UK Offence Report

4 It is an offence to fail to comply with— a Article 4(1) of the Timber Regulation (prohibition on placing…

regulation 4 of The Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2013

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

4 It is an offence to fail to comply with— a Article 4(1) of the Timber Regulation (prohibition on placing illegally harvested timber on the market); b Article 4(2) of the Timber Regulation (obligation to exercise due diligence); c Article 4(3) of the Timber Regulation (obligation to maintain and evaluate due diligence system); d Article 5 of the Timber Regulation (traceability obligation); e Article 5(1) of the Implementing Regulation (record-keeping obligation); f regulation 10 (obstruction of an inspector); or g a notice of remedial actions.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 regulation 4?

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 it is an offence to fail to comply with— a Article 4(1) of the Timber Regulation (prohibition on placing illegally harvested timber on the market).
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2013.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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
6 February 2013
In force from
3 March 2013
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, which apply in the United Kingdom, enforce: a Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (“the Timber Regulation”); and b Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 607/2012 on the detailed rules concerning the due diligence system and the frequency and nature of the checks on monitoring organisations as provided for in the Timber Regulation (“the Implementing Regulation”). Regulation 2 provides for the designation of the Secretary of State as the competent authority for the Timber Regulation, the Implementing Regulation and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 363/2012 on the procedural rules for the recognition and withdrawal of recognition of monitoring organisations as provided for in the Timber Regulation. Regulation 3 provides for the authorisation of inspectors by the Secretary of State. Part 2 deals with offences under the Regulations. Regulation 4 sets out the offences; regulation 5 provides for a due diligence defence in relation to two of the offences; and regulation 6 deals with offences by businesses. Part 3 deals with enforcement. Regulations 7, 8 and 9 confer entry, inspection and seizure powers on inspectors; regulation 10 prohibits the obstruction of an inspector; regulation 11 confers powers on an inspector to serve a notice of remedial actions on a person who the inspector reasonably believes is not complying with the due diligence obligations in the Timber Regulation; regulation 12 provides for appeals against such notices; regulation 13 provides for penalties for offences under the Regulations; and regulation 14 confers a power on the court to order the reimbursement of the Secretary of State and inspectors’ investigation costs by any person who is convicted following such investigation. Regulation 15 makes provision in respect of documents which are the subject of legal professional privilege or its equivalent in Scotland. Regulation 16 provides for the manner in which notices must be served under regulations 5, 7 and 9. Regulation 17 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within five years after they come into force and every five years after that. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available from www.ialibrary.bis.gov.uk and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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 0.90.

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