UK Offence Report

Provision against danger to navigation

article 18(2) of The Barking Barrage Order 1995

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 If the Borough fails to notify the Port Authority as required by this article or to comply in any respect with

a direction given under this article it shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

3 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 port authority
Conduct
failing to notify or register
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 port authority 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 article 18(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. Not telling the authority about an event the instrument makes notifiable under the Barking Barrage Order 1995, or telling them after the period allowed has run out.
  2. Assuming a notification made for another purpose, or by somebody else, satisfies this requirement.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
2 March 1995
In force from
7 March 1995
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order, which is made under section 3 of the Transport and Works Act 1992, empowers the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham to construct a semi-tidal barrage with moveable control gates across the River Roding and to execute ancillary works, including dredging of the upstream river. The Order confers the necessary powers on the Borough, including powers to acquire the requisite land and rights by agreement or compulsorily. Other matters contained in the Order include— provisions to ensure that the safeguards of sections 25 and 109 of the Water Resources Act 1991, section 76 of the Port of London Act 1968 and section 9 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, which are disapplied by the Order, are met, together with provisions for deemed licence or consent under sections 66 and 73 of the Port of London Act 1968 and Thames Water Land Drainage Byelaws 1981; provisions for closing the river to navigation temporarily during the construction of the works and for recreational purposes; provisions for the safety of navigation; provisions for the operation of the barrage and for the making of byelaws; and provisions protecting the interests of various interested bodies. Copies of the plans, sections and other information relevant to this scheme are available for inspection during office hours at the office of the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham at the Town Hall, Barking, Essex RG11 7LU.

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