UK Offence Report

A Community air carrier which knowingly or recklessly exercises traffic rights in breach of traffic…

regulation 7 of The Access for Community Air Carriers to Intra- Community Air Routes Regulations 1992

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

7 A Community air carrier which knowingly or recklessly exercises traffic rights in breach of traffic distribution rules made by the Secretary of State by virtue of section

31 of the Airports Act 1986 and relating to an airport system 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 community air carrier
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

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: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 7?

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 the thing the provision prohibits under the Access for Community Air Carriers to Intra- Community Air Routes Regulations 1992, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
1 December 1992
In force from
1 January 1993
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 make provision for implementing the Community obligations of the United Kingdom provided for in Council Regulation 2408/92 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes and matters arising out of or related thereto. The Secretary of State is specified as the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation (regulation 3). Permission to operate intra-Community air routes is conferred on Community air carriers (regulation 4). The foregoing permission is expressed not to apply in a number of instances including in particular cabotage routes and routes subject to a public service obligation limited to one carrier (regulation 5). Operating on routes without permission or in breach of traffic distribution rules is made an offence as is operating in breach of rules, conditions, limitations or refusals that the Council Regulation permits may apply (regulations 6 to 8). Failing to give, or giving false, information also becomes an offence (regulation 9). Provision is made for review of the decisions of the Secretary of State relating to public service obligations (regulation 13). Article 88 of the Air Navigation Order 1989 is amended to disapply the requirement for a permit in cases where a permission to operate exists by virtue of the Council Regulation (regulation 14).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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 0.92.

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