UK Offence Report

Obstruction of enforcement officer

regulation 24(1) of The Measuring Instruments (Material Measures of Length) Regulations 2006 (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

1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if he—

a wilfully obstructs an enforcement officer in the execution of any of his functions under these Regulations; or

b without reasonable cause fails to give that officer any assistance or information which the officer has reasonably required of him for the purpose of the performance by the enforcement authority of its functions under these Regulations.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Legal burden on the defendant

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 gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

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

The defence, as drafted

ions, it shall be a defence for that person to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. 2 Where, in proceedings against a person for such an offence, the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to— a the act or default of another; or b reliance on inform

What would breach regulation 24(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 Measuring Instruments (Material Measures of Length) Regulations 2006.
  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
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
28 April 2006
In force from
30 May 2006
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 implement Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on measuring instruments (OJ No. L135, 30.4.04, p1) “the Directive” in relation to the class of material measures of length within the category of material measures covered by the Directive. Part I provides, with certain exceptions, that these Regulations extend to specified material measures of length for use for trade which are first placed on the market or put into use on or after the 30th October 2006. Part II deals with the general requirements for placing on the market and putting into use. These are that material measures of length are compliant with the essential requirements, that the manufacturer has demonstrated such compliance with the essential requirements and that the measures have the CE marking, the M marking and identification number of the relevant notified body affixed to them (regulation 4(1)). It is an offence under regulation 4(2) to place on the market or put them into use a material measure of length without complying with the requirements of regulation 4(1). The essential requirements are set out in Schedule 1. Compliance with the essential requirements can be demonstrated in accordance with the provisions in regulation 5. Regulation 6 sets out the different conformity assessment procedures available to a manufacturer to demonstrate compliance. The technical documentation required is set out in Schedule 3. Regulations 7 to 11 and Schedule 2 contain provisions relating to the eligibility and designation of persons to be notified bodies and with the administrative procedures relating to their appointment, their functions and fees. Requirements relating to the marking of material measure of lengths and identification are set out in regulation 12 and Schedule 4. Regulation 13 provides for a presumption of conformity with other applicable directives conferred by the CE marking. Part III of these Regulations deals with certain requirements relating to the use for trade of material measure of lengths (regulations 14 and 15 and Schedule 1) pursuant to section 15(1) of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. Failure to comply with these requirements is an offence under section 15(3) of that Act. Part IV deals with enforcement of these Regulations. Regulation 16 provides that the Regulations shall be enforced by every local weights and measures authority within its area: the Secretary of State may act as an enforcement authority in relation to Part II and for that purpose may appoint any person to act on his behalf. Regulation 17 (compliance notice procedures) and regulation 18 (immediate enforcement action) confer powers on the enforcement authorities to take action in respect of non-compliant material measure of lengths. Regulation 19 permits a review by the Secretary of State of notices issued by other enforcement authorities under regulations 17 and 18. Regulation 20 provides for disqualification of material measure of lengths and it is an offence to use a measure which has been disqualified unless it has been re-qualified in accordance with regulation 21. Regulation 22 details the offences relating to the unauthorised application of authorised marks. Regulation 23 provides powers of entry and inspection for enforcement officers. Regulation 24 provides for offences relating to the obstruction of an enforcement officer. A person guilty of an offence under Part II and Part IV is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (which is currently £5,000) (Regulation 25). A defence of due diligence in relation to any offence under the Regulations is provided for in regulation 26 and the liability of persons other than the principal offender is set out in regulation 27. Part V (regulations 28 to 30) deals with miscellaneous matters including the application of the Regulations to Northern Ireland to the extent set out in Schedule 5 (regulation 30). These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission and the other member States in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L204, 21.7.98, p.37), as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L217, 5.8.98, p.18). A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), Stanton Avenue, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 OJZ or from its website at www.nwml.gov.uk. As these Regulations transpose the Directive, a transposition note (TN) setting out how the Government has transposed the Directive into United Kingdom law has been prepared. Copies of the RIA and TN are available from NWML as above. Copies of these documents have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

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