Plant Health
(Jersey) Law 2003[1]
A LAW to control the spread of pests
and diseases of plants and trees.
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“crop” includes any crop that is the subject of
agriculture, arboriculture, forestry or horticulture, whether or not grown for
reward, and includes trees, shrubs and bushes, seeds and plants, and any part of
those things;
“customs officer” has the same meaning as in the Customs and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999;
“inspector” means any person authorized by the Minister
in writing to be an inspector for the purposes of this Law;
“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;
“Order” means Order made under this Law;
“plant” includes any flora (including trees and other
plants) and any part of any flora, whether the part is living or dead and
whether or not the part has been processed in any way;
“plant pest” means pests of, and harmful organisms
liable to infect, plants, whether those pests or organisms are from the animal
or plant kingdom, or are viruses, mycoplasms or other pathogens, and whether or
not they have been genetically modified;
“premises” includes an aircraft, vehicle and vessel;
“sell” includes sell, offer for sale, advertise for
sale, give, distribute and transfer, whether for reward or not;
“significant thing” means anything that is potentially
harmful to plants, including anything animate or inanimate that may harbour or
spread any plant pest;
“thing” includes any living thing.[2]
2A Relationship
with the EU
Legislation (Plant Health) (Jersey) Regulations 2020[3]
Nothing in or under this Law derogates from the EU Legislation (Plant Health) (Jersey)
Regulations 2020.
2 Object
of this Law
The object of this Law is the prevention and control of the
development and spread of plant pests within Jersey and their spread to and
from Jersey.
3 Duties
of Minister
(1) The Minister is
responsible generally for the implementation of this Law and any Order made
under this Law.
(2) The Minister shall
carry out surveys of Jersey in furtherance of the object of this Law.
(3) Paragraph (2) does not
limit the generality of paragraph (1).
4 Orders
generally
(1) The Minister may by
Order make provision for the purpose of carrying this Law into effect and, in
particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for
prescribing any matter that may be prescribed under this Law by Order.
(2) An Order may –
(a) make
different provision in relation to different cases or circumstances;
(b) make
provision by reference to, and may incorporate (by reference, annexation or
otherwise), any EU provision to such extent and subject to such exceptions,
adaptations and modifications as may be specified in the Order; and
(c) contain
such transitional, consequential, incidental or supplementary provisions as
appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the
Order.[4]
(3) In paragraph (2)(b), “EU
provision” has the same meaning as it has in the European Union Legislation (Implementation)
(Jersey) Law 2014 and the reference in that sub-paragraph to such a provision is a
reference to such a provision only to the extent that the provision relates to
any matter on which an Order may be made under the provisions of this Law other
than that sub-paragraph.[5]
(4) [6]
5 Subject
matter of Orders in detail
(1) The Minister may make
Orders regulating or prohibiting for the purposes of this Law –
(a) the
import, export, movement, sale and keeping of plants, and of plant pests and
other significant things;
(b) the
doing of anything to or with plant pests and other significant things,
including treating or modifying them, experimenting with them or doing anything
else to or with them; or
(c) the
sowing, planting, cultivation, destruction, or disposal, of plants or crops.
(2) An Order may, for the
purposes of this Law, authorize or require the taking of action, or the giving
of orders to take action, to reduce or avoid the dangers posed by plant pests
and other significant things.
(3) However, such action
does not include the entering of premises.
(4) An Order may authorize
or require an inspector or any other person to do any of the following things,
or may authorize an inspector to require any person to do any of the following
things, for the purposes of this Law –
(a) to
treat, remove, return, place in quarantine or destroy, take to a specified
place, or otherwise dispose of any plant, crop, plant pest or other significant
thing;
(b) to
open, treat or place in quarantine any container or premises; or
(c) to
implement, or act in accordance with, a programme for the reduction or
elimination of the presence or effects of, or for the reduction or elimination
of the risk of the presence or effects of, a plant pest on plants, crops, land
or premises.
(5) An Order may authorize
an inspector to act as follows for the purposes of this Law –
(a) to
require a person to do something, or not to do something, in relation to the
import, export or movement of plants, and of plant pests and other significant
things;
(b) to
inspect, examine, mark or photograph any premises, plant, crop or other thing;
(c) to
require a person to produce any document, record, plant or other thing at a
specified time and at a specified place;
(d) to
require a person to answer any question or provide any information, but not so
as to incriminate himself or herself; or
(e) to
take samples for analysis or other purposes, examine anything and take copies.
(6) An Order may, for the
purposes of this Law –
(a) prescribe
fees payable for any authorization, licence, certificate, plant passport,
approval or registration, or any inspection or other service, provided under
this Law or an Order, including fees in respect of anything done by an
inspector or another person, whether or not it is done at the request of the
person required to pay the fee, and may make provision for the recovery of such
fees or the refusal of any service if a fee prescribed for the service is not
paid;
(b) make
provision for the seizure, retention or forfeiture of any plant, crop, plant
pest or other thing in respect of which an offence has been committed under
this Law or an Order;
(c) require
the giving of notice of any act, activity, event or occurrence;
(d) require
records to be kept and to be available for inspection;
(e) make
provision with respect to certificates and other documents and with respect to
registration and appeals;
(f) make
provision with respect to the issue of licences or authorities to do what
otherwise would be a breach of this Law or an Order;
(g) prescribe
the manner of service of any notice, requirement or other document for the
purposes of this Law or an Order;
(h) require
anything to be done only with specified approval or only if certain conditions
are met;
(i) leave
anything to be determined, specified, required, approved or authorized, or
otherwise done, by an inspector or another person; or
(j) provide
that a person who is guilty of an offence against any of its provisions shall
be liable on conviction to imprisonment for 3 months and to a fine of level 3
on the standard scale.[7]
(7) Paragraphs (4) to (6)
do not limit the generality of paragraphs (1) and (2).
6 Compensation
(1) If a crop is destroyed,
or its value reduced, by anything done in pursuance of this Law or an Order or
the EU Legislation (Plant Health)
(Jersey) Regulations 2020 or a requirement given under this Law or an Order or the EU Legislation (Plant Health) (Jersey)
Regulations 2020, the Minister may pay compensation to the owner of the crop.[8]
(2) The compensation shall
not exceed the reduction in value of the crop or (in the case of the
destruction of a crop) the value of the crop.
(3) For the purposes of
this Article, the value of a crop shall be taken to be the value that could
reasonably have been expected, from the viewpoint of the time of the reduction
in value or destruction, to be obtained had the crop later been harvested, and
sold on the open market, in the normal course of events.
7 False
statements
(1) A person shall not
knowingly or recklessly make any statement, or provide any information, that is
false or misleading in a material particular –
(a) in
any claim, application, plant passport, certificate, or other document under
this Law or an Order;
(b) in
connection with the grant of a licence, or with any registration or authorization,
or with the issue of any document, under this Law or an Order; or
(c) in
providing any information under this Law or an Order.
(2) A person shall not
re-use a plant passport or certificate, or alter a plant passport, certificate,
licence or other document issued or used under this Law or an Order, or make or
issue such a thing that appears to be so issued or used, without lawful
authority so to do.
(3) A person who
contravenes this Article shall be guilty of an offence and liable to
imprisonment for a term of 2 years and to a fine.
8 Entry
and search of premises
(1) If, on application made
by an inspector or a police officer supported by information on oath, the
Bailiff, a Jurat or a magistrate is satisfied on reasonable grounds of one or
more of the following matters, he or she may issue a warrant authorizing any
inspector, or any police officer, to enter any premises specified in the
warrant within 28 days after the issue of the warrant –
(a) that
an offence under this Law or an Order has been, or is being, committed and that
there is evidence of the commission of the offence to be found on the premises;
(b) that
a person has failed to comply with the requirements of a notice (including a
direction, requirement, order or other instrument) under an Order, being a
notice that has been served on the person and requires something to be done, or
not to be done, on the premises;
(c) that
there is evidence of any plant pest, or other significant thing, on the
premises (whether or not any offence has been committed in relation to that
pest or thing);
(d) that,
in order to carry out any survey of Jersey, or any inspection of premises, in
furtherance of the object of this Law, it is necessary to enter premises;
(e) that
entry of the premises would be in furtherance of any purpose prescribed by
Order as a purpose necessitating entry of premises, or giving a basis for power
to enter premises;
(f) that
entry of the premises would be in circumstances prescribed by Order as
circumstances necessitating entry of premises, or giving a basis for power to
enter premises.
(2) An inspector or police
officer who enters premises by authority of such a warrant –
(a) may,
if so authorized by the warrant, use such force as is reasonably necessary to
make that entry;
(b) may
inspect, search, survey and test the premises or anything found on the
premises, remove anything found on the premises, move any soil, or water,
within the premises or move, take apart or remove any structure within the
premises;
(c) may
test anything so removed and retain anything so removed that may be required in
evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings;
(d) may
do on those premises anything that he or she is authorized to do by this Law or
an Order;
(e) may
take with him or her such other persons as may be necessary, including, but not
limited to, representatives of the European Commission;
(f) may
take with him or her such equipment and vehicles as are necessary for the
purpose of facilitating the exercise of his or her powers under this Law or
under an Order;
(g) may
require a person on the premises, at the time when the inspector or police
officer is there, to provide such assistance as the inspector or police officer
reasonably requires;
(h) may
do such other thing as is prescribed by Order;
(i) shall,
if the premises are residential premises, serve not less than 48 hours’
written notice of the proposed entry on the occupier of the premises (unless
the warrant permits entry to be made without the giving of such notice or to
give such notice could reasonably be expected to defeat the purpose of the
entry or to cause unreasonable delay);
(j) shall,
if any person on the premises so requires, show proof of his or her authority
as such an inspector or police officer and show the warrant authorizing the
entry; and
(k) on
leaving any unoccupied premises so entered, shall leave them as effectively
secured against trespassers as he or she found them.
(3) The power of entry
under a warrant under this Article may only be exercised in a manner that is
proportionate and otherwise reasonable.
(4) The power of entry
under a warrant under this Article may be exercised at any time of day
specified in the warrant or (if the warrant so provides) at any time of day.
(5) An inspector who seizes
anything in the exercise of a power conferred by this Article or by an Order
shall, if so requested by a person showing himself or herself to be the
occupier of premises on which it was seized or to have had custody or control
of it immediately before the seizure, provide that person with a record of what
he or she seized.
(6) The inspector shall
provide the record within a reasonable time from the making of the request for
it.
9 Co-operation
of customs officers
(1) An inspector may
request a customs officer (either orally or in writing) to prohibit by notice
the removal of any plant, plant pest or other thing from customs control until
it has been examined by an inspector and such request may identify the plant,
plant pest or other thing in any way.
(2) A request made orally
under this Article shall be confirmed in writing.
(3) Where a request has
been made under paragraph (1), the customs officer shall, by notice in writing
served on a person having the plant, plant pest or other thing in the
person’s possession or under the person’s control, require that,
until the plant, plant pest or other thing has been examined by an inspector,
it shall not be removed from the place specified in the notice.
(4) An inspector shall,
without undue delay, examine any plant, plant pest or other thing in respect of
which a notice has been served by a customs officer under this Article and
shall advise that officer in writing of the terms of any notice issued by the
inspector, and of any other action taken by the inspector, in accordance with
this Law or an Order.
(5) If a customs officer
has served a notice under this Article prohibiting removal of any plant, plant
pest or other thing, a person shall not remove anything to which the notice
relates except with the written authority of a customs officer or an inspector.
(6) A person who
contravenes paragraph (5) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of
level 3 on the standard scale.[9]
10 Law
does not affect Customs
and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999
Nothing in this Law or an Order affects the operation of the Customs and Excise (Jersey) Law 1999.
11 Obstruction
of officers
Any person who obstructs an inspector, a customs officer or a police
officer in the exercise of his powers under this Law, or an inspector or a
customs officer in the exercise of his powers under an Order, shall be guilty
of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and to a fine.
12 Limitation
of civil liability
(1) A person or body to
whom this Article applies shall not be liable in damages for anything done or
omitted in the discharge or purported discharge of any functions under this Law
or an Order unless it is shown that the act or omission was in bad faith.
(2) This Article applies to –
(a) the
States; and
(b) the
Minister, an inspector, customs officer or police officer, or any person who
is, or is acting as, an officer, employee or agent in an administration of the
States for which the Minister is assigned responsibility, or who is performing
any duty or exercising any power on behalf of the Minister.
13 General
provisions as to offences
(1) Where an offence under
this Law (or an Order) committed by a limited liability partnership or body
corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of,
or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of –
(a) a
person who is a partner of the partnership, or director, manager, secretary or
other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(b) any
person purporting to act in any such capacity,
the person shall also be guilty of the offence and liable in the
same manner as the partnership or body corporate to the penalty provided for
that offence.
(2) Where the affairs of a
body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) shall apply in
relation to acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member’s
functions of management as if the member were a director of the body corporate.
(3) Any person who aids, abets,
counsels or procures the commission of an offence under this Law (or an Order)
shall also be guilty of an offence and liable in the same manner as a principal
offender to the penalty provided for that offence.
14 Appeals
(1) There shall be a right
of appeal to the Royal Court against –
(a) a
refusal, suspension or cancellation of any authority, registration or licence
under an Order;
(b) a
requirement under an Order; or
(c) any
other act under this Law or an Order, being an act prescribed by Order for the
purposes of this Article.
(2) An appeal shall be
brought within 21 days after the appellant is served with a written copy of the
decision, requirement, or other act, against which the appeal is brought, or
within any further time that the Royal Court may allow.
(3) Unless the Royal Court
so orders, the lodging of an appeal shall not operate to stay the effect of a
decision, requirement or other act pending the determination of the appeal.
(4) On hearing the appeal,
the Royal Court may –
(a) confirm,
reverse or vary the decision, requirement, or other act, against which the
appeal is brought; and
(b) make
any order as to the costs of the appeal as it thinks fit.
15 Saving
Anything that was done under the Destructive Insects and Pests
(Jersey) Law 1960 and could have been done under this Law shall be taken
to have been done under this Law and to continue to have effect (if at all)
under this Law for as long as it would have had effect had the Destructive
Insects and Pests (Jersey) Law 1960 not been repealed.
16 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Plant Health (Jersey) Law 2003.