UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Weighing Equipment (Non-automatic Weighing Machines) Regulations 1988

the instrument as a whole of The Weighing Equipment (Non-automatic Weighing Machines) 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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section

84 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 Weighing Equipment (Non-automatic Weighing Machines) Regulations 1988.

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 84 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985.

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
Status not determined
Made
12 May 1988
In force from
1 November 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.

These Regulations prescribe non-automatic weighing machines for the purposes of section 11(1) of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and exclude them from the application of the Weights and Measures Regulations 1963 (where they were formerly prescribed as individual types or classes of weighing equipment). The effect of prescription is to make it unlawful to use such machines for trade purposes, unless they have been tested, passed as fit for such use and stamped by an inspector of weights and measures. (These requirements of prescription are also satisfied by a non-automatic weighing machine complying with Council Directive No. 73/360/EEC as amended and bearing the mark of EEC initial verification and, where appropriate, the sign of EEC pattern approval. This mark and sign are described in Schedule 1 to the Measuring Instruments (EEC Requirements) Regulations 1988, S.I. 1988/186.) The Regulations make provision as to: the purposes for which such non-automatic weighing machines may be used for trade (Regulation 4); the materials and principles of construction of them and their marking (Regulations 5 to 20); the manner of erection and use of them for trade (Regulations 21 to 30); their testing, passing as fit for use for trade and stamping and the obliteration of such stamps (Regulations 31 to 35 and 37 to 44 and Schedule 3); and the prescribed limits of error (Regulation 36 and Schedule 4). The Regulations make the following changes of substance:— the particular requirements relating to person-weighing machines are revoked (Regulation 1(2) and Schedule 5); machines for use only for weighing paint (other than paste paint) or for use only as vehicle check weighing machines are no longer prescribed (Regulation 3(2)); there are new requirements on the purpose of use for trade of machines (Regulation 4); there are new requirements for the principles of construction of machines, in particular: each machine is to be designated as of one of four classes of accuracy with an approved minimum load, as defined in Schedule 2 (Regulations 9 and 13) (formerly only beam scales were divided into classes); subject to exceptions, each machine is to be made in accordance with a pattern in respect of which a certificate of approval is in force (Regulation 11) (formerly only patterns of machines with particular features needed to be approved); the class of accuracy and other relevant legends are to be marked on each machine, mainly in symbol form (Regulation 15(2)) (formerly markings were restricted to the name of the maker and the capacity); for those machines used by prospective buyers of goods (Regulation 19); there are new requirements for the manner of erection and use for trade of machines (Regulations 21 to 30); a requirement has been included to ensure that the inspector testing any machine must, if he so requests, be provided with appropriate test or operating material (Regulations 31(2) and 34); a requirement has been included specifying the weights to be used in testing machines of the different classes of accuracy and requiring a minimum of 5 tonnes of weights to be used where the maximum load exceeds this amount (Regulation 33) (formerly a minimum of 2240 pounds of weights was required); the test requirements for all machines are set out in more detail (Regulation 35 and Schedule 3); new prescribed limits of error are included which vary throughout the weighing range for each of the four classes of accuracy (with modification for machines first passed as fit for use for trade before 1st November 1988) (Regulations 36, 37(4), 40(3) and Schedule 4) (formerly the limits of error were only expressed in relation to fully loaded machines and varied according to the type of machine); and the grounds on which an inspector may obliterate the stamp on machines have been widened (Regulations 41 to 43). In general the Regulations come into force on 1st November 1988, but the following transitional arrangements are made:— as from 1st September 1991 it will be an offence, subject to exceptions for tariff machines, to use any machine outside its stated weighing range (Regulation 4(1) and (2)); as from 1st September 1991 it will be an offence to use a machine for the purpose of multiple weighing (Regulation 4(7)); until 4th April 1989 machines, which under the Weights and Measures Regulations 1963 did not need to be made in accordance with a pattern in respect of which a certificate of approval is in force, may continue to be so made, passed as fit for use for trade and stamped (Regulation 11(3)); as from 1st May 1989 machines submitted for passing as fit for use for trade must be marked with their class of accuracy and other relevant legends (Regulation 15(2)); as from 1st September 1989 the price/weight base of machines first submitted for passing as fit for use for trade is restricted (Regulation 18); as from 1st September 1991 the prescribed limits of error do not apply to test loads less than the approved minimum load, where this is marked on the machine (Regulation 35(2)); and until 1st March 1990 a machine marked Class III or IIII which was first passed as fit for use for trade before 1st September 1988 may continue to be so passed even if not bearing a legend about use on a level surface, provided it meets certain tilt testing requirements (Regulation 37(3)).

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 0.55.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.55 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