Application and interpretation

rule 100A(1) of The Armed Forces (Interpretation, Translation and Alcohol and Drug Tests) Rules 2013

Status not determined
Strict liability
Set by another provision
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public health

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

1 This Chapter applies to proceedings for— a an offence under section 20(1)(a) of the 2006 Act (unfitness for duty through alcohol or drugs); b an offence under section 20A of that Act (exceeding alcohol limit for prescribed safety-critical duties); or c an offence under section 42 of that Act (criminal conduct) as respects which the corresponding offence under the law of England and Wales is an offence under section 78, 79, 92 or 93 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 (shipping and aviation staff: offences relating to alcohol and drugs).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 rule 100A(1)?

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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Armed Forces (Interpretation, Translation and Alcohol and Drug Tests) Rules 2013.

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 20(1)(a) of the 2006 Act.

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.

Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 2 October 2013
In force from: 27 October 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

Rules 1 to 7, 9, 10, 12 to 17 and 19 to 21 of this instrument amend the Armed Forces (Custody Proceedings) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/1098), the Armed Forces (Summary Appeal Court) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/1211), the Armed Forces (Summary Hearing and Activation of Suspended Sentences of Service Detention) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/1216), the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/2041) and the Armed Forces (Service Civilian Court) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/1209) so as to give effect to Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings. They require the provision, where necessary, of interpretation and translation services for persons accused or convicted of service offences who need such services, including persons with hearing or speech impediments. These amendments come into force on 27th October 2013. Section 11 of the Armed Forces Act 2011 (c. 18) inserts a new Chapter 3A in Part 3 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (c.52) which provides for the taking and analysis of specimens of breath, blood or urine from persons suspected of certain service offences relating to alcohol or drugs. Rules 8, 11, 18 and 22 of this instrument amend the Armed Forces (Summary Appeal Court) Rules 2009, the Armed Forces (Summary Hearing and Activation of Suspended Sentences of Service Detention) Rules 2009, the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009 and the Armed Forces (Service Civilian Court) Rules 2009 so as to provide for the use of specimens (whether or not obtained under Chapter 3A of Part 3 of the 2006 Act) in proceedings for those offences. These amendments come into force on 1st November 2013.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Application and interpretationrule 100A(1)(c)
Use of specimensrule 100B(2)(b)(iii)
Use of specimensrule 100B(2)(b)(v)
CHAPTER 7 Use of specimens in proceedings for offences relating to alcohol and drugs Application and…rule 18
Use of specimensrule 84B(2)(b)(ii)
Use of specimensrule 84B(2)(b)(iii)
Use of specimensrule 84B(2)(b)(iv)

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 0.62.

Basis: the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence: 0.62 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Armed Forces (Interpretation, Translation and Alcohol and Drug Tests) Rules 2013 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public healthOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2013