UK Offence Report

Information required in connection with implementation of the Directive

regulation 7(2) of The Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1997

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 A person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of

a notice served on him under this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable–

a on summary conviction, to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

b 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

2 A person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of a notice served on him under this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable– a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; b on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a

What would breach regulation 7(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. On these words an offence is committed where a person fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of a notice served on him under this regulation.
  2. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1997.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
9 October 1997
In force from
18 November 1997
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 prescribe a system for classifying the quality of inland waters which need protection or improvement in order to support fishlife. The classifications SW (“salmonid waters”) and CW (“cyprinid waters”) reflect the mandatory values assigned by Directive 78/659/EEC (on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fishlife) to the parameters listed in the Schedule to these Regulations. The Regulations also incorporate the reference methods of measurement, and the minimum frequency required for sampling and analysis, laid down in that Directive for those parameters. The Regulations, together with the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Scotland) Directions 1997, transpose Directive 78/659/EEC. Copies of the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Scotland) Directions 1997 may be obtained from the Environment Protection Unit, Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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