UK Offence Report

2 A person who intentionally obstructs any person who is— a acting on behalf of the Secretary of State in…

regulation 5(2) of The Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002

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 intentionally obstructs any person who is— a acting on behalf of the Secretary of State in connection with the giving or service of a direction under regulation 3 above; b acting in compliance with a direction under that regulation; or c acting under paragraph (4) or (5) of that regulation, 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 (intentionally).

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: intentionally.

What would breach regulation 5(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. 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
£50,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
17 July 2002
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 Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations are made under section 3 of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and provide for powers (corresponding to those under sections 137 to 140 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 in relation to ships) to prevent and reduce pollution and the risk of pollution following an accident involving an offshore installation. These Regulations implement the recommendations of Lord Donaldson’s Review of Salvage and Intervention and their Command and Control (Cm. 4193: Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, March 1999) in relation to oil and gas activities carried out wholly or partly on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. Regulation 2 deals with definitions. Regulation 3 sets out when the powers are exercisable, to whom the Secretary of State may give directions and what the persons may be directed to do. This regulation also allows the Secretary of State in certain circumstances to take action as respects an offshore installation and provides for the appointment of persons to exercise powers on the Secretary of State’s behalf. Regulation 4 provides for compensation for persons incurring expense or suffering damage in certain circumstances in connection with the exercise of powers under these Regulations. Regulation 5 deals with offences and penalties and regulation 6 with the service of directions. These Regulations come into force on 18th July 2002. A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and copies can be obtained from Oil and Gas Directorate, Department of Trade and Industry, Atholl House, Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6AR (Tel. 01224 254103). Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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