UK Offence Report

Obstruction of British sea-fishery officers

article 15(1) of The Sea Fishing (Northern Hake Stock) (Wales) Order 2006

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

1 Any person who— a fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed by a British sea-fishery officer under the powers conferred on British sea-fishery officers by articles 11 and 12; b without reasonable excuse prevents, or attempts to prevent, any other person from complying with any such requirement; or c assaults a person who is exercising any of the powers conferred on him or her by articles 11 to 13 or intentionally obstructs him or her in the exercise of any of those powers, is 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

1 Any person who— a fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed by a British sea-fishery officer under the powers conferred on British sea-fishery officers by articles 11 and 12; b without reasonable excuse prevents, or attempts to prevent, any other person from complying with any su

What would breach article 15(1)?

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 Sea Fishing (Northern Hake Stock) (Wales) Order 2006.
  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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
5 July 2006
In force from
7 July 2006
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order provides for the administration and enforcement in Wales of the monitoring, inspection and surveillance provisions of Council Regulation (EC) 811/2004 (OJ No L150 30.4.2004, p.1). The Order contains provisions relating to recording and accounting time spent at sea (article 3), provisions for the notification of entry into port of fishing boats and the landing of northern hake at designated ports (articles 4 and 5), a margin of tolerance relating to the recording of catches of fish in logbooks (article 6), a provision relating to the mixing of species within containers on board fishing vessels (article 7) and procedures for transporting northern hake (article 8). The Order creates offences in respect of the contravention, by the person in charge of the fishing boat (or the individuals specifically referred to) of provisions of the Regulation. The offences relate to failing to record and account for time in a log book (article 3), failing to provide certain information and/or follow the directions of a British sea-fishery officer when landing at a designated port (article 4), the failure to land in a designated port where more than two tonnes of northern hake are to be landed (article 5), the failure to comply with the 8% tolerance for logbook records relating to catches of fish (article 6), and the mixing of species and transporting of northern hake (articles 7 and 8) in a manner inconsistent with the Regulation. Articles 9-16 make provisions for enforcement. The Order provides that a person guilty of an offence other than an offence under article 15 is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 and on conviction on indictment to a fine. Further fines up to and including the value of any fish caught in committing the offence are permitted and the court may also order the seizure of fish caught or equipment used in, or in activities leading to, the commission of an offence (article 9). The Order also provides for the recovery of fines imposed, or treated as imposed, by a magistrates' court (article 10). For the purposes of enforcing the above provisions, the Order confers on British sea-fishery officers the power to enter premises, to go on board fishing boats, to stop and search vehicles transporting fish, to examine fish, to require the production of documents, to search for and seize documents, to take a boat to the nearest convenient port and to seize fish and fishing gear (articles 11-13). Protection of such officers from liability is set out in article 14, and obstructing them is an offence under article 15, with a fine of up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction and a fine on conviction on indictment. Articles 16 and 17 deal with corporate and equivalent offences and admissibility of documents in evidence. A Regulatory Appraisal in relation to the Annexes and this Order has been prepared and placed in the library of the National Assembly for Wales. Copies can be obtained from Fisheries Branch, 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