UK Offence Report

2 If any person – a obstructs an inspector in the exercise of a power conferred on the inspector by…

regulation 18(2) of The Sheep and Goats Identification (Wales) Regulations 2000

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

2 If any person –

a obstructs an inspector in the exercise of

a power conferred on the inspector by regulation 17; or

b fails without reasonable excuse to give such an inspector any assistance or information which that inspector may reasonably require of him or her for the purposes of the inspector’s functions under regulation 17, that person shall be guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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

wer conferred on the inspector by regulation 17; or b fails without reasonable excuse to give such an inspector any assistance or information which that inspector may reasonably require of him or her for the purposes of the inspector’s functions under regulation 17, that person shall be guilty of an offence.

What would breach regulation 18(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 Sheep and Goats Identification (Wales) Regulations 2000.
  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
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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.

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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Sheep and Goats Identification and Movement (Interim Measures) (Wales) Regulations 2002
Revoked on
11 February 2002
Made
30 August 2000
In force from
1 September 2000
Extent
W

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

(This note does not form part of the Regulations) These Regulations, which implement the provisions relating to sheep and goats of Council Directive 92/102/EEC on the identification and registration of animals (OJ No.L355, 5.12.92, p.32), make provision for records and other documentation concerning sheep and goats and the marking of sheep and goats. They revoke the Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1996, S. I. 1996/28 in so far as it applies to Wales. The Regulations require any person who keeps sheep or goats to notify the National Assembly for Wales (“the National Assembly”) (regulation 3). The Regulations require anyone keeping sheep or goats to keep movement records and, in the case of keepers who are sheepmeat producers for the purposes of Council Regulation 3493/90/EEC (laying down general rules for the grant of premium to sheepmeat and goatmeat producers (O.J. L337, 4.12.90, p.7)) additional records relating to specified events (regulations 4 and 5). The Regulations make provision for marking sheep and goats, either by an eartag or by a tattoo. Subject to certain exceptions and transitional provisions, from 1 January 2001 marking is required for all animals born or first moved off the holding of birth after that date, and for all sheep and goats imported into Wales from outside the European Union (regulations 6 to 8). The Regulations prohibit bringing sheep or goats into Wales from another Member State or from another part of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man (“the British Islands”) unless they are marked (regulations 9 and 10). The Regulations require the marking of sheep and goats when they are consigned to a destination outside Great Britain (regulation 11) and to a destination within Great Britain (regulation 12). They also provide for documentation to be carried when sheep or goats are moved within Great Britain (regulation 13). The Regulations provide for the removal and replacement of eartags and tattoos, the application of additional eartags and tattoos and prohibit the alteration of eartags and tattoos (regulations 14 to 16). The Regulations provide for powers for inspectors (regulation 17), offences (regulation 18) and penalties (regulation 19). Local Authorities enforce the Regulations apart from regulation 5, which is enforced by the National Assembly. The Regulations amend the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations 1992 to provide for the recovery of premium from producers who have breached regulation 5 of these Regulations. A Regulatory Appraisal has been prepared in accordance with section 65 of the Government of Wales Act 1998. Copies can be obtained from the National Assembly for Wales, Agriculture Policy Division 3, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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”
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