UK Offence Report

Enforcement

article 8(6) of The Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999

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

6 Any person who resists or otherwise obstructs

a water bailiff in the exercise of any power referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2) above shall be guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
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 8(6)?

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 resists or otherwise obstructs a water bailiff in the exercise of any power referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2) above.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Scotland Act 1998 (Border Rivers) Order 1999.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
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
22 June 1999
In force from
Not determined
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 makes provision in relation to the River Esk by– a preserving functions of Ministers of the Crown in relation to that River in Scotland but making their exercise subject to the agreement of Scottish Ministers; b giving new power to make byelaws for, or in connection with, the conservation, management or exploitation of salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish in the Upper Esk (as defined in article 1(2)), to the Environment Agency; c creating a new offence of unauthorised fishing in the Lower Esk (as defined in article 1(2)); d giving powers to water bailiffs to enforce these new provisions and extending existing powers of water bailiffs and other authorised persons to the whole of the River Esk; e creating new offences applicable to those powers; f defining the extent of waters to the landward of the estuary limits of the River Esk; and g requiring the Environment Agency to send a copy of their annual report to the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Ministers to lay it before the Scottish Parliament. This Order makes provision in relation to the River Tweed by allowing the Scottish Ministers to exercise functions under Scottish salmon and freshwater fisheries legislation in relation to so much of that River as is situated outside Scotland, with the agreement of, or after consultation with, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The Order makes consequential modifications and makes savings for existing provisions.

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