UK Offence Report

Power to request that small fishing vessels report for inspection

regulation 11(2) of The Fishing Vessels (Codes of Practice) Regulations 2017

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 The owner of

a fishing vessel who fails without reasonable excuse to present that vessel for inspection on the date and at the time and place specified in

a notice given under paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

2 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

2 The owner of a fishing vessel who fails without reasonable excuse to present that vessel for inspection on the date and at the time and place specified in a notice given under paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 11(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. On these words an offence is committed where a person fails without reasonable excuse to present that vessel for inspection on the date and at the time and place specified in a notice given under paragraph (1).
  2. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Fishing Vessels (Codes of Practice) Regulations 2017.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
26 September 2017
In force from
23 October 2017
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 revise the certification regime applicable to United Kingdom fishing vessels, and non-United Kingdom fishing vessels operating in United Kingdom waters. In order to obtain a Certificate of Compliance, a vessel must comply with an applicable Code of Practice, determinable by the size of the fishing vessel and the waters within which it operates. The Codes of Practice deal with the safe operation, construction and equipping of fishing vessels. They implement Council Directive 93/103/EC of 23rd November 1993 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for work on board fishing vessels and Council Directive 97/70/EC of 11th December 1997 setting up a harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, as amended by Commission Directive 2002/35/EC. Regulation 3 contains provisions relating to application. The Regulations prohibit the use of fishing vessels on a voyage without a certificate of compliance issued by the Secretary of State, following a survey or inspection (regulations 4 and 5). If a fishing vessel is involved in an accident, the Secretary of State must be notified. The Secretary of State may require further inspections and surveys to be carried out (regulation 6). The owner of a fishing vessel must notify the Secretary of State of any proposed alterations or modifications to be made to the vessel, and the Secretary of State may require further inspections and surveys to be carried out (regulation 7). Regulations 8 and 9 provide for suspension and cancellation of certificates and regulation 10 requires a certificate to be produced on demand by specified officials. The Secretary of State may require small fishing vessels to be presented for inspection and it is an offence to fail to report for such an inspection (regulation 11). The Secretary of State has power to inspect and detain all sizes of fishing vessels, including non-United Kingdom fishing vessels. The latter are required to be certified by their flag State as being compliant with the provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels 1977, and to continue to so comply while within United Kingdom waters (regulations 12-15). Regulation 16 provides a right of appeal against detention, and for compensation to be payable for unjustifiable detention. Regulations 17 and 18 provide for the Secretary of State to permit equipment equivalent to that specified in an applicable Code of Practice to be used, or to grant exemptions from a Code of Practice, if satisfied that this does not compromise safety. Regulation 19 provides for the Statutory Instruments listed in the Schedule to be revoked: these Instruments are mainly Rules and Regulations relating to safety of fishing vessels, and which are superseded by the provisions of these Regulations. Two revoked Instruments relate to the previous implementation of Council and Commission Directives which are also superseded by these Regulations. Regulation 20 makes two transitional provisions. Regulation 21 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of the Regulations and to publish a report within five years after they come into force, and every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is published with the Explanatory Memorandum, to which a Transposition Note is annexed, alongside the instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Neither House could have amended it. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not; the Houses can reject an instrument or record their regret, but they cannot change a word of it. That is the constitutional position for every offence on this site.

The full procedural history →

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction
Confidence
0.92 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