UK Offence Report

Obstruction

regulation 43(1) of The Plant Health (Official Controls and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

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 A person commits an offence if the person—

a intentionally obstructs

a plant health inspector or an authorised person acting in the execution or enforcement of the EU Plant Health Regulation, the Official Controls Regulation or these Regulations;

b without reasonable excuse, fails to give to

a plant health inspector or an authorised person any assistance or information which the inspector or authorised person may reasonably require for those purposes;

c fails to produce

a document or record when required to do so by

a plant health inspector acting in the execution or enforcement of the EU Plant Health Regulation, the Official Controls Regulation or 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

n, the Official Controls Regulation or these Regulations; b without reasonable excuse, fails to give to a plant health inspector or an authorised person any assistance or information which the inspector or authorised person may reasonably require for those purposes; c fails to produce a document or record when required to do so by a plant heal

What would breach regulation 43(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 Plant Health (Official Controls and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019.
  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
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
13 December 2019
In force from
14 December 2019
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 give effect to— a Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (“the EU Plant Health Regulation”); and b Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, in so far as it applies to the rules referred to in Article 1(2)(g) (“the official Controls Regulation”). The Regulations also implement in relation to Northern Ireland— a Council Directive 69/464/EEC on control of Potato Wart Disease (O.J. No. L 323, 24.12.1969, p. 1); b Council Directive 93/85/EEC on the control of potato ring rot (O.J. No. L 259, 18.10.1993, p. 1); c Council Directive 98/57/EC on the control of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. (O.J. No. L 235, 21.8.1998, p. 1); and d Council Directive 2007/33/EC on the control of potato cyst nematodes and repealing Directive 69/465/EEC (O.J. No. L 156, 16.6.2007, p. 12). Part 1 is introductory and includes definitions. Regulation 3(2) provides for references to the European Union instruments listed in regulation 3(1) to be read as references to those instruments as amended from time to time. Regulation 5 designates the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs as the competent authority in Northern Ireland. Part 3 makes further provision in relation to consignments of plants, plant products and other objects from third countries which are subject to official controls on their entry into the European Union. Part 4 contains powers to enable plant health inspectors appointed by the Department to take measures to prevent the establishment or spread of harmful plant pests in Northern Ireland. Part 5 imposes additional temporary measures to prevent the entry of certain harmful plant pests into Northern Ireland or their establishment in, or spread within, Northern Ireland. Part 6 makes further provision in relation to the registration of professional operators and the granting of authorisations to professional operators by the Department. Part 7 imposes additional requirements in relation to certain solanaceous species (potatoes and tomatoes) to implement the Directives mentioned above. Part 8 imposes additional notification requirements in respect of certain plants and plant products which are to be brought into Northern Ireland from third countries, other member States or Switzerland. Part 9 sets out general powers of plant health inspectors to enable them to perform official controls and other official activities, and enforce the EU Plant Health Regulation, the Official Controls Regulation and these Regulations. Regulation 32 provides for recovery of expenses incurred by the Department and regulation 35 provides for an appeal process. Part 10 contains general and supplemental provisions in relation to notices given by plant health inspectors. Part 11 contains offences for non-compliance with specified provisions of the EU Plant Health Regulation and the Official Controls Regulation, and offences in relation to these Regulations. Regulation 48 sets out the penalties for these offences. Part 12 deals with minor and consequential amendments to secondary legislation, revocations and transitional provisions in relation to Northern Ireland. Regulation 55 requires the Department to review the operation and effect of the EU Plant Health Regulation, the Official Controls Regulation and these Regulations and publish a report at five-yearly intervals. An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

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 “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