UK Offence Report

Summoning of witnesses

article 17(7) of The Gambling Appeals Tribunal Rules 2006

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

7 If a person, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a summons, he commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

7 If a person, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a summons, he commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

What would breach article 17(7)?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Gambling Appeals Tribunal Rules 2006, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
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
8 December 2006
In force from
1 January 2007
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 Rules) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Rules regulate the procedure for appeals to the Gambling Appeals Tribunal (“the Tribunal”), established under section 140 of the Gambling Act 2005. Part 1 (rules 1 to 3) introduces the Rules and includes interpretation of terms used in the Rules. Part 2 (rules 4 to 20) contains preliminary matters, which take place prior to the appeal hearing. Part 3 (rules 21 to 29) applies when the appeal hearing has commenced. Part 4 (rules 30 to 32) makes provision for appeals from the Tribunal to the High Court in England and Wales or in Scotland, the Court of Session. Part 5 (rules 33 to 42) makes provision for general matters such as, the register kept by the Tribunal and the rules that apply to the sending of notices. In particular, the Rules make the following provision. Rule 4 provides for the bringing of an appeal by the appellant filing an appeal notice with the Tribunal. Rule 5 provides that a statement of case must be filed by the Commission in support of its determination and rule 6 provides that the appellant must reply to that statement of case. Both rules set out what information the relevant documents should contain and also that they should be accompanied by a list and copies of certain information all of which must be filed with the Tribunal. Rule 8(2) allows a party to request that a document that they are otherwise obliged to disclose is exempted from such disclosure on the grounds that it would not be in the public interest, that the document contains commercially sensitive information, that the document is privileged or that it is disproportionate to the case to order such disclosure. The direction making powers of the Tribunal are contained in rules 10 to 13 and 15 and 16. Rule 10 provides that the Tribunal may make directions to ensure the just, expeditious and economical determination of the appeal. Rule 11 lists examples of particular directions that the Tribunal may give; rules 12, 13, 15 and 16 provide further information about the making of a particular direction listed in rule 11. Rule 18 applies where the Tribunal directs that a hearing to determine a preliminary question of law or fact is to take place before the substantive hearing of the appeal takes place. Rule 20 applies where the Tribunal directs that a pre hearing review of the case is to be held. The purpose of a pre hearing review is to assist the Tribunal in ensuring the fair and prompt hearing of the appeal by making any directions necessary to achieve that objective. Rule 21 applies when the Tribunal determines an appeal without an oral hearing. When an appeal is determined in accordance with this rule the Tribunal must consider whether it is undesirable to publish of the whole or part of its final determination. The Tribunal will take into account the circumstances of the case, such as whether there are matters of commercial sensitivity or personal details relating to key personnel in an organisation or relating to a personal licence holder before deciding to publish the whole or part of its final determination. Rule 22 provides an exemption to the general rule that all hearings must be held in public. The Tribunal will look at the particular circumstances of the case and will allow the hearing to take place without the attendance of the press and public when it considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so. Under this rule, the Tribunal can permit any other person to attend a private hearing when it thinks that it is necessary for the fair hearing of the appeal, for example, the attendance of an interpreter. Rule 27 allows the Tribunal to consider whether it would be undesirable to publish the whole or part of its’ final determination when the whole or part of the hearing was held in private. Rule 28 allows the Tribunal to make a costs order against the appellant or the Commission in relation to the bringing of the appeal or their conduct. Rules 30 and 31 apply when a person seeks permission from the Tribunal to bring an appeal against the final determination of the Tribunal to the High Court in England and Wales or the Court of Session in Scotland. The application for permission to bring an appeal in these circumstances must be decided without an oral hearing unless the Tribunal considers that a hearing is desirable.

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 “commits an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction
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