UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2010

the instrument as a whole of The Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2010 (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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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. Selling the goods under the Identification and Traceability of Explosives Regulations 2010 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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
25 March 2010
In force from
5 April 2012
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, as regards Great Britain, Commission Directive 2008/43/EC setting up, pursuant to Council Directive 93/15/EC, a system for the identification and traceability of explosives for civil uses (“the 2008 Directive”). The Regulations impose requirements with respect to the marking of explosives with a unique identification and will come into force on 5th April 2012. Certain explosives, such as ammunition and explosives intended for the lawful use by the armed forces or the police, are excluded from the scope of the Regulations. The Regulations apply outside Great Britain to the acquisition or keeping of explosives on premises to which specified provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply by virtue of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2127) in the same way that those specified provisions apply to the acquisition or keeping of explosives in Great Britain (regulation 3). Regulation 4 imposes requirements on manufacturers, importers and distributors of explosives as to the marking of the explosives with a unique identification. The matters which go to form the unique identification are set out in Schedule 1. These include the name of the manufacturer, a three digit code for the site of manufacture, a unique product code and a part which can be read electronically in barcode or matrix code format. The methods of marking or affixing the unique identification to explosives are set out in Schedule 2. Manufacturers of explosives are to apply to the Health and Safety Executive (“the Executive”) for the attribution of a three digit code for their manufacturing site. Importers of explosives which are manufactured in a country which is not a member State are to apply to the Executive for a three digit code for the site of manufacture (regulation 5). Regulation 6 imposes record keeping requirements on persons who manufacture, import, distribute, acquire or keep any explosive, with exceptions for employees and individuals acquiring explosives for personal use. The information to be kept includes the unique identification for the explosive and its location while in the possession of the person keeping the record. Regulation 7 makes provision as to the enforcement of the Regulations. The enforcement of the Regulations is mainly given to the Executive, but the chief officer of police is to enforce regulations 4 and 6 at a site in relation to which the chief officer of police has granted a licence to store explosives or has registered a person in relation to the storage of explosives. A full impact assessment of the effect of this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Health and Safety Executive, Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 7HS and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the Office of Public Sector Information’s website. A copy of the transposition note in relation to the implementation of the 2008 Directive can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, International Branch, at the same address. Copies of these documents have been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.

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 0.59.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.59 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