UK Offence Report

2 It is an offence to— a intentionally obstruct any person acting in the execution or enforcement of these…

regulation 29(2) of The Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015

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

2 It is an offence to—

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

b fail, without reasonable cause, to give to any such person any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require for those purposes;

c furnish to any such person any information knowing it to be false or misleading; or

d fail to produce

a document or record to any such person when required to do so.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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, knowing it to be).

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: intentionally, knowing it to be.

What would breach regulation 29(2)?

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 Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015.
  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
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
16 February 2015
In force from
19 March 2015
Extent
N.I.

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.

The Regulations revoke and remake with amendments the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/261). These Regulations give effect to Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ No L 150, 20.5.2014, p 195) (“the 2014 Regulation”). These Regulations also give effect to the following Commission Regulations relating to certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (“the Commission Regulations”)— a Commission Regulation (EC) No 1494/2007 (OJ No L 332, 18.12.07, p 25); b Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2007 (OJ No L 333, 19.12.07, p 4); c Commission Regulation (EC) No 1516/2007 (OJ No L 335, 20.12.07, p 10); d Commission Regulation (EC) No 303/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.08, p 3); e Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.08, p 12); f Commission Regulation (EC) No 305/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.08, p 17); g Commission Regulation (EC) No 306/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.2008, p 21); h Commission Regulation (EC) No 307/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.2008, p 25); i Commission Regulation (EC) No 308/2008 (OJ No L 92, 3.4.2008, p 28); and j Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1191/2014 (OJ No L 318, 5.11.2014, p 5). The Regulations provide that references to Commission Regulation 1493/2007 and to Commission Regulation 1494/2007 are references to those Commission Regulations as amended from time to time. The Regulations extend to Great Britain. They also extend to Northern Ireland for the purposes of import and export controls and trade with any place outside the United Kingdom. The Regulations apply to offshore installations, Scottish offshore installations and Northern Ireland offshore installations. (The terms “offshore installation”, “Scottish offshore installation” and “Northern Ireland offshore installation” are defined in regulation 4). The Regulations designate the competent authority for the 2014 Regulation (regulation 5). They also provide for the designation of certification, evaluation and attestation bodies required by the Commission Regulations (Part 3). Part 4 of the Regulations sets out powers given to enforcing authorities to enforce the 2014 Regulation and the Commission Regulations. This includes, in regulation 25, the power to issue enforcement notices for failing to comply with the 2014 Regulation or the Commission Regulations. Those provisions are listed in Schedules 2 and 3. Certain breaches of the 2014 Regulation, as well as a failure to comply with an enforcement notice, are among the criminal offences set out in regulation 29. An assessment of the effects that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available from the Stratospheric Ozone and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR and is annexed to the Government’s response to the consultation on www.gov.uk/government/consultations. The Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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