UK Offence Report

2 An operator who without reasonable cause— a brings into use any new works, plant or equipment or any…

regulation 13(2) of The Railways and Other Transport Systems (Approval of Works, Plant and Equipment) Regulations 1994

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

2 An operator who without reasonable cause—

a brings into use any new works, plant or equipment or any altered works, plant or equipment without approval; or

b uses any new works, plant or equipment or any altered works, plant or equipment in contravention of

a relevant operational limitation which applies to them; or

c contravenes the provisions of regulation 12. 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
an operator
Conduct
importing or exporting without authority
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 an operator 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 13(2)?

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. Moving the goods across the border under the Railways and Other Transport Systems (Approval of Works, Plant and Equipment) Regulations 1994 without the licence the instrument requires.
  2. Holding a licence for one consignment and using it for another.
  3. Sending goods in transit through the United Kingdom, where the provision catches transit as well as import and export.

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.

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
31 January 1994
In force from
5 April 1994
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 it necessary to obtain the approval of the Secretary of State before new works, plant or equipment or an alteration to any existing works, plant or equipment may be brought into use for the purposes of a relevant transport system. They replace less comprehensive provisions contained in section 25 of the Tramways Act 1870 (c. 78) and section 41 of the Road and Rail Traffic Act 1933 (c. 53). The transport systems to which the Regulations apply are railways, tramways, trolley vehicle systems and the modes of guided transport described in Schedule 1. Regulation 4 introduces the requirement to obtain approval. The works, plant or equipment, or the alteration thereto, has to be such as to be capable of materially affecting the safe operation of the transport system concerned. The term “equipment” includes a vehicle. There are exceptions to the need to secure approval in the case of trains using the Channel Tunnel (for which special provision is made in other legislation) and in certain circumstances in the case of vehicles which have to comply with construction and use requirements imposed by or under the Road Traffic Act l988. The regulation also specifies when the requirement for approval takes effect and deals with testing and similar matters. Regulation 5 sets out the procedure for obtaining approval and the information which the Secretary of State may require in order to consider an application. This information includes,,in appropriate cases, the documents listed in Schedule 2. Regulation 6 provides for the Secretary of State to give manufacturers of plant or equipment type approval of prototypes and regulation 7 specifies the procedure to be followed when an operator proposes to bring into use any plant or equipment which conforms with such a prototype. If the application is accompanied by a certificate given by the manufacturer that the plant or equipment conforms with the approved prototype, the procedure laid down in regulation 5 may be dispensed with. The form of such a certificate is set out in Schedule 3. Where works, plant or equipment meet the specifications, standards, codes or tests recognised by other member States of the European Union, regulation 8 requires the Secretary of State not to refuse approval in such circumstances provided that equivalent levels of safety, suitability and fitness appertain. Regulation 9 is concerned with relevant operational limitations. These are limitations to which an approval may be subjected in respect of speed, weight, number, duration or other factors, as specified in regulation 2: If an application states that it is intended to impose such a limitation or is accompanied by a certificate under regulation 7 which states that the item in question conforms with such a limitation, then the application is to be taken as being subject to that limitation. Regulation 10 confers on the Secretary of State power to dispense with compliance of any of the requirements, either by individual or general notification. Regulation 11 gives the Secretary of State power to require, by individual or general notification, compliance with provisions of the Regulations which would not otherwise apply. Regulation 12 relates to the giving of false information and regulation 13 imposes offences for contravention of the Regulations. EN 45000 referred to in Regulation 8(2) is a European Standard, copies of which are obtainable from H M Stationery Office. The British Standard equivalent is BS 7500, copies of which can be obtained from any sales outlets operated by the British Standards institute or by post from them at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes, MK14 6LE. An assessment of the cost to business of complying with these Regulations can be obtained from Railways Division 1A, Room S19/18, Department of Transport, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 3EB, telephone number (071) 276 4815. Copies of the assessment have also been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

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