UK Offence Report

Maximum residue levels

regulation 4(3) of The Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (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

3 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or causes or permits any other person to contravene any provision of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable– a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and b on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

3 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes or causes or permits any other person to contravene any provision of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable– a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and b on conviction on indictment, to

What would breach regulation 4(3)?

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 an offence is committed where a person contravenes or causes or permits any other person to contravene any provision of this regulation.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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.

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
31 January 2000
In force from
1 February 2000
Extent
S

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 are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and consolidate and replace the provisions of the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations 1994 (S.I. 1994/1985) and the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 to 1999 (S.I. 1995/1483, 1996/1487, 1997/567, 1998/2922 and 1999/1109). To the extent that the Regulations are made under the European Communities Act 1972, regulation 4 and Schedule 2 Part 2 specify maximum levels of pesticide residues which may be left in crops, food and feeding stuffs in implementation of Council Directive 86/362/EEC (O.J. No. L221, 7.8.86, p.37) and Council Directive 86/363/EEC (O.J. No. L221, 7.8.86, p.43) as regards cereals and products of animal origin, and Council Directive 90/642/EEC (O.J. No. L350, 14.12.90, p.71) as regards certain products of plant origin (including fruit and vegetables), each as last amended by Commission Directive 1999/71/EC (O.J. No. L194, 27.7.99, p.36)) (these Directives as so amended being referred to in these Regulations as “the Residues Directives”). In particular, these Regulations specify for the first time maximum residue levels for the pesticide Azoxystrobin in implementation of Commission Directive 1999/71/EC. Regulation 4 also creates offences, specifies penalties, provides defences and confers enforcement powers where these maximum residue levels have been exceeded in respect of products put into circulation. To the extent that these Regulations are made under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, they specify maximum levels of pesticides residues which may be left in crops, food and feeding stuffs which are not the subject of the Residues Directives. Since they are made under section 16(2)(k) of that Act, regulation 3 and Schedule 2 Part 1 do no more than specify the maximum residue level which may be left in a particular product. Offences and penalties for contravention of regulation 3 are prescribed respectively by sections 16(12) and 21(3) of that Act. The Regulations also confer powers to seize and dispose of products where maximum residue levels have been exceeded (regulation 5) and prescribe how much of a particular product is to be taken into account in determining whether a maximum residue level has been exceeded in accordance with Council Directive 90/642/EEC (regulation 6 and Schedule 3). Provision is also made with regard to the manner for determining whether maximum residue levels have been exceeded when found in dried or processed products or composite foods, so far as these are the subject of the Residues Directives (regulation 6). These Regulations revoke the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations 1994 (S.I. 1994/1985) and the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 to 1999 (S.I. 1995/1483, 1996/1487, 1997/567, 1998/2922 and 1999/1109) (regulation 7 and Schedule 4).

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of 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