Pesticides (Jersey)
Law 1991[1]
A LAW to provide for the regulation
of pesticides and substances, preparations and organisms prepared or used for
the control of pests or for protection against pests
Commencement
[see endnotes]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
1 Interpretation
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“approval”
means the approval of a pesticide pursuant to an Order of the Minister;
“creature”
means any living organism other than a human being or a plant;
“crops”
includes any form of vegetable produce;
“food”
includes drink and articles and substances used as ingredients in the
preparation of food or drink;
“inspector”
has the meaning assigned to it by Article 8;
“Minister”
means the Minister for the Environment;
“pest” means –
(a) any
organism harmful to plants or to wood or other plant products;
(b) any
undesired plant;
(c) any
harmful creature;
“pesticide”
means any substance, preparation or organism prepared or used for destroying
any pest;
“pesticide residue”
means any substance resulting from the use of a pesticide including, without
prejudice to the generality of this definition, any such derivative as may be
prescribed in relation to a particular pesticide;
“plants” means
any form of vegetable matter while it is growing and after it has been
harvested, gathered, felled or picked, and in particular, but without prejudice
to the generality of this definition, includes –
(a) agricultural
crops;
(b) trees
and bushes grown for purposes other than those of agriculture;
(c) wild
plants; and
(d) fungi;
“premises”
includes any place and, in particular, includes –
(a) any
vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft;
(b) any
offshore installation; and
(c) any
tent or movable structure;
“prescribed” means
prescribed by an Order made by the Minister.[2]
(2) In
this Law, the expression the “specified prohibitions”, in relation
to pesticides, means prohibitions of any of the following –
(a) importation;
(b) sale,
offer or exposure for sale or possession for the purpose of sale;
(c) supply
or offer to supply or possession for the purpose of supply;
(d) storage;
(e) use;
(f) advertisement.
Part 2
GENERAL PURPOSES AND
APPLICATION
2 General purposes of the Law
The general purposes of
this Law are –
(a) to
protect human beings, creatures and plants from the harmful effects of
pesticides;
(b) to
safeguard the environment against the harmful effects of pesticides;
(c) to
secure safe, efficient and humane methods of controlling pests; and
(d) to
make information about pesticides available to the public,
and references in this Law
to the general purposes of this Law are references to the purposes mentioned in
this Article.
3 Application
This Law applies to –
(a) pesticides;
and
(b) any
substance, preparation or organism prepared or used for any of the following
purposes –
(i) protecting
plants or wood or other plant products from harmful organisms,
(ii) regulating
the growth of plants,
(iii) giving
protection against harmful creatures,
(iv) rendering
such creatures harmless,
(v) controlling
organisms with harmful or unwanted effects on water systems, buildings, or
other structures or on manufactured products,
(vi) protecting
animals against ectoparasites,
as if it were a pesticide.
Part 3
CONTROLS
4 Control of pesticides
(1) The
Minister may by Order –
(a) impose
the specified prohibitions in relation to pesticides of a description specified
in the Order;
(b) provide
for the approval of pesticides of any description;
(c) provide
for the imposition of conditions on an approval when or after it is given;
(d) provide
for –
(i) the review,
revocation or suspension of an approval,
(ii) the
amendment of a condition imposed on an approval;
(e) direct
that if there has been a breach, in relation to any pesticide, of any of the
specified prohibitions or of any condition of approval of the pesticide, the
Minister shall have power –
(i) to seize or
dispose of it or to require that some other person shall dispose of it,
(ii) to
seize or dispose of anything treated with it or to require that some other person
shall dispose of any such thing,
(iii) to
require some other person to take such remedial action as appears to the
Minister to be necessary as a result of the contravention;
(f) provide
that if any pesticide has been imported into Jersey in contravention of any of
the specified prohibitions or of any condition of approval of the pesticide,
the Minister may require that it shall be removed out of Jersey;
(g) provide
for the availability to the public, subject to any condition that the Minister
may consider appropriate, and to payment of such fee for furnishing copies as
the Minister considers to be reasonable, of information supplied for the
purposes of Article 6;
(h) specify
the amount (if any) of pesticide or pesticide residue which may be left in or
on any crop, food or feeding stuff;
(i) direct
that if there is more pesticide or pesticide residue in or on any crop, food or
feeding stuff than the amount specified by virtue of sub-paragraph (h),
the Minister shall have power –
(i) to seize or
dispose of the crop, food or feeding stuff in question or to require that some
other person shall dispose of it,
(ii) to
direct some other person to take such remedial action as appears to the
Minister to be necessary as a result of the contravention;
(j) provide
for the recovery by the Minister of any expenses incurred by the Minister for
the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of sub-paragraph (e) or (i).
(2) In
making provision under paragraph (1)(g) for the availability of
information to the public, the Minister shall have regard to the interests of
persons supplying information to which that provision would relate.
(3) If
it appears to the Minister that an Order that he or she contemplates making
under this Article is likely to affect the health or safety of persons at work,
the Minister shall consult the Minister administering the Health and Safety at Work
(Jersey) Law 1989 about the Order.
(4) A
person who without reasonable excuse, contravenes or causes or permits any
other person to contravene –
(a) any
provision of, or requirement imposed by, an Order made under this Article; or
(b) any
condition of approval of a pesticide,
shall be guilty of an
offence and be liable to a fine.
5 Application for approval
(1) An
application for approval of a pesticide shall –
(a) be in
the form required from time to time by the Minister;
(b) specify
the purpose of the pesticide;
(c) indicate
the amount (if any) and composition of any residue or residues which will be
left in or on a treated crop and a method of analysis by which any such residue
or residues may be determined;
(d) contain,
or be accompanied by, such other particulars as the Minister may require; and
(e) be
accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed.
(2) The
Minister may, in addition to any fee prescribed under paragraph (1)(e),
require an applicant for approval to meet the expenses of carrying out any
examination or test which is necessary to enable the Minister to decide whether
to grant an approval.
6 Provision of information to the Minister
The Minister may require
the provision of such information by importers, exporters, manufacturers,
distributors or users of a pesticide as the Minister considers necessary –
(a) for
the purpose of controlling pesticides in Jersey;
(b) to
enable the States to determine whether action requires to be taken to fulfil an
international obligation of any description.
7 Codes of practice
(1) The
Minister may, after consultation with such persons or bodies as appear to be
representative of the interests concerned –
(a) prepare
and issue codes of practice for the purpose of providing practical guidance in
respect of any provision of this Law or any Order made under this Law; and
(b) revise
any such code by revoking, varying, amending or adding to the provisions of the
code.
(2) The
Minister shall cause any code prepared under this Article to be printed and
distributed, and may make such arrangements as he or she thinks fit for its
distribution, including causing copies to be put on sale to the public at such
price as he or she considers to be reasonable.
(3) A
failure on the part of any person to follow any guidance contained in a code
issued under this Article shall not of itself render that person liable to
proceedings of any kind.
(4) In
all criminal proceedings any such code shall be admissible in evidence, and if
any provision of such a code appears to the court conducting the proceedings to
be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings, it shall be taken into
account in determining that question.
PART 4
ENFORCEMENT
8 Inspectors
(1) Any
person generally or specially authorized by the Minister in that behalf (in
this Law referred to as an “inspector”) may for the purpose of
enforcing the provisions of this Law and any Orders made under this Law,
subject to production by the inspector, if so required, of evidence of his or
her authority, exercise the powers set out in this Part.
(2) An
inspector shall also, if so requested, state –
(a) his
or her name;
(b) the
function that he or she proposes to perform;
(c) his
or her grounds for proposing to perform it.
9 Assistants for inspectors
(1) An
inspector may take with him or her, to assist in performing his or her
functions –
(a) any
other person; and
(b) any
equipment or materials.
(2) A
person whom an inspector takes with him or her to assist may perform any of the
inspector’s functions, but only under the inspector’s supervision.
10 Time of performance of functions
An inspector must perform
his or her functions under this Law at a reasonable hour unless it appears to
the inspector that there are grounds for suspecting that the purpose of their
performance may be frustrated if he or she seeks to perform them at a
reasonable hour.
11 Powers of investigation
(1) An
inspector may enter any land if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe –
(a) that
any pesticide is being or has been applied to or stored on it; and
(b) that
it is necessary for him or her to enter for any of the general purposes of this
Law.
(2) An
inspector may enter any premises if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe –
(a) that
the premises are being utilized for the storage, transportation or application
of any pesticide; and
(b) that
it is necessary for the inspector to do so for any of the general purposes of
this Law.
(3) For
any of those purposes an inspector may require any person to give him or her
information as to the formulation, effects or use of any substance.
(4) If
an inspector is of the opinion that a person –
(a) is
committing an offence under Article 4(4); or
(b) has
committed such an offence in circumstances that make it likely that the offence
may be repeated,
he or she may deliver to
that person a notice stating that he or she is of that opinion, giving
particulars of the reasons why he or she is of that opinion and directing –
(i) that
any land or any premises on or in which it appears to him or her that the
offence was or is being committed or anything which is on or in the land or
premises, shall be left undisturbed (whether generally or in particular
respects) for so long as it appears to him or her to be reasonably necessary,
or
(ii) that
any remedial or preventive measures shall be taken.
(5) If
an inspector is of the opinion that any activities as carried on or about to be
carried on by or under the control of any person, involve or, as the case may
be, will involve the risk of a commission of an offence under Article 4(4),
he or she may deliver to that person a notice –
(a) stating
that he or she is of that opinion;
(b) specifying
the matters which in his or her opinion give or, as the case may be, will give
rise to the said risk;
(c) directing
that the activities to which the notice relates shall not be carried on by or
under the control of the person to whom the notice is delivered unless the
matters specified in the notice under sub-paragraph (b) have been
remedied.
12 Containers, etc.
For the purpose mentioned
in Article 8(1), an inspector may –
(a) open
any container;
(b) carry
out searches, inspections, measurements and tests;
(c) take
samples;
(d) require
the production of documents, books and records;
(e) photograph
or copy anything whose production he or she has power to require under sub-paragraph (d).
13 Appeals
(1) A
person may appeal in accordance with the provisions of this Article against a
notice delivered to him or her by an inspector under Article 11(4) or (5)
on the ground that the notice was unreasonable having regard to all the
circumstances of the case.
(2) An
appeal under this Article shall be –
(a) made
in writing to the Minister not later than 7 days after the delivery of the
notice against which the appeal is brought;
(b) determined
by a Jurat nominated by the Bailiff.
(3) Not
later than 2 days after receiving an appeal under this Article the
Minister shall forward a copy of the appeal, and of the notice against which
the appeal is brought, to the Judicial Greffier.
(4) The
Jurat shall sit in public to hear the appeal but shall otherwise determine the
Jurat’s own procedure.
(5) On
an appeal under this Article the Jurat may either cancel or affirm the notice
and, if the Jurat affirms it, may do so either in its original form or with
such modification as the Jurat in the circumstances thinks fit.
PART 5
PROVISIONS AS TO OFFENCES
14 Offences
(1) Any
person who intentionally obstructs an inspector in the performance of any of
his or her functions under this Law shall be guilty of an offence and be liable
to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.[3]
(2) Any
person who –
(a) fails
without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement made, or direction
given, by an inspector in the performance of his or her functions under this Law;
or
(b) in
purporting to give information required pursuant to any of the provisions of
this Law –
(i) makes a statement
which he or she knows to be false in a material particular,
(ii) recklessly
makes a statement which is false in a material particular,
(iii) intentionally
fails to disclose a material particular,
shall be guilty of an
offence and be liable to a fine.
15 Offence by body corporate
(1) Where
an offence under this Law or any Order made under this Law which has been
committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent
or connivance, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director,
manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person
who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he or she as well as the body
corporate shall be guilty of the offence and be liable to be proceeded against
accordingly.
(2) Where
the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members paragraph (1)
shall apply in relation to the 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.
16 General defence of due diligence
(1) In
any proceedings for an offence under this Law or any Order made under this Law
it is a defence for the person charged to prove that he or she took all
reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission
of the offence.
(2) Without
prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), a person is to be taken to
have established the defence provided by that paragraph if he or she proves –
(a) that
he or she acted under instructions given to him or her by his or her employer;
or
(b) that
he or she acted in reliance of information supplied by another person without
any reason to suppose that the information was false or misleading,
and, in either case, that
he or she took all such steps as were reasonably open to him or her to ensure
that no offence would be committed.
(3) Where
paragraph (2) applies, the person to whose act or default the offence was
attributable shall be guilty of the offence and that person may be charged with
and convicted of the offence by virtue of this paragraph.
PART 6
MISCELLANEOUS
17 Orders
(1) The
Minister may by Order make provision for giving effect to the general purposes
of this Law and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing, for prescribing any matter which may be prescribed by this Law.
(2) If
any person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, any Order made
under this Law, contravention or failure to comply with which is not made an offence
under any other provision of this Law, he or she shall for each offence be
liable to the fine prescribed in the Order for the offence, being a fine up to
level 2 on the standard scale.[4]
(3) [5]
18 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Pesticides (Jersey) Law 1991.