UK Offence Report

Requirement to produce records

regulation 9 of The Fish Labelling (Wales) Regulations 2013

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

9 An operator who fails to comply with the second sentence of Article 58(4) of Regulation 1224/2009 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
an operator
Conduct
failing to do something the instrument requires
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 an operator 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 9?

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. On these words an offence is committed where an operator fails to comply with the second sentence of Article 58(4) of Regulation 1224/2009.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Fish Labelling (Wales) Regulations 2013, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

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
Status not determined
Made
27 August 2013
In force from
26 September 2013
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 enforce in Wales the consumer information requirements of Chapter 2 of Title I of Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products (OJ No L 17, 21.1.2000, p 22) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2065/2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 as regards informing consumers about fishery and aquaculture products (OJ No L 278, 23.10.2001, p 6). They also enforce in Wales the traceability requirements of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy (OJ No L 343, 22.12.2009, p 1) and Article 67 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (OJ No L 112, 30.4.2011, p 1). Regulation 4 sets out the consumer information requirements and the traceability requirements. Regulation 5 applies section 10 of the Food Safety Act 1990 (c.16) with modifications so that an authorised officer of an enforcement authority can serve an improvement notice on an operator who fails to comply with the consumer information requirements or traceability requirements. Regulation 6 applies section 37 of that Act with modifications so that an operator can appeal against service of an improvement notice to the magistrates’ court. Regulation 7 applies section 39 of the Act to enable the court to either cancel or affirm an improvement notice. Regulation 8 requires operators to keep records of information specified in Article 58(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (as read with Article 67(4) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011) and creates an offence for failure to comply with that requirement. Regulation 9 creates an offence for failure to produce those records on demand in breach of that Article. Regulation 11 and the Schedule apply certain other provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 to these Regulations with consequential modifications. Regulation 12 provides that each food authority in Wales must execute and enforce these Regulations in its area. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Food Standards Agency at Food Standards Agency Wales, 11th Floor, Southgate House, Wood Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EW.

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