UK Offence Report

Placing on the market, putting into service and use of instruments

regulation 4(4) of The Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2000 (revoked)

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

4 Any person who fails to comply with paragraph (1), (2) or (3) above shall be guilty of an offence and any instrument to which the offence relates shall be liable to be forfeited.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 do something the instrument requires
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 regulation 4(4)?

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 to comply with paragraph (1), (2) or (3) above.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2000, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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.

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
11 December 2000
In force from
1 January 2001
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 consolidate with amendments the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments (EEC Requirements) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1907; as amended by S.I. 1997/3035 and 1998/2994). These Regulations keep implemented Council Directive 90/384/EEC on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing instruments (OJ No. L189, 20.7.90, p. 1; the “NAWI Directive”), as amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC (OJ No. L220, 30.8.93, p. 1), which was originally implemented by S.I. 1992/1579. For the purposes of these Regulations, there are two categories of non-automatic weighing instruments—those for Schedule 3 applications and others. Regulation 4 requires that instruments for Schedule 3 applications may only be placed on the market, put into service, used and possessed for use if they comply with the requirements of regulation 5. Other instruments must comply with the requirements of regulation 6 if they are to be placed on the market. By way of derogation from the requirements of the NAWI Directive, pursuant to its Article 15.3, instruments which comply with the requirements which were in force before 1st January 1993 may continue to be placed on the market and put into service until 31st December 2002. Regulation 3 provides that these Regulations do not apply to such instruments. Part III of the Regulations provides, pursuant to section 15 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985, for requirements which must be complied with whilst instruments are in use. Failure to comply with these requirements is an offence under section 15(3) of that Act. The principal amendments are as follows— a in regulation 4 the prohibition on supply is replaced with prohibitions on placing on the market and, for instruments for Schedule 3 applications, putting into service. The use and possession for use of non-complying instruments for Schedule 3 applications continues to be prohibited; b regulation 10(1) makes it clear that a manufacturer may apply for EC type-examination to an approved body in another member State, as well as to the Secretary of State; c regulation 10(7) provides that an expired EC type-examination certificate is to remain in force for instruments first put into service during its currency; d regulations 11(6), 12(6) and 13(8) (previously regulation 28A) allow a re-qualification sticker to be affixed to an instrument notwithstanding that a disqualification sticker has not previously been affixed; e regulation 12(3) makes it clear that EC unit verification may be granted by either the Secretary of State or an approved body in another member State; f regulation 18(9) provides for the affixing of a re-qualification sticker; g regulation 22(3) (previously regulation 23(3)) makes it an offence (in consequence of the changes to regulation 4) to place on the market or put into service any instrument the markings of which have been forged or counterfeit, or altered otherwise than in accordance with the Regulations, or where the essential requirements are no longer met due to alterations made subsequent to the marking; h regulation 40 makes consequential minor adjustments to the offences and penalties in connection with the above. In the United Kingdom, the relevant national standards referred to— in regulation 7, 8(2), 10(3)(c) and 14(8) are currently British Standard Specification for Metrological aspects of non-automatic weighing instruments BS EN 45501 : 1994 + AC: 1994; and in regulation 13(3) are currently Quality system Model for quality assurance in production and installation BS EN ISO 9002: 1994. Copies of these Britishs Standards can be obtained from any of the sales outlets operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI), by post from the BSI at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes MK14 6LE and at any HMSO bookshop. Copies of Non-automatic weighing instruments, Part I: Metrological and technical requirements—Tests (see regulation 2(4)) may be obtained from the International Organisation for Legal Metrology, 11 rue Turgot, Paris, 75009, France. At the time of making these Regulations, the texts of Statutory Instruments made from 1997 onwards have been available on the HMSO website at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/stat.htm. A Regulatory Impact Assessment in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the National Weights and Measures Laboratory, Stanton Avenue, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0JZ.

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