UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations 1983

the instrument as a whole of The Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations 1983

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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 Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations 1983.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2011
Revoked on
24 October 2011
Made
21 July 1983
In force from
1 November 1983
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations provide for the classification of explosive articles, explosive substances and combinations and unit loads thereof by the Health and Safety Executive or, in the case of military explosives, by the Secretary of State for Defence, according to the type of explosive hazard which they present and their compatibility with other explosives. Explosives which are assigned to Class 1 or designated as presenting a significant hazard from explosion must comply, whenever they are conveyed or kept and in certain circumstances supplied, with the requirements as to labelling set out in the Regulations. Copies of the Second Revised Edition of the Recommendations prepared by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (mentioned in the definition of “Class 1” in Regulation 2(1) and the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (mentioned in Regulation 4(1)(e)) can be obtained from IAL Merchandising Service, Aeradio House, Hayes Road, Southall, Middlesex UB2 5NJ. The lists mentioned in the definition of “name” in Regulation 2(1) can be obtained as follows:– a “List of Authorised Explosives” is published by and obtainable from Her Majesty's Stationery Office; b copies of “List of Classifications of Explosives” can be obtained from Her Majesty's Explosives Inspectorate, Health and Safety Executive, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 3LZ; c copies of the Ministry of Defence lists of classifications for military explosives can be obtained from the Ministry of Defence Explosives Storage and Transport Committee, Empress State Building, Lillie Road, London SW6 1TR. Copies of The International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code mentioned in Regulation 4(1)(e) can be obtained from the International Maritime Organisation, Publications Section, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Classifications given by the Health and Safety Executive are shown in “List of Authorised Explosives” and “List of Classifications of Explosives.” Classifications given by the Secretary of State for Defence are shown in the Ministry of Defence lists of classifications for military explosives. If there is doubt whether an article, substance, combination or unit load has been classified since the date of the most recent lists, enquiries can be made of Her Majesty's Explosives Inspectorate and the Ministry of Defence Explosives Storage and Transport Committee, as appropriate, at the addresses given above.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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 0.57.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.57 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