UK Offence Report

Fishing without an authorisation

regulation 8(2) of The Antarctic Act 1994 (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Regulations 2020

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 A person commits an offence if the person generates revenue from, or benefits from revenue generated from, any of the actions of the persons in paragraph (1)(a) to (c).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 regulation 8(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Antarctic Act 1994 (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) Regulations 2020.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
Not determined
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
2 years
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

the level is stated but no money value is given: this instrument extends outside the United Kingdom, where the standard scale set by s.122(1) of the Sentencing Act 2020 does not run.

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 November 2020
In force from
Not determined
Extent
E+W+S+NI

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 implement key provisions of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (“the Convention”). Part 1 provides that the regulations will come into force immediately before IP Completion Day (11p.m. on 31st December 2020), unless they are registered by the Royal Court later in either the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Bailiwick of Jersey in which case they come into force in those jurisdictions the day after such registration. The extent and application of the regulations are the whole of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man. Part 2 provides that no British vessel may fish for profit in the Convention Area unless it has an authorisation from the Secretary of State (regulation 4). Prior to this, the Secretary of State must notify the Commission established under the Convention (“the Commission”) of any British vessels intending to fish in the forthcoming season (regulation 3). Regulation 5 enables the Secretary of State to grant an authorisation with conditions. Regulation 6 obliges the Secretary of State to publish guidance on the relevant conservation measures as well as the authorisation application process. The Secretary of State may revoke, vary or suspend an authorisation (regulation 7). Part 3 creates criminal offences of entering the Convention Area intending to fish for profit without an authorisation, and fishing for profit within the Convention Area without an authorisation or in breach of any condition of an authorisation, the penalty for which is a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. Part 4 enables the Secretary of State to designate contact officers to carry out tasks under the Convention’s Catch Documentation Scheme, as agreed by the Commission in the relevant conservation measures adopted in accordance with the Convention. Part 5 provides that the Secretary of State may designate inspectors under the Convention to carry out the functions set out in the Convention System of Inspection. Inspectors must report to the Secretary of State on all inspections (regulation 13) and British vessels are obliged to facilitate the work of inspectors (irrespective of nationality) (regulation 14). Part 6 provides that the Secretary of State may designate observers under the Convention to carry out the functions set out in the Convention Scheme of International Scientific Observation. Observers must report to the Secretary of State on all observation visits (regulation 18). Regulation 19 obliges British vessels to facilitate the work of observers in accordance with directions given by the Secretary of State. A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact is foreseen on the private, voluntary or public sectors.

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 “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