Contravention of prohibition notice or suspension notice

Q: Is regulation 71 of The Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 1992 a strict liability offence?

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.

regulation 71 of The Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 1992

Status not determined
Strict liability
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

71 Any person who contravenes
a prohibition notice or
a suspension notice shall be 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 71?

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.

On these words an offence is committed where a person contravenes a prohibition notice or a suspension notice.
Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 1992, whatever the reason for doing it.
Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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: 11 October 1992
In force from: 6 November 1992
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

These Regulations, which impose requirements concerning the conformity of certain telecommunications terminal equipment (TTE) if such equipment is to be supplied, put into service or connected, and allowed to remain connected, to a public telecommunica-tions network (PTN), implement Council Directive 91/263/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning telecommunications terminal equipment, including the mutual recognition of their conformity (the TTE Directive). These Regulations disapply sections 22 and 84 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12), and approvals given thereunder, insofar as TTE to which these Regulations apply is concerned (regulation 2). TTE is terminal equipment intended to be connected to a PTN, either directly to the termination of a PTN or to interwork with a PTN being connected directly or indirectly to the termination of the PTN (regulation 4). These Regulations provide that TTE is equipment to which its provisions apply (applicable TTE) if it is covered by a common technical Regulation, or regulations (CTR) other than TTE which is not intended for connection to the PTN in which case its provisions apply in modified form (regulation 4); a CTR is a measure adopted by the Commission in accordance with the TTE Directive, a reference of which has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, which will prescribe the technical specification applicable TTE is required to meet from a specified date (regulation 3(3)). Any TTE which is not covered by a CTR is outside the scope of these Regulations. TTE using the radio frequency spectrum for communications, when covered by a CTR, is treated as applicable TTE whether it is intended to be connected to a PTN or not (regulation 4). In addition, these Regulations do not apply to certain TTE approved before their coming into force under section 22 or 84 of the 1984 Act where such TTE satisfies a common type approval specification within the meaning of Article 2.14 of Council Directive 86/361/EEC (OJ L217, 5.8.86, p.21) (regulation 6). Essential requirements for applicable TTE are set out in regulation 5. Part II sets out the general requirements of the Regulations. Regulation 7 provides that applicable TTE may not be supplied, put into service or connected (and remain connected) to a PTN unless the requirements of regulation 8 are complied with, which are— a the applicable TTE satisfies the essential requirements; b the conformity assessment requirements have been complied with (regulation 9); and c the connection marking requirements are complied with (regulation 10). The conformity assessment requirements are satisfied by the manufacturer of applicable TTE choosing to follow one of two routes— a the EC type-examination procedure, set out in Part III, which is satisfied when the manufacturer or his authorised representative has obtained an EC type-examination certificate from a notified body of one of the member States and the manufacturer has drawn up an EC declaration of conformity to type, after having carried out conformity to type or production quality assurance in respect of the equipment or his quality system (regulations 15 to 37); or b the EC declaration of conformity procedure, set out in Part IV, which is satisfied when the manufacturer has drawn up an EC declaration of conformity, after having carried out full quality assurance in respect of his quality system (regulations 38 to 48). Conformity to type procedure includes random product checks undertaken by a notified body of the manufacturer’s choice (regulation 26), production quality assurance procedure involves approval by a notified body of the manufacturer’s choice of his production quality assurance approved quality system (regulation 31) and includes surveillance of the system (regulation 34) and the EC declaration of conformity procedure involves approval by a notified body of the manufacturer’s choice of his full quality assurance approved quality system (regulation 43) and its surveillance (regulation 46). Regulation 12 makes provision for TTE which is not intended for connection to a PTN. Part V of these Regulations makes provision for the appointment and functions of notified bodies including the charging of fees and Part VI makes provision for the designation of test laboratories which may test and assess applicable TTE. Part VII makes provision for enforcement of these Regulations. Regulation 61 provides for enforcement authorities. Regulations 62 to 67 make provision in respect of powers of enforcement authorities, including powers to make test purchases, to search, to seize and detain equipment and so forth. Regulation 68 and Schedule 7, respectively make provision for appeals against suspension and prohibition notices. Regulations 70 to 75 provide that certain actions are to be offences— a supplying, putting into service or connecting TTE in contravention of regulation 8 or regulation 12 (regulation 70); b contravening a prohibition or suspension notice (regulation 71); c giving false or misleading information (regulation 72); d misusing the CE mark, the connection symbol or the non-connection symbol (regulation 73); e obstructing officers of enforcement authorities, etc (regulation 74); and f failing to retain documentation (regulation 75). Regulation 80 provides that offences are punishable only on summary conviction as follows— a for offences under regulations 71, 72 or 74(2)— i imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months; or ii to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; or both; b for offences under regulation 70, 73, 74(1) or 75, a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Level 5 on the standard scale was raised to £5000 on 1st October 1992 for Great Britain, other than Northern Ireland where it remains £2000. These Regulations make provision for forfeiture of TTE in certain circumstances (regulations 82 and 83). Part VIII makes provision in respect of certain miscellaneous and supplemental matters.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Any person who— a supplies; b puts into service; or c connects, or permits to remain connected to a public…regulation 70(1)
Any person who— a supplies; or b puts into service; connection-capable equipment or radio connection-capable…regulation 70(2)
Any person who connects, or permits to remain connected connection-capable equipment or radio…regulation 70(3)
False or misleading informationregulation 72
Misuse of the CE mark etcregulation 73(1)
Misuse of the CE mark etcregulation 73(2)
Obstruction etc of officers of the enforcement authority etcregulation 74(1)
Obstruction etc of officers of the enforcement authority etcregulation 74(2)
Failure to retain documentationregulation 75
Restrictions on disclosure of informationregulation 85(1)

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 Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 1992 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Energy, communications, water and utilitiesOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1992