UK Offence Report

Amendment of the Sea Fishing (Prohibition on the Removal of Shark Fins) (Scotland) Order 2007

article 2(3) of The Sea Fishing (Prohibition on the Removal of Shark Fins) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009

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 In article3 (offences)—

a for paragraph(3) substitute— A person in charge of

a relevant fishing boat in relation to which there is

a contravention of, or failure to comply with,

a provision of the Regulation referred to in column1 of Part3 of the Schedule commits an offence. ; and

b for paragraph(4) substitute— Any person who, in purported compliance with Article5 of the Regulation, knowingly or recklessly makes

a false or misleading entry in

a logbook, or furnishes information which is false in

a material particular, commits an offence where the entry is made, or the information is furnished, in Scotland or in the Scottish zone. .

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach article 2(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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Sea Fishing (Prohibition on the Removal of Shark Fins) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

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
24 November 2009
In force from
1 January 2010
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order amends the Sea Fishing (Prohibition on the Removal of Shark Fins) (Scotland) Order 2007 (“the principal Order”). The principal Order makes provision for the enforcement of restrictions and obligations contained in Council Regulation (EC) No.1185/2003 on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels (O.J. No.L167, 4.7.03, p.1) (“the Regulation”). The Order amends article 2 (interpretation) of the principal Order by adding definitions of “Community fishing boat” and “relevant British fishing boat”. It also amends the definition of “relevant fishing boat”, which varies the application of the offence provisions under article3 of the principal Order (article2(2)). The Order amends article3 (offences) of the principal Order by— a removing the defence of acting in compliance with a special fishing permit, issued in accordance with Article4 of the Regulation (article2(3)(a)); b amending the offence provisions so that they apply to redefined categories of fishing boats. It modifies article3(1) of the principal Order by excluding from its application, any non-Scottish fishing boat within the Scottish zone which holds, and operates in compliance with, a special fishing permit issued in accordance with Article4 of the Regulation. It substitutes article3(3) of the principal Order to make it an offence for any non-Scottish fishing boat, which is within the Scottish zone and holds a special fishing permit, to contravene the specified provisions of the Regulation that relate to special fishing permits (article2(2)(c) and (3)(a)); and c substituting article3(4) of the principal Order to restrict the offence of providing false information, in purported compliance with Article5 of the Regulation, to information which is provided in Scotland or in the Scottish zone and to remove reference to information provided in relation to a Scottish fishing boat (article2(3)(b)). The Order amends Schedule 1 to the principal Order by— a removing from Part1, the offences relating to breaches of conditions associated with special fishing permits (article2(4)(a)); and b inserting a Part3 to make it an offence for any non-Scottish fishing boat, which is within the Scottish zone and holds a special fishing permit, to contravene any of the specified provisions of the Regulation that relate to special fishing permits (article2(2)(c) and (4)(b)). No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared for this instrument as it has no impact on the cost 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 0.96.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.96 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