UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 16(1) of The Areas of Natural Constraint Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (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

1 It is an offence for

a person to—

a intentionally obstruct any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;

b without reasonable cause, proof of which lies with that person, fail to give any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require under these Regulations; or

c knowingly or recklessly furnish to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information that is false or misleading in any material particular.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 16(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 Areas of Natural Constraint Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017.
  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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
13 January 2017
In force from
1 March 2017
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 provide a domestic legal framework for the implementation of Article 31(5) of Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and specifically the payment of an ANC allowance. These Regulations also provide for the implementation of Measure 13 of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 approved on 25th August 2015 by Commission Decision CCI: 2014UK06RDRP002. The Regulations define the conditions of eligibility for an ANC allowance (regulations 3 to 6) and the rate at which it is to be paid (regulation 7 and Schedule 2). Regulation 8 sets the maximum time (90 days) which beneficiaries have to notify the Department of a transfer of a holding. Regulations 9 and 10 grant the Department power to withhold or recover payments and take certain other action in the event of a breach under these Regulations and in certain other circumstances. Regulation 11 sets out how interest to be charged on amounts owed to the Department will be calculated. Regulation 12 allows for payments owed to the Department by beneficiaries to be treated by the Department as debt. Regulation 13 provides for debts owed to the Department to be deducted from future payments to that beneficiary. Regulation 14 provides the powers of entry to land and premises for the purpose of enforcing these regulations to persons authorised by the Department. Regulation 15 sets out the powers of inspection of such authorised persons. Regulations 16 and 17 make it an offence to obstruct, fail to provide information without reasonable cause or furnish false or misleading information to a person acting to implement these Regulations and establishes the penalties which may be imposed. Regulation 18 revokes with savings the Areas of Natural Constraint Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

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 0.90.

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