UK Offence Report

Interference with notices etc

article 146 of The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 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

146 If any person without lawful authority destroys, mutilates, defaces or removes any notice published by

a registration officer in connection with his registration duties under this Order or any copies of

a document which have been made available for inspection in pursuance of those duties, he shall be 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 146?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
6 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
31 January 2007
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes provision for the conduct of elections and the return of members to the National Assembly for Wales as constituted under the Government of Wales Act 2006, and other related matters. It replaces The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2003 as amended by The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) Order 2006, which are both revoked. The first Order relating to the conduct of Assembly elections was made in 1999, and many of the provisions are reproduced in this order. It also reflects changes made by the Electoral Administration Act 2006. The principal changes made by this Order are: —as a result of the Electoral Administration Act 2006— The requirement for personal identifiers (signature and date of birth) to be provided by applicants for an absent vote (article 8 and Schedule 1). Transitional provisions for existing absent voters requiring them to provide personal identifiers and in default to lose the right to exercise an absent vote (Schedule 2). The maintenance of a personal identifiers record by requiring fresh signatures every five years (paragraphs 2 and 12 of schedule 1). The creation of new absent voters lists for postal, proxy and postal proxy voters (articles 10 and 12) and a right to receive copies of those lists during an election (paragraph 13 of schedule 1). The creation of a new offence of providing false information in connection with an application for an absent vote (article 14). Changes to the procedure for nominating candidates for election including the introduction of new means to pay the deposit on nomination enabling credit or debit cards to be used (rule 10 of Schedule 5). Changes to the rules on the conduct of Assembly elections including giving the Electoral Commission a power to prescribe the information to be included on candidates' election expenses returns (article 52); dealing with the death of a candidate at an Assembly constituency election (rules 70- to 73 of Schedule 5) and giving a power for returning officers to correct procedural errors made by themselves or others in the conduct of an election (article 21). —as a result of the Government of Wales Act 2006— Changes to the rules on candidates giving consent to nomination to reflect the new provision preventing a candidate standing at an Assembly constituency election from also standing at an Assembly regional election at the same time (rule 9 of Schedule 5); Changes reflecting generally the abolition, following the Assembly general election in May 2007, of the Assembly constituted by The Government of Wales Act 1998 and the establishment of the Assembly constituted by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the National Assembly Commission (see section 27 of that Act of 2006) and the Welsh Ministers (article 2(1), the definition of “the Assembly”). In addition the creation of a consistent scheme for incapacities for corrupt and illegal practices (articles 110 and 123); Part 1 of the Order makes general provision including definitions of terms; Part 2 makes provision for voting at an Assembly election, including absent votes and the duties of returning officers; Part 3 makes rules for the election campaign in relation to both constituencies and electoral regions and creates offences in connection to that campaign; Part 4 makes provision for the conduct of legal proceedings arising from the election campaign and the penalties for the commission of offences; Part 5 – Miscellaneous and supplemental; Schedule 1 makes detailed provision for applications for absent voting and the maintenance of records in connection with such applications; Schedule 2 makes transitional provisions in relation to existing absent voters; Schedule 3 makes provision for the form of postal voting statements and the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers; Schedule 4 deals with the combination of polls and modifies Schedule 5, the Principal Area election rules and the community election rules as appropriate where the election to the Assembly is combined with local government elections; Schedule 5 contains the rules for the conduct of Assembly elections and the return of Assembly members; Schedule 6 makes provision controlling donations to constituency candidates and individual candidates in electoral regions. Registered political parties and the candidates on the lists they submit for Assembly regional elections will continue to be regulated under separate provision in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 which is not affected by this Order. Schedule 7 makes provision in connection with election expenses; Schedule 8 makes provision for the use of rooms in school premises and meeting rooms in connection with Assembly election meetings; Schedule 9 modifies the Election Petition Rules 1960; and Schedule 10 contains an appendix of forms prescribed for use under this Order.

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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