UK Offence Report

Amendments to the TSE (Wales) Regulations 2002

regulation 4 of The TSE (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

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

Use of ovine germinal products

11 Any person who uses ovine germinal products in contravention of paragraph 3.2 of Annex VII will be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction, to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding three months or to both; or on conviction on indictment to

a fine or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding two years or to both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the TSE (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
19 October 2004
In force from
1 November 2004
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 amend the TSE (Wales) Regulations 2002, S.I. 2002/1416 (W.142). They make provision for the enforcement of Annex VII (other than paragraphs 1(a) and 2(a)) to Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (OJ No. L 147, 31.5.2001, p.1). Annex VII to that Regulation was first replaced in respect of ovine and caprine animals by Commission Regulation (EC) No 260/2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in ovine and caprine animals and rules for the trade in live ovine and caprine animals and bovine embryos (OJ No. L 37, 13/02/2003, p.7). The Annex was subsequently replaced by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1915/2003 (OJ No. L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 29). They add a new Schedule to the Regulations. They provide that the Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of Annex VII to the EU Regulation (paragraph 1 of the Schedule). They make provision for notices to be served and procedures to be followed following confirmation of TSE in sheep and goats (paragraphs 2 to 8). Part II of the Schedule regulates movement of sheep and goats following service of a notice under Part I (paragraphs 9 to 13) and provides for potential derogations specified in Annex VII to the EC Regulation (paragraph 14). Part III provides an appeals procedure against notices served under the Schedule. Part IV specifies compensation for animals, embryos and ova destroyed in accordance with the Schedule. A Regulatory Appraisal has been prepared and is available from the Animal and Plant Health Division, National Assembly for Wales, 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