UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Undersized Lobsters (Scotland) Order 2000

the instrument as a whole of The Undersized Lobsters (Scotland) Order 2000

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

Contravening this instrument is an offence under sections 1(7)-(8) and

11 of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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. Selling the goods under the Undersized Lobsters (Scotland) Order 2000 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to sections 1(7)-(8) and 11 of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Specified Crustaceans (Prohibition on Landing, Sale and Carriage) (Scotland) Order 2017
Revoked on
25 February 2018
Made
15 June 2000
In force from
7 July 2000
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order prescribes a minimum size for the landing of lobsters (Homarus gammarus) (article 3(1)). There is an exemption from the minimum landing size for the landing of lobsters from foreign fishing boats (article 3(2)). The Order also prescribes a minimum size for the sale of lobsters (article 4(1)) and for the carriage of lobsters on a Scottish fishing boat anywhere, or relevant British fishing boat in the Scottish zone (article 5). There is an exemption from the minimum sale size for lobsters which are landed from foreign fishing boats (article 4(2)). The Order also gives British sea-fishery officers further enforcement powers in relation to all Scottish fishing boats (wherever they may be) and relevant British fishing boats within the Scottish zone, but it does so only as a matter of Scots law (article 6). They already have powers under section 15(2) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 (“the 1967 Act”), as amended by the Fisheries Act 1981, to seize any fish in respect of which an offence has been or is being committed under section 1(3) of the 1967 Act. Offences and penalties are prescribed respectively by section 1(7) and (8) and section 11 of the 1967 Act. This Order revokes the Undersized Lobsters Order 1993, in so far as it relates to Scotland. This Order is made in reliance on Article 46 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 850/98 (O.J. No. L125, 27.04.98, p.1), laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources, which authorises Member States to take certain national measures for the conservation and management of local stocks. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from SERAD, Sea Fisheries Division, Room 518, Pentland House, Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh EH14 ITY.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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 0.59.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.59 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