UK Offence Report

1 It is an offence for a person to— a fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a condition of a…

regulation 13(1) of The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) and National Emissions Inventory Regulations 2005

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 It is an offence for a person to— a fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a condition of a notice under regulation 10(1); b make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly to make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, where the statement is made— i in connection with an application under regulation 5; ii in writing for the purpose of preparing a national inventory (whether or not the statement is made in purported compliance with a requirement imposed by a notice under regulation 10); iii for the purposes of satisfying a requirement under regulation 11 for the supply of information to an authorised person; c wilfully obstruct a person appointed under regulation 11 from exercising any of the powers that he is authorised to exercise under that regulation; d without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with an obligation imposed pursuant to regulation 11(3) or prevent another person from complying with such a requirement.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully, recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

1 It is an offence for a person to— a fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a condition of a notice under regulation 10(1); b make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly to make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, where the statement

What would breach regulation 13(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.

  1. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) and National Emissions Inventory Regulations 2005.
  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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2005-11-13); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
16 October 2005
In force from
13 November 2005
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 transpose Directive 2004/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a Scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, in respect of the Kyoto Protocol’s project mechanisms. They also provide the Secretary of State with powers to assist her in carrying out her obligations under Decision 280/2004/EC of the Council and of the Parliament to prepare a national emissions inventory and makes a small number of other provisions relating to the collection of data. Part 2 of the Regulations amends the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/925) (“the ETS Regulations”) to permit holders of accounts in the UK emissions trading registry to hold certain types of Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) and Emissions Reduction Units (ERUs) in their registry accounts (regulation 26(17) of the ETS Regulations). It also allows people with obligations to surrender allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, subject to specified limitations, to use certain types of CERs and ERUs as well as allowances towards complying with those obligations (regulation 27A of the ETS Regulations). It also extends the power that the Secretary of State and other bodies have under the ETS Regulations to require people to supply information (regulation 35(4)-(5) of the ETS Regulations). Part 3 of the Regulations establishes an application procedure by which a person may apply to the Secretary of State for approval of one of the project activities established under the Kyoto Protocol or for authorisation to participate in the project activity (regulation 5). It sets out certain conditions that the Secretary of State must ensure when considering whether or not to approve such a project or authorise participation (regulation 7). It also provides a procedure for the applicant to appeal against the determination of his application (regulation 9). Part 4 of the Regulations provide a power for the Secretary of State and devolved administrations to require a person to supply information for the purposes of compiling a national emissions inventory (regulation 10). Regulation 11 sets out powers of entry and inspection which may be exercised by an authorised person for the purpose of preparing such an inventory. Part 5 makes it an offence to comply with a number of obligations imposed under the Regulations (regulation 13(1)) and specifies the maximum penalties which may be imposed for such an offence (regulation 13(2)). It also provides that where an offence is committed by a body corporate or by a Scottish partnership, specified individuals may also be guilty of that offence if it were committed with that person’s consent or connivance, or as a result of their neglect (regulation 13(3)-(5)). A regulatory impact assessment and a transposition note has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from National Climate Change Policy Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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