UK Offence Report

Provision against danger to navigation

article 11(2) of The Stornoway (Ferry Terminal) Harbour Revision 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 Commission fails to notify the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses 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 the statutory maximum and on conviction on indictment to a fine.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 a person 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 11(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 Stornoway (Ferry Terminal) Harbour Revision 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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
30 March 1995
In force from
31 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 authorises the Stornoway Pier and Harbour Commission to carry out certain works connected with the construction of a ferry terminal at Stornoway Harbour and the removal of part of the existing terminal. The works for which authority is given are set out specifically in Article 3 of the Order. The works are to be carried out in accordance with plans and sections which are deposited at the office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, New St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh and at the Commission’s office at Amity House, Esplanade Quay, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Article 4 enables the Commission to deviate from the plans and sections within the limits referred to in the Article. Article 5 enables the construction of subsidiary works. Articles 6 to 11 make provision for the execution of and safety in relation to any of the works which are carried out in tidal waters or tidal lands. Article 12 provides that if the authorised works are not completed within 10 years from the date of coming into force of the Order or such extended time as may be allowed then the powers granted by the Order will cease. Article 13 provides a saving for Crown rights. The applicant for this Order is the Stornoway Pier and Harbour Commission.

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