Offences in relation to the notification of information about existing substances

Q: Is regulation 7(1) of The Notification of Existing Substances (Enforcement) Regulations 1994 a strict liability offence?

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally, recklessly, with intent to).

regulation 7(1) of The Notification of Existing Substances (Enforcement) Regulations 1994

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
Either way
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justice

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

1 It shall be an offence for
a person—
a to fail to comply with any provision of the Council Regulation;
b to make
a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in
a material particular, or recklessly to make
a statement which is false or misleading in
a material particular, where the statement is made in purported compliance with
a requirement to furnish any information imposed by or under any provision of the Council Regulation;
c intentionally to make
a false entry in any register, book, notice or other document required by any provision of the Council Regulation to be kept, served or given or, with intent to deceive, to make use of any such entry which he knows to be false.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: making a false or misleading statement
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 (intentionally, recklessly, with intent to).

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: intentionally, with intent to, recklessly.

What would breach regulation 7(1)?

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.

Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Notification of Existing Substances (Enforcement) Regulations 1994.
Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine: £5,000
Standard scale: Level 5
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1994-07-29); 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.

Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
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: 30 June 1994
In force from: 29 July 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

These Regulations give full effect in England, Wales and Scotland to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 793/93 (OJ No. L84, 5.4.93, p.1) on the evaluation and control of the risks of existing substances. The Health and Safety Executive and the Secretary of State for the Environment are designated as the joint competent authority for the purposes of Article 13 of the Council Regulation (regulation 2). Regulations 3 to 12 establish an enforcement regime for the Council Regulation. Regulation 3 enables the Health and Safety Executive to exercise its enforcement powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for the purposes of enforcing the Council Regulation. Regulations 4 to 6 set out the equivalent enforcement powers of the chief inspectors. These enforcement powers extend only to existing substances which are or have been manufactured or located in premises in relation to which the chief inspectors already exercise enforcement powers under section 17 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (regulation 4(1)). Regulation 7(1) creates criminal offences in respect of failing to comply with the provisions of the Council Regulation. Regulation 7(2) creates offences in respect of failing to comply with the enforcement powers of the Executive or of the chief inspectors. The Regulations also make provision for a court to order that certain matters be remedied (regulation 8), regarding the commission of offences by corporations (regulation 9), for the prosecution of offences due to the fault of another person (regulation 10), regarding the service of notices (regulation 11) and regarding the application of the Regulations to the Crown (regulation 12).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Where an inspector, under regulations 4 and 5 above, or a health and safety inspector, under sections 20 and…regulation 7(2)

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 0.90.

Basis: the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence: 0.90 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 Notification of Existing Substances (Enforcement) Regulations 1994 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justiceOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1994