UK Offence Report

Offences: obstruction etc.

regulation 9 of The Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2010

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

9 Any person who—

a intentionally obstructs any person acting in the execution of these Regulations; or

b without reasonable excuse, fails to give any person acting in execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require for the purpose of carrying out functions under these Regulations; or

c furnishes to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information knowing it to be false or misleading, is guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally, knowing it to be).

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally, knowing it to be; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

y person acting in the execution of these Regulations; or b without reasonable excuse, fails to give any person acting in execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require for the purpose of carrying out functions under these Regulations; or c furnishes to any person acting in the execution of

What would breach regulation 9?

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 Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2010.
  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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
17 November 2010
In force from
11 December 2010
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 replace the Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2008. The changes are that they enforce Articles5a, 5b and 5c of Commission Regulation (EC) No.1825/2000 (regulation4(1)(b)) and provide rules for the provision of information for un-prepacked meat of bovine animals aged 12months or less at the point of sale (regulation4(2)). They continue to enforce TitleII of Regulation (EC) No.1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and subsidiary Commission Regulations. They also enforce the provisions relating to meat of bovine animals aged 12months or less 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) as well as the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No.566/2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No.1234/2007 as regards the marketing of the meat of bovine animals aged 12months or less. They are enforced by the local authority or the Scottish Ministers in accordance with regulation3. Breach of the Regulations is an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level5 on the standard scale (regulation12). The Regulations confer enforcement powers on authorised officers, including powers of entry (regulation7) and powers of inspection and sampling (regulation8). Moreover, regulations5 and 6 enable authorised officers to serve a written notice on operators requiring removal from sale of any beef or veal labelled and marketed in breach of the relevant EU instruments in respect of which operators have a right of review. Regulation10 makes provision in relation to offences of bodies corporate and regulation11 provides for a defence of due diligence. Regulation 13 makes provision for the protection of officers acting in good faith. A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been produced, as no effect on business is anticipated.

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