UK Offence Report

Obstruction

regulation 27 of The Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

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

27 It is an offence—

a intentionally to obstruct any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;

b to fail without reasonable cause to give to such person any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require for the purposes of that person’s functions under these Regulations; or

c knowingly or recklessly to give false or misleading information to such person.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

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

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 27?

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 Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009.
  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
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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

The Ministry of Justice records offences under this instrument against offence code 9894 — 09894 - Triable either way offences under The Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009. That code may cover several provisions of the instrument, so a count against it is not a count of prosecutions under this provision alone.

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have their own code in the MoJ’s Outcomes by Offence data tool. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
14 December 2009
In force from
15 January 2010
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 these Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations implement Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 (OJ No L 248, 22.9.2007, p17) establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of European eel. Part 2 of the Regulations requires holders of licences to fish for eels other than by rod and line to submit eel catch returns to record information relating to eels caught of 12 centimetres or less in length (regulation 3). Aquaculture production business operators are also required to keep records of eels of less than 12 centimetres received (regulation 4) and to offer such eels for sale for use in restocking eel river basins (regulation 8). Consignments of live eels imported into, or exported from, England or Wales must be accompanied by a certificate identifying the origin of the eels and (where relevant) that eels for export were caught in a manner consistent with the relevant eel management plan (regulations 5 to 7). Part 3 imposes close seasons on fishing for eels other than by rod and line during 2010 and 2011 (regulation 10). After that close seasons will be imposed by byelaws made under the Water Resources Act 1991. Part 3 also allows the Environment Agency to revoke a licence to fish for eels other than by rod and line if it is necessary to do so in order to reduce fishing effort to meet levels specified in Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007 (regulation 11). Part 4 makes provision for the passage of eels through dams and other obstructions (regulations 12 to 16). It also requires the placement of screens that will protect eels over some intakes and outlets (regulations 17 to 19). Part 5 makes provision for notices and appeals. Part 6 gives enforcement powers to inspectors. An impact assessment has been prepared and placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. It is available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk. A copy can also be obtained from the Welsh Assembly Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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