Dorset County Council v House (Rev 1) [2010] EWCA Crim 2270 (13 October 2010)

Dorset County Council v House (Rev 1) [2010] EWCA Crim 2270 (13 October 2010)

The offences under the Identification and Database Regulations were defined exclusively by reference to obligations imposed by Regulation 820/97. After its repeal and replacement by Regulation 1760/2000, and in the absence of amendment to the domestic regulations, there was no extant obligation under Regulation...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2010] EWCA Crim 2270
Parties
Respondent: Dorset County Council; Applicant/appellant: David Richard Yeates House
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
13 October 2010
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Appeal From Crown Court Conviction to Court of Appeal (criminal Division)
Outcome
Appeal allowed; convictions quashed.
Legal Topics
Implementation of EU Regulations, Statutory Interpretation, Criminal Offences Under Domestic Regulations, Legal Certainty, Retrospective Criminal Liability
Criminal Law European Union Law Administrative Law Implementation of EU Regulations Statutory Interpretation Criminal Offences Under Domestic Regulations Legal Certainty Retrospective Criminal Liability

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Parties

Dorset County Council

Respondent

David Richard Yeates House

Applicant/appellant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Appeal From Crown Court Conviction to Court of Appeal (criminal Division)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether criminal liability under the Cattle Identification Regulations 1998 and Cattle Database Regulations 1998 could arise after the repeal of the referenced EU Regulation 820/97 and its replacement by Regulation 1760/2000, when the domestic regulations were not amended to reflect the change.
  2. 2 Whether the offences for which the applicant was convicted were 'unknown to the law' at the relevant time.

Ratio Decidendi

The offences under the Identification and Database Regulations were defined exclusively by reference to obligations imposed by Regulation 820/97. After its repeal and replacement by Regulation 1760/2000, and in the absence of amendment to the domestic regulations, there was no extant obligation under Regulation 820/97 at the time of the alleged offences. Therefore, the applicant was convicted of offences unknown to English law at the relevant time, and the convictions cannot stand.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; convictions quashed.

Orders

  • Extension of time for lodging the appeal granted.
  • Leave to appeal granted.