UK Offence Report

Other offences and penalties

regulation 24(2) of The Ecodesign for Energy-Using Products Regulations 2007 (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

2 It is an offence for

a person, without reasonable excuse, to fail to—

a comply with any requirement imposed under the powers in Part

3 to Schedule 9;

b provide facilities or assistance reasonably required by an authorised person under those powers; or

c comply with any notice given under Part

5 to Schedule 9;

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

2 It is an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to fail to— a comply with any requirement imposed under the powers in Part 3 to Schedule 9; b provide facilities or assistance reasonably required by an authorised person under those powers; or c comply with any notice given under Part 5 to Schedule 9;

What would breach regulation 24(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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Ecodesign for Energy-Using Products Regulations 2007, 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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2007-08-11); 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
14 July 2007
In force from
11 August 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 Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations implement requirements of Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products (O.J. No. L191, 22.7.2005, p. 29). Regulation 3 provides that a product listed in Schedule 1 to these Regulations may not be put on the market unless it conforms to the product requirements set out in Schedule 2. Regulation 4 requires a manufacturer of a listed product to assess that the product conforms to the product requirements, provides for the conformity assessment procedures in Schedules 4 to 6 and provides for affixing the CE conformity marking. Regulation 5 imposes similar requirements on authorised representatives and on importers of listed products. Regulation 6 provides that the restriction in regulation 3 does not apply to certain displays of listed products. Regulation 7 sets out presumptions in relation to a listed product. Regulation 8 sets out requirements on a manufacturer, authorised representative or importer of a listed product if they become aware that a listed product they have put on the market does not conform to the product requirements. Regulation 9 prohibits affixing markings on listed products that may mislead a person to believe they conform to the product requirements. Regulation 10 provides for the documentation that a manufacturer, authorised representative or importer of a listed product must keep. Regulation 11 provides for the criteria to be met by, and the approval of, notified bodies. Regulation 12 sets out the function of notified bodies and regulation 13 their obligations and powers in performing that function. Regulation 14 provides for notified bodies to charge fees. Regulation 15 provides for appeals against non-conformity notices given by notified bodies and regulation 16 for procedures after such notices are given. Regulation 17 sets out the information to be shared between notified bodies. Regulation 18 provides for the enforcement of provisions of these Regulations by enforcing authorities. These are defined in regulation 2 as local weights and measures authorities in England and Wales and Scotland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland. Regulation 19 provides for enforcing authorities to take civil proceedings and regulation 20 provides for the powers of enforcement of enforcing authorities as set out in Schedule 9. Regulation 21 provides for appeals against enforcement notices and regulation 22 for procedures after such notices are given. Regulations 23 and 24 set out offences and penalties, regulation 25 provides for the commencement of summary proceedings, regulation 26 sets out matters in relation to offences by persons involved with corporate bodies and regulation 27 allows a court to make a remediation order in respect of a person convicted of an offence under these Regulations. Regulation 28 provides for revocation of existing instruments as listed in Schedule 10. Schedule 1 defines listed products. Schedule 2 sets out the product requirements for listed products, Schedule 3 sets out the various conformity assessment procedures that apply to listed products and Schedule 4 sets out the modules of conformity assessment. Schedule 5 sets out matters relating to the declaration of conformity and Schedule 6 provides for the affixing of the CE conformity marking. Schedule 7 sets out the criteria to be met by notified bodies. Schedule 8 provides for matters in relation to appeals against non-conformity notices and enforcement notices. Schedule 9 provides for the powers of enforcing authorities. Schedule 10 lists the instruments revoked. A full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector, and a transposition note, are available from Environment, Business and Consumers Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 5th Floor, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL and at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consumerprod/pdf/energy-products-regs-guide.pdf. Copies have been placed in the library of each House 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 0.90.

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