Offence of pretending to be a registered European lawyer

regulation 21(1) of The European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000 (revoked)

Status not determined
Requires proof of a state of mind
Summary only
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justice

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

1 A person who is not registered as
a European lawyer in any part of the United Kingdom (including
a person whose registration has been suspended) and—
a wilfully pretends to be
a registered European lawyer or takes or uses any name, title, designation or description implying that he is
a registered European lawyer; or
b subject to paragraph (2), carries on professional activities under one of the professional titles listed in regulation 2(4) or under any name, designation or description implying that he is entitled to pursue those activities under one of those professional titles; shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding the fourth level 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: a person
Conduct: breaching the provision
Fault element: Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (wilfully).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully.

What would breach regulation 21(1)?

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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine: Not determined
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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.

Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 8 April 2000
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

These Regulations, which are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, give effect to European Communities Council Directive No. 98/5/EC of 16 February 1998. The purpose of the Directive is to facilitate the practice of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a member State of the European Community other than the State in which the qualification was obtained. Under the conditions specified in or permitted by the Directive, a European lawyer may carry out professional activities otherwise reserved to solicitors or barristers and may apply to become a solicitor or barrister.

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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000 (revoked) Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Courts, police, prisons and the administration of justiceOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2000