The Controls on Ozone-Depleting Substances Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

PART 2N.I.Enforcement, offences, penalties and revocations

The competent authorityN.I.

4.  The Department is the competent authority for the purposes of the EU Regulation.

Breach of the EU RegulationN.I.

5.  Any person who breaches any of the following provisions of the EU Regulation is guilty of an offence.

Powers of the enforcing authorityN.I.

6.—(1) The enforcing authority may by notice require a person in possession of a controlled substance, or a product or equipment containing or relying on a controlled substance, that has been produced or placed on the market, in contravention of the EU Regulation, to dispose of it, or otherwise render it harmless, in accordance with the notice.

(2) Failure to comply with such a notice is an offence.

Information noticesN.I.

7.  The enforcing authority may, by notice served on any person, require that person to furnish such information as is specified in the notice, in such form and within such period following the service of the notice or at such time as is so specified.

Enforcement noticesN.I.

8.—(1) An enforcement notice is a notice requiring a person to take specified steps to remedy a contravention, to remedy a contravention to the fullest extent possible, or to remedy matters making it likely that a contravention will arise.

(2) If an enforcing authority is of the opinion that a person—

(a)has contravened, is contravening or is likely to contravene these Regulations; or

(b)has contravened [F1Article 18(4) or 27(1) to (7) of the EU Regulation,]

the enforcing authority may serve on that person an enforcement notice.

(3) An enforcement notice must—

(a)state that the enforcing authority is of that opinion;

(b)specify the matters constituting the contravention or the matters making it likely that the contravention will arise, as the case may be;

(c)specify the steps that must be taken to remedy the contravention or to remedy the matters making it likely that the contravention will arise, as the case may be; and

(d)specify the period within which those steps must be taken.

(4) The period referred to in paragraph (3)(d) must not end earlier than the period within which an appeal may be brought under regulation 9.

(5) The enforcing authority may withdraw an enforcement notice at any time.

(6) A person on whom an enforcement notice is served must comply with such notice at that person’s own expense.

(7) Where steps required by an enforcement notice have not been taken or not taken within the period allowed for compliance with the enforcement notice, the enforcing authority may—

(a)enter the land and take the steps specified in the enforcement notice; and

(b)recover from the person who is the owner, any expenses reasonably incurred by it in doing so and those expenses shall be a civil debt recoverable summarily.

Appeals against enforcement noticesN.I.

9.—(1) A person who is aggrieved by an enforcement notice may appeal to a court of summary jurisdiction.

(2) The procedure on an appeal is by way of notice under Part VII of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(1).

(3) The period within which an appeal may be brought is 28 days from the date upon which the notice was issued.

(4) An enforcement notice must state—

(a)that the person on whom the enforcement notice is served has the right of appeal; and

(b)the period in which the appeal may be brought.

(5) Where an appeal is brought against an enforcement notice, that enforcement notice must be of no effect pending the final determination or the withdrawal of the appeal.

Enforcement by the High CourtN.I.

10.  If the enforcing authority is of the opinion that proceedings against a person for an offence under Regulation 11(f) would afford an ineffectual remedy against that person, the enforcing authority may take proceedings in the High Court for the purpose of securing compliance with that enforcement notice.

Additional offencesN.I.

11.  A person commits an offence if that person—

(a)intentionally obstructs an authorised person acting in the implementation of these Regulations;

(b)without reasonable cause, fails to give to an authorised person acting in the implementation of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require under these Regulations;

(c)furnishes to an authorised person acting in the implementation of these Regulations any information, knowing it to be false or misleading;

(d)fails to produce a document or record when required to do so to an authorised person acting in the implementation of these Regulations;

(e)fails to comply with the requirements of an information notice;

(f)fails to comply with the requirements of an enforcement notice;

(g)knowingly or recklessly furnishes any information under Article 27 of the EU Regulation which is false or misleading in any material particular; or

(h)intentionally prevents any other person from appearing before an authorised person to provide information, or to answer questions for which an authorised person may require an answer.

PenaltiesN.I.

12.  A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

Offences by bodies corporateN.I.

13.—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, section 20(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(2) applies with the omission of the words “the liability of whose members is limited”, and where affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, applies in relation to acts or defaults of a member in connection with the functions of management as if that person were a Director of the body corporate.

(2) If an offence committed by a partnership is shown—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner; or

(b)to be attributable to any neglect on the part of the partner,

the partner as well as the partnership is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(3) Proceedings for an offence alleged to have been committed by an unincorporated association must be brought in the name of the association and not in the name of any of its members.

(4) A fine imposed on an unincorporated association on its conviction for an offence must be paid out of the funds of the association.

(5) If an offence committed by an unincorporated association, other than a partnership, is shown—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the association or a member of its governing body; or

(b)to be attributable to any neglect on the part of such an officer or member,

that officer or member as well as the association is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

EnforcementN.I.

14.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the district council must enforce these Regulations.

(2) In relation to—

(a)cases of a particular description; or

(b)a particular case,

the Department may direct that the duty imposed by paragraph (1) on the district council must be discharged by it and not by the district council.

(3) The Secretary of State must enforce these Regulations in relation to offshore installations.

(4) The powers in article 72 (powers of enforcing authorities and persons authorised by them) of the 1997 Order apply in relation to these Regulations, and the powers of authorised persons in that article are exercisable by persons authorised by any enforcing authority.

(5) The enforcing authority may authorise in writing such persons as they consider appropriate to act for the purpose of enforcing these Regulations.

(6) The powers in article 72 (powers of enforcing authorities and persons authorised by them) of the 1997 Order are extended to the marine area for the purposes of these Regulations.

Application to the CrownN.I.

15.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, these Regulations bind the Crown.

(2) No act or omission done or suffered by or on behalf of the Crown constitutes an offence under these Regulations, but the High Court may, on the application of the Department, declare unlawful any act or omission of the Crown which constitutes such a contravention.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), these Regulations must apply to persons in the public service of the Crown as they apply to other persons.

RevocationN.I.

16.  The Environmental Protection (Controls on Ozone-Depleting Substances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(3) are revoked.