UK Offence Report

5 The offences specified in paragraph (1), (2) and (4) of this regulation shall be punishable on summary…

regulation 65(5) of The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1988

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

5 The offences specified in paragraph (1), (2) and (4) of this regulation shall be punishable on summary conviction as follows:

a an offence under paragraph (1) with

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale,

b an offence under paragraph (2) or (4) with

a fine not exceeding level

3 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 65(5)?

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 Merchant Shipping (Registration of Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1988.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£2,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1988-12-01); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
2 November 1988
In force from
1 December 1988
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 Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988, which comes into force on the making of these Regulations, provides that there shall be a new registration system for fishing vessels. These Regulations provide for the establishment of one central register for the whole of the United Kingdom which will be at the offices of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff. However notwithstanding that registration is centralised vessels will be registered as belonging to a particular port of registry and the existing system of marking vessels with port letters and numbers will continue. Under the Act, only British owned vessels as therein defined which fish for profit are eligible for registry. The Regulations require a declaration of British Character to be completed and signed by all owners applying for registry in order to provide evidence to the Secretary of State that the ownership of the vessel fulfils the requirements of the Act. Provision is made for two kinds of registration, full (under which mortgages may be registered) and simple. Formal documents of title are required in support of applications for full registration but not applications for simple registration though all applications must be accompanied by declarations of ownership. Registrations of both kinds will expire after five years unless renewed. There are provisions concerning the form of registered mortgages and the evidence required on transmission of a mortgage. There are also provisions for mortgages registered in the registers established under legislation now repealed on vessels which are not transferred to the new register to remain enforceable and for their priority to be preserved if the vessel subsequently becomes registered. Provision is also made for the priority of mortgages on vessels registered in the new register which transfer to the register for merchant ships under Part I of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (which is no longer open to fishing vessels) or vice versa to be preserved. Provision is made for provisional registration of vessels acquired abroad but such registry will only last for three months and will terminate if the vessel fishes for profit whilst so registered. There are provisions for vessels on the existing registers whether under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 or the Fishing Boats (Scotland) Act 1886, to transfer to the new register during the transitional period which is 1st December 1988 to 31st March 1989. It is made an offence to use a certificate with intent to deceive, to fail to keep the vessel marked as required or to surrender a certificate of registry when required to do so. The address of the Register General of Shipping and Seamen is Block 2, Government Buildings, PO Box 165, St Agnes Road, Galbalfa, Cardiff CF4 4UX.

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 0.60.

Basis
the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
Confidence
0.60 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