False documents and false statements

Q: Is paragraph 5C(1) of SCHEDULE of The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 (Isle of Man) Order 1973 a strict liability offence?

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

paragraph 5C(1) of SCHEDULE of The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 (Isle of Man) Order 1973

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
Energy, communications, water and utilities

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 If, with intent to deceive, any person—
a uses any document issued for the purposes of this Act or of any order made under this Act; or
b has in his possession any document so closely resembling such
a document as aforesaid as to be calculated to deceive; or
c produces, furnishes, sends or otherwise makes use of, for purposes connected with this Act or any order or direction made or given under this Act, any book, account, estimate, return, declaration or other document which is false in
a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 (with intent to).

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: with intent to.

What would breach paragraph 5C(1) of SCHEDULE?

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.

Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 (Isle of Man) Order 1973.
Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
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 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.

Environmental offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 July 2014
Covers unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste, illegal discharges to air, land and water, and the equivalent offences committed by organisations. It is the guideline that introduced turnover bands for corporate fines, so the size of the defendant company is a starting point rather than a mitigating detail.
Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 7 December 1973
In force from: 7 December 1973
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 Order extends the Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 to the Isle of Man subject to specified exceptions, adaptations and modifications.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

False documents and false statementsparagraph 5C(2) of SCHEDULE
Production of documentsparagraph 5F(6) of SCHEDULE
False documents and false statements 5C 1 If, with intent to deceive, any person— a uses any document issued…paragraph 7 of SCHEDULE

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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 (Isle of Man) Order 1973 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Energy, communications, water and utilitiesOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1973