UK Offence Report

Contravention of Byelaws

section 9 of The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield Byelaws 2010

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

9 Any person who contravenes byelaws 5, 7 or 8 shall commit an offence under section 17(2) of the Military Lands Act 1892.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 section 9?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a person contravenes byelaws 5, 7 or 8 shall.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield Byelaws 2010, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

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 17(2) of the Military Lands Act 1892.

penalty is that of the referenced enactment; not stated 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
4 February 2010
In force from
1 May 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 the Byelaws) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

Part II of the Military Lands Act 1892 (c.43) provides for the making of byelaws for regulating the use of land held for military purposes and securing the safety of the public. These byelaws regulate the land at AWE Burghfield. The land subject to these byelaws, namely the Protected Area and the Controlled Areas, comprise the land held under title numbers BK317833 and BK384888 that are registered at Gloucester District Land Registry, Twyver House, Bruton Way, Gloucester, GL1 1DQ. A copy of these byelaws and the plans showing the Protected Area and Controlled Areas to which these byelaws apply may be inspected on the Ministry of Defence web site http://www.defence-estates.mod.uk/byelaws/Internet/Intro.html. Copies have also been deposited with the Burghfield Common Library, School Lane, Burghfield Common, Reading RG7 3JZ. Copies may also be obtained from the Librarian, Defence Estates, Kingston Road, Sutton Coldfield B75 7RL. By section 17(2) of the Military Lands Act 1892, it is provided that any person who commits an offence against any byelaw made under this Act, is liable, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale. At the time of printing the maximum fine on level 2 is FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS (£500). Any person seeking an exemption under byelaw 10(b) should apply for permission in writing to the Byelaws Appointed Person, MOD, Room 2060, Building F6.1, AWE Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4PR.

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 0.64.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”; c10_offence_under_parent_act
Confidence
0.64 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