Taking delivery of fluorinated greenhouse gases

regulation 10(1) of The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (revoked)

Status not determined
Strict liability
Either way
Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries

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 Any person who—
a carries out an activity referred to in Article
3 or 4; and
b takes delivery of fluorinated greenhouse gases, commits an offence if an employee of that person employed to carry out work involving fluorinated greenhouse gases is not
a qualified person.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 regulation 10(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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.

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.

Sentencing organisations: fines and the means of a corporate defendant All courts in England and Wales
How a fine on a company is arrived at from its turnover. Relevant far beyond the guidelines that state it, because a very large share of the offences in this corpus can only be committed by an organisation.
Environmental offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 July 2014
Covers unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste, illegal discharges to air, land and water, and the equivalent offences committed by organisations. It is the guideline that introduced turnover bands for corporate fines, so the size of the defendant company is a starting point rather than a mitigating detail.
Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 6 May 2009
In force from: Not determined
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

These Regulations give effect to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (“the Council Regulation”). The term “fluorinated greenhouse gases” is defined in Article 2(1) of the Council Regulation. These Regulations also give effect to the following Commission Regulations— a Commission Regulation (EC) No 1493/2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the format for the report to be submitted by producers and exporters of certain fluorinated greenhouse gases, and those who place them on the market; b Commission Regulation (EC) No 1494/2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation EC No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the form of labels and additional labelling requirements as regards products and equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; c Commission Regulation No 1497/2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, standard leakage checking requirements for stationary fire protection systems containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; d Commission Regulation (EC) No 1516/2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, standard leakage checking requirements for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; e Commission Regulation (EC) No 303/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of companies and personnel as regards stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; f Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of companies and personnel as regards stationary fire protection systems and fire extinguishers containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; g Commission Regulation (EC) No 305/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from high-voltage switchgear; h Commission Regulation (EC) No 306/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gas-based solvents from equipment; i Commission Regulation (EC) No 307/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements for training programmes and the conditions for mutual recognition of training attestations for personnel as regards air conditioning systems in certain motor vehicles containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; and j Commission Regulation 308/2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the format for notification of the training and certification programmes of the Member States. The main provisions of the Regulations are as follows. Regulation 3 appoints the Department as the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation, other than as that Regulation applies to importation into Northern Ireland from outside the customs territory of the Community. Part 2 of the Regulations (regulations 4 to 15) contains provisions which create offences for breaches of the provisions of the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulations. Regulations 4 to 7 create a number of offences for failure to comply with the provisions of the Council Regulation relating to the operation and leakage checking of certain equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases. Regulation 8 creates a number of offences for failure to comply with the provisions of the 2006 Regulation and of some of the Commission Regulations relating to the keeping of records. Regulation 9 creates a number of offences for failure to comply with the provisions of the 2006 Regulation relating to the recovery of fluorinated greenhouse gases. Regulation 10 makes it an offence to take delivery of fluorinated greenhouse gases in breach of the provisions of the Council Regulation and regulation 11 makes it an offence to fail to comply with the reporting requirements of Article 6 of the Council Regulation. Regulation 12 creates offences relating to the labelling of a product or equipment which contains fluorinated greenhouse gases. Regulation 13 contains provisions about the information concerning fluorinated greenhouse gases which must be included in instruction manuals relating to certain equipment placed on the market. (The term “placing on the market” is defined in regulation 2(1)(t)). Regulation 14 makes it an offence to use sulphur hexafluoride contrary to Article 8 of the Council Regulation. Regulation 15 is concerned with the unlawful placing on the market of fluorinated greenhouse gases. Part 3 of the Regulations (regulations 16 to 41) gives further effect to some of the Commission Regulations and is concerned with the appointment of certification, attestation and evaluation bodies and the qualifications and certificates to be held by individuals and companies to enable them to carry out various activities relating to certain equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases. It is an offence to carry out certain activities without the requisite qualification or certificate. It is also an offence on the part of certification, attestation and evaluation bodies to fail to comply, or ensure compliance with, certain provisions of the Commission Regulations. Chapter 1 of Part 3 (regulations 16 to 22) relates to stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment. Chapter 2 (regulations 23 to 29) relates to fire protection systems and fire extinguishers. Chapter 3 (regulations 30 to 32) relates to high-voltage switch gear and Chapter 4 (regulations 33 to 35) relates to fluorinated greenhouse gas-based solvents. Chapter 5 (regulations 36 to 38) is concerned with air conditioning systems in motor vehicles. Chapter 6 (regulations 39 to 41) contains provisions imposing obligations on employers relating to the employment of qualified personnel and transitional provisions relating to training records. Chapter 6 also imposes obligations on certification, attestation and evaluation bodies. Part 4 of the Regulations (regulations 42 to 52) contains provisions relating to enforcement, offences and penalties. Regulations 42 and 43 relate to the appointment and powers of persons to enforce the Regulations. Such persons are appointed by the enforcing authority. (The term “enforcing authority” is defined in regulation 2(3)). Regulations 44 and 45 are concerned with enforcement and prohibition notices and appeals against such notices. A number of miscellaneous offences are created by regulation 47. Regulation 49 sets out the penalties to which a person is liable if that person commits an offence. Regulation 50 contains provisions enabling a penalty notice to be issued in respect of an offence under regulation 4 relating to certain equipment in a dwelling house. The payment of the penalty in accordance with the regulation will discharge the liability to conviction for the offence. The form of the penalty notice is set out in Schedule 3. Regulation 51 sets out those responsible for enforcement of the Regulations. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available from the Department of the Environment, Calvert House, 23 Castle Place, Belfast BT1 1FY.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Taking delivery of fluorinated greenhouse gasesregulation 10(1)(b)
Reporting requirements and the provision of informationregulation 11(1)
Reporting requirements and the provision of informationregulation 11(2)
Reporting requirements and the provision of informationregulation 11(3)
Reporting requirements and the provision of informationregulation 11(4)
Labellingregulation 12(1)
Instruction manualsregulation 13
Prohibition on the use of sulphur hexafluorideregulation 14
Placing on the marketregulation 15(1)
Qualifications of individuals relating to certain stationary equipmentregulation 17(1)
Certificates for companies – stationary equipmentregulation 20(1)
Certificates for companies – stationary equipmentregulation 20(3)

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 “commits 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (revoked) Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheriesOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2009