the Regulation, and by Commission Regulations (EC) No. 617/2008 (eggs for hatching and chicks) and 589/2008 (other eggs). These Regulations make provision for the enforcement of certain provisions of the Single CMO Regulation insofar as they relate to eggs for hatching and farmyard poultry chicks and other eggs, as from time to time amended, Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008, as from time to time amended, and Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 as adopted on 23rd June 2008. The Regulations include provisions— a making the failure to comply with the provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 mentioned in Schedule 1 an offence (regulation 3); b relating to the registration of pedigree breeding establishments, other breeding establishments and hatcheries (regulation 4); c providing an exception from Article 3(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 by allowing eggs for hatching to be marked in a different manner from that specified in that provision (regulation 5); d making the failure to comply with the provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 mentioned in Schedule 3 an offence (regulation 6); e relating to the authorisation of packing centres to grade eggs (regulation 7); f providing an exception from the provisions of points III(1) and (3) of Part A of Annex XIV to the Single CMO Regulation, as regards the marking of eggs for consumption (regulation 8); g varying the minimum requirements for the marketing of eggs as free-range eggs by authorising livestock grazing on open-air runs for hens producing such eggs (regulation 9); h providing an exception from the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, by allowing eggs to be marketed as free-range eggs although not all of the requirements laid down in that Regulation for free-range eggs are met (regulation 10); i providing an exception from the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, by allowing eggs to be marketed as barn eggs although not all of the requirements laid down in that Regulation for barn eggs are met (regulation 11); j providing a right of appeal against certain decisions of the Department and authorised officers (regulation 17); k imposing a penalty for offences under the Regulations (regulation 18). Similar provisions were included in the 2008 Regulations by reference to the provisions in the now revoked EC Regulations and these Regulations contain updated references to the equivalent provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and the two new Commission Regulations. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations as they have no impact on business.

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