UK Offence Report

2 It is an offence for any person to contravene or fail to comply with any requirement of a withdrawal or…

regulation 61(2) of The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

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 It is an offence for any person to contravene or fail to comply with any requirement of

a withdrawal or recall notice served on that person by the Executive under these Regulations.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 61(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. On these words it is an offence to contravene or fail to comply with any requirement of a withdrawal or recall notice served on that person by the Executive under these Regulations.
  2. Being served with a notice under the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 and doing nothing by the date it specifies.
  3. Doing part of what the notice requires, where it required all of it.
  4. 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
15 June 2017
In force from
10 July 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 transpose Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (recast) (OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p.309) (“the Directive”). The Directive repeals and replaces Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 March 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (OJ L 100, 19.4.1994, p.1) which was implemented in Northern Ireland by the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 247) (as amended) (“the 1996 Regulations”). These Regulations revoke and replace the 1996 Regulations. Regulation 3 defines a “product” for use within potentially explosive atmospheres or for incorporation into equipment and protective systems. Regulation 4 provides an exception, allowing the use of a product which is not in conformity with Part 2, for the purposes of trade fairs, exhibitions and demonstrations. Part 2 sets out the obligations of economic operators. Regulations 5 to 17 set out the obligations specific to manufacturers. These obligations include ensuring that a product has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the essential health and safety requirements set out in Schedule 1, taking action where products are not in conformity, having a relevant conformity assessment procedure carried out, affixing the CE marking, obligations to retain technical documentation, appointment of authorised representatives and product requirements. Regulations 18 to 27 set out the obligations that are specific to importers. These obligations include ensuring that importers are not placing on the market products which are not in conformity with the essential health and safety requirements and taking action where they are not, checking that the manufacturer has carried out a relevant conformity assessment procedure and labelled the products correctly, ensuring storage and transport conditions do not jeopardise conformity with essential health and safety requirements and product monitoring obligations. Regulations 28 to 33 set out the obligations that are specific to distributors. These obligations include acting with due care to ensure that the product is in conformity with Part 2 and taking action where it is not, checking that the product bears the CE marking, ensuring storage and transport conditions do not jeopardise conformity with essential health and safety requirements and checking that the products are labelled correctly. Regulations 35 to 37 set out the obligations that manufacturers, importers and distributors have. These obligations include prohibitions on the improper use of the CE marking and a requirement to translate the declaration of conformity into the language required by the Member States within which it is made available. Part 3 sets out provisions concerning the conformity assessment procedure, declarations of conformity and CE marking. Part 4 sets out provisions concerning the bodies which carry out conformity assessment procedures. Part 5 sets out provisions for market surveillance and enforcement. Regulation 51 identifies the market surveillance authority which has an obligation to enforce the Regulations in respect of the products. Regulation 53 and Schedules 4 and 5 provide for the enforcement powers which the enforcing authorities are to have. Regulation 61 provides for the contravention of provisions to be an offence. Regulation 62 sets out the penalties that are to apply for offences. Part 6 sets out transitional provisions and consequential amendments. The 1996 Regulations will continue to apply to any products which are in conformity and placed on the market prior to the 10th July 2017. A transposition note and assessment of the impact that these Regulations will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector are available from the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, 83 Ladas Drive, Belfast, BT6 9FR and are also published with the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside these Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk. In Great Britain the corresponding Regulations are the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1107).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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