UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 11(3) of The Pig Carcase (Grading) 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

3 If any person— a makes an entry which he knows to be false in any record which is required to be kept by virtue of regulation 6(e)(ii) or, with intent to deceive, makes use of any entry which he knows to be false; b with intent to deceive applies or as the case may be attaches to a pig carcase or part of such a carcase— i a mark prescribed by Article 4(1) of the Council Regulation or Article 4(1) or (2) of the Commission Regulation, or ii a label prescribed by Article 4(3) of the Commission Regulation; or c applies to a pig carcase or part of such a carcase a mark so closely resembling a mark prescribed by Article 4(1) of the Council Regulation or Article 4(1) or (2) of the Commission Regulation as to be calculated to deceive or applies to a label attached by virtue of Article 4(3) of the Commission Regulation an indication so closely resembling an indication prescribed by that Article as to be calculated to deceive, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

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

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: with intent to.

The defence, as drafted

2 In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

What would breach regulation 11(3)?

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 Pig Carcase (Grading) Regulations 1994.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
9 August 1994
In force from
12 September 1994
Extent
E+W+S

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, which come into force on 12th September 1994, extend to Great Britain only and revoke and re-enact with modifications the Pig Carcase (Grading) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/1180), as amended. They provide for the administration and enforcement of the Community system of grading pig carcases established by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3220/84 (OJ No. L301, 20.11.84, p.1), as amended, and the detailed rules for which are set out in Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2967/85 (OJ No. L285, 25.10.85, p.39) and Commission Decision 88/234/EEC (OJ No. L105, 26.4.88, p. 15), as amended. The requirements as to that grading system do not apply to the carcases of pigs which have been used for breeding or which have been obtained in slaughterhouses which do not slaughter more than 200 such pigs per week on a yearly average basis (regulation 3). In addition to drafting changes the Regulations make the following changes of substance— a they specify the arrangements to be made where an occupier requests the Meat and Livestock Commission to carry out the Community classification requirements at a slaughterhouse occupied by him (regulation 7); b they extend the powers of an authorised officer in relation to the premises he may enter, the carcases he may inspect and the records he may examine and also allow him to take with him other persons and equipment (regulation 8); and c they require the giving of assistance to authorised officers (regulation 9). The Regulations— a require occupiers of slaughterhouses to which the Regulations apply to give the appropriate Minister specified particulars (regulation 4 and Schedule 1); b add to the grading scale prescribed by Article 3(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3220/84 the additional grade described in paragraph (3) of that Article (regulation 5); c require occupiers of slaughterhouses to which the Regulations apply to weigh, grade, mark and identify pig carcases and keep records in accordance with the requirements of the relevant Community legislation (regulation 6); d empower the Meat and Livestock Commission to carry out such weighing, grading, marking and identifying of pig carcases and make provision for its entering into agreements with occupiers of slaughterhouses for such purpose (regulation 7 and Schedule 2); e confer on authorised officers of the Agriculture Ministers powers of entry and inspection for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Community provisions and the Regulations and require that such assistance be given them for that purpose as they may reasonably request (regulations 8 and 9); f provide for the service of notices (regulation 10); and g create offences and penalties, and provide for defences (regulations 11 and 12). A compliance cost assessment has been prepared and has been deposited in the Library of each House 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