UK Offence Report

Article 8: powers of surveyors carrying out an Article 8 survey

regulation 5(4) of The Ship Recycling (Requirements in relation to Hazardous Materials on Ships) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2018

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 If any person obstructs an officer in the exercise of his or her powers under paragraph (2), that person commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction— a in England and Wales, to a fine; b in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding level 5 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 5(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Ship Recycling (Requirements in relation to Hazardous Materials on Ships) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2018.
  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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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
30 October 2018
In force from
31 December 2018
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 make provision in connection with those parts of EU Regulation No 1257/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on ship recycling (OJ No L 330, 10.12.2013) (“the EU Ship Recycling Regulation”) that concern requirements that apply in relation to the construction of a ship, the ship during its working life and its preparation for recycling. Separate Regulations have been made in connection with those parts of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation that concern requirements that apply to facilities used for ship recycling (the Ship Recycling Facilities Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/430) and the Ship Recycling Facilities (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2015 (S.R. (NI) 2015 No 229). References in this Note to Articles are to Articles of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. Regulation 3 designates the Secretary of State as the administration in respect of the United Kingdom and makes connected provision in relation to “officers of the administration” as used in Article 8(1). Regulation 4 makes provision about the date by which a ship owner must, by virtue of Article 6(1)(b), notify the Secretary of State of an intention to recycle a ship. Regulation 5 confers, by reference to provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, powers on those carrying out an Article 8 survey (as defined in regulation 2) and provides for a criminal offence of obstruction in relation to those powers. Regulation 6 provides for a power for the Secretary of State to charge a fee in relation to the carrying out by a UK Government officer (as defined in regulation 2) of an Article 8 survey or the issuing etc of a certificate under Article 9. In doing so it applies certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1104). Regulation 7 amends the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2601) so that inspections carried out under those Regulations take account of the requirements of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. Regulation 7 also makes connected amendment to enforcement provisions that relate to those inspections. Regulation 8 gives a power for a person carrying out an Article 8 survey or an inspector appointed under regulation 12 to detain a ship which is not subject to Part 1 of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011. That power is available if, in the opinion of the person or inspector, the ship does not have on board a valid inventory of hazardous materials or certain hazardous materials are installed or used on the ship in a manner contrary to the Annex I control measures (as defined in regulation 2). Regulation 8 also provides for a criminal offence for failing to comply with a detention notice. Regulation 9 provides for offences in relation to United Kingdom ships or ships of other member States (including a ship of an EEA state). Regulation 10 provides for offences in relation to ships that are not United Kingdom ships or ships of other member States. Regulation 11 makes supplementary provision in connection with regulations 9 and 10. Regulation 12 gives a power to the Secretary of State to appoint an inspector for the purposes of regulation 8 (detaining a ship to which Part 1 of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011 does not apply) or investigating whether an offence under regulation 9 or 10 has been committed. It confers, by reference to provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, powers on an inspector and provides for criminal offences in connection with those powers. Regulation 13 makes clear that the definition of “the European List” which is used in the Ship Recycling Facilities Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/430) is that list as it is updated from time to time. Regulation 14 imposes a requirement to review these Regulations. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen..

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 →

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
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