UK Offence Report

Contents and publication of a confirmed designation

regulation 29(1) of The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 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

1 A confirmed designation must–

a be in the form of

a written notice;

b describe the area which is the subject of the designation;

c describe the circumstances in which

a person commits an offence under regulation 28(2);

d make reference to any consent given by the competent authority under regulation 28(2).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 29(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

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
5 March 2009
In force from
Not determined
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 implement Council Directive 2006/88/EC (O.J. No. L 238, 24.11.2006, p.14) on animal health requirements for aquaculture animals and products thereof and on the prevention and control of certain diseases in aquatic animals. Part 2 of these Regulations requires aquaculture production businesses, certain processing establishments and the import of ornamental aquatic animals to be authorised by the competent authority (regulation 5). Some undertakings, including put and take fisheries and specialist transport businesses, are required to be registered (regulation 12). Although these Regulations generally come into force on 27th March 2009, regulation 5(1), which makes it an offence to operate an aquaculture production business or certain types of processing establishment without authorisation, comes into force on 1st May 2009. Regulation 12(1), which makes it an offence to operate certain undertakings unless registered, comes into force on 1st August 2009. Part 3 imposes health requirements in relation to the placing on the market of aquaculture and other aquatic animals. One of the principal mechanisms for ensuring that health standards are met is the requirement for any necessary animal health certificates to be properly completed and to accompany the introduction of aquaculture animals into Scotland (regulation 17(1)). This Part also introduces disease prevention requirements in respect of the transport of such animals (regulations 19 to 21). Part 4 establishes a system for the notification and control of disease outbreaks in aquatic animals. The competent authority is required to designate an area where a listed or emerging disease is suspected (regulation 24) and to make a confirmed designation (regulation 28) where such a disease is confirmed. Inspectors are given powers to require others to take steps necessary to eradicate or prevent the spread of disease to other aquatic animals (regulations 26 and 30). Part 5 makes provision as regards measures which may be taken in relation to Gyrodactylus salaris (Gs). The measures which may be taken include the creation of barriers to movements of fish and the treatment of waters with chemical agents (regulation 32), the clearance of fish farms (regulation 33) and such other measures as the competent authority considers appropriate (regulation 34). Part 6 gives enforcement powers to inspectors, and allows the service of an enforcement notice (regulation 39). Appeals may be made against such a notice or in relation to an authorisation under Part 2. A person found guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or on conviction on indictment to an unlimited fine (regulation 43). Part 7 makes provision prohibiting vaccination without the prior permission of the competent authority (regulation 44), and as to the keeping of a public register of disease-free zones and compartments (regulation 45). Regulatory Impact Assessment relating to these Regulations has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and a copy is available from Scottish Government Marine Directorate, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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”; c10_offence_under_parent_act
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