UK Offence Report

Obstruction

regulation 14(1) of The Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008

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 is guilty of an offence if that person–

a intentionally obstructs an authorised officer acting in the execution of these Regulations;

b without reasonable excuse, fails to give an authorised officer acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that officer may reasonably require for the performance of the officer’s functions under these Regulations;

c gives to an authorised officer acting in the execution of these Regulations any information which that person knows, or has reason to believe, to be false or misleading or recklessly gives information which is false or misleading; or

d without reasonable excuse, fails to produce

a record when required to do so by an authorised officer acting in the execution of 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally, recklessly) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

“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: both a mens rea word and an objective standard appear in the offence itself; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

sed officer acting in the execution of these Regulations; b without reasonable excuse, fails to give an authorised officer acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that officer may reasonably require for the performance of the officer’s functions under these Regulations; c gives to an authorised officer

What would breach regulation 14(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 Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008.
  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
26 November 2008
In force from
19 December 2008
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, which extend to Scotland only, revoke and remake, with modifications, the Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (“the 2008 Regulations”) following the adoption of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) and two Commission Regulations adopted under that Regulation, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 (as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 598/2008. The 2008 Regulations made provision for the enforcement of certain provisions of (a) Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 of the Council on the production and marketing of eggs for hatching and of farmyard poultry chicks (O.J. No. L 282, 1.11.1975, p.100), (b) Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1868/77 laying down detailed rules of application for Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 (O.J. No. L 209, 17.8.1977, p.1), (c) Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 on marketing standards for eggs (O.J. No. L 186, 7.7.2006, p.1), and (d) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 557/2007 introducing detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 (O.J. No. L 132, 24.5.2007, p.5). Regulation (EEC) No. 2782/75 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1028/2006 have been repealed by the Single CMO Regulation. Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1868/77 has been repealed by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 557/2007 has been repealed by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008. As regards eggs for hatching and chicks and other eggs, the repealed EC Regulations have been replaced by certain provisions of the Single CMO Regulation, including those in Parts A and C of Annex XIV to the Regulation, and by Commission Regulations (EC) No. 617/2008 (eggs for hatching and chicks) and 589/2008 (other eggs). These Regulations therefore make provision for the enforcement of certain provisions of the Single CMO Regulation insofar as they relate to eggs for hatching and farmyard poultry chicks and other eggs, as from time to time amended, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008, as it relates to eggs for hatching and chicks as from time to time amended, and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 as it relates to other eggs as amended from time to time. The Regulations include provisions– a making the failure to comply with the provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 mentioned in Schedule 1 an offence (regulation ); b relating to the registration of pedigree breeding establishments, other breeding establishments and hatcheries (regulation ); c providing an exception from Article 3(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 by allowing eggs for hatching to be marked in a different manner from that specified in that provision (regulation ); d making the failure to comply with the provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 mentioned in Schedule 2 an offence (regulation ); e relating to the authorisation of packing centres to grade eggs (regulation ); f providing an exception from the provisions of points III(1) and (3) of Part A of Annex XIV to the Single CMO Regulation, as regards the marking of eggs for consumption (regulation ); g varying the minimum requirements for the marketing of eggs as free range eggs by authorising livestock grazing on open-air runs for hens producing such eggs (regulation ); h providing an exception from the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008, by allowing eggs to be marketed as free-range eggs although not all of the requirements laid down in that Regulation for free range eggs are met (regulation ); i providing an exception from the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008, by allowing eggs to be marketed as barn eggs although not all of the requirements laid down in that Regulation for barn eggs are met (regulation ); j relating to powers of authorised officers (regulation 13), obstruction (regulation 14), enforcement (regulation 15) and duties of enforcement authority (regulation 16); k providing a right of appeal against certain decisions of the Scottish Ministers and authorised officers (regulation 17); and l imposing a penalty for offences under the Regulations (regulation 18). Similar provisions were included in the 2008 Regulations by reference to the provisions in the now revoked EC Regulations and these Regulations contain updated references to the equivalent provisions of the Single CMO Regulation and the two new Commission Regulations. In addition, regulation 22(1) of these Regulations saves the amendments made, by regulation 22 of, and Schedule 3 to the 2008 Regulations, to regulation 45 of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996, and enables the substitution of a new regulation 45(2A) of those Regulations effected by regulation 23 of, and Schedule 3 to, these Regulations. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been prepared as this instrument has no impact on the costs of business.

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 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