UK Offence Report

Revocations and amendment of Rules and Regulations

regulation 2(4)(c) of The Merchant Shipping (Radio) (Fishing Vessels) Regulations 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

c at the end of regulation 14, there shall be added:

3 If the owner or skipper of

a fishing vessel fails without reasonable excuse to comply with

a requirement made under regulation 11(2) above, he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine of an amount not exceeding level

2 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 owner
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 an owner 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

added: 3 If the owner or skipper of a fishing vessel fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement made under regulation 11(2) above, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 2(4)(c)?

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 the thing the provision prohibits under the Merchant Shipping (Radio) (Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1999, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
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
30 November 1999
In force from
1 January 2000
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.

(This note does not form part of the Regulations) These Regulations revoke, and replace, the Merchant Shipping (Radio) (Fishing Vessels) Rules 1974 (except in relation to non-Directive fishing vessels which are registered in the United Kingdom). Together with the Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) Regulations 1999, they give effect to Council Directive 97/70/EC setting up a harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, as amended by Commission Directive 1999/19/EC (“the Council Directive”). They also impose (in Part III) requirements in relation to certain fishing vessels which are not subject to the Council Directive but are registered in the UK. Part II of the Regulations applies to “Directive fishing vessels” registered in UK i.e. new fishing vessels of 24 metres or more in length, and existing fishing vessels of 45 metres or more in length. Such fishing vessels are required to comply with provisions which implement Chapter IX of the Torremolinos Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, adopted on 2nd April 1993, as modified by the Council directive. The principal feature of Part II is that such fishing vessels are required to carry equipment to operate the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). GMDSS is the International Maritime Organization’s world-wide network of automated emergency communications for fishing vessels at sea. Part III applies to those fishing vessels of 12 metres or more in length which are not subject to the Council Directive but are registered in the UK. These are now required also to implement GMDSS. These additional requirements relate to the location of equipment, conformance with performance standards, and, in the case of equipment required to maintain distress communications, provision of reserve power supplies independent of the fishing vessel’s propulsion system. Part IV provides for enforcement of the Regulations. Part V (regulation 30) requires Directive fishing vessels which are not registered in the UK to conform to regulations 7 to 9 (performance standards, functional requirements, installation etc of radio equipment) and to Part II of the Regulations, to the extent required by Article 7 of the Council Directive. Copies of the Torremolinos Protocol may be obtained from the International Maritime Organisation, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Merchant Shipping Notices may be obtained from Eros Marketing Support Services, Unit B, Imber Court Trading Estate, Orchard Lane, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 0BN (telephone number 0181 957 5028). Copies of the Annex to the Resolution 343 of the World Radiocommunication Conference, held by the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva in 1997, may be obtained from that Union at Place des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. The Annex is contained in that Union’s Radio Regulations Volume 3 (Geneva 1998) ISBN 92-61-07621-1. A regulatory impact assessment has been produced and a copy placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG (telephone: 01703 329134).

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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