Energy Act 2004

113 Offences relating to decommissioning programmes

(1) A person guilty of an offence under a provision of this Chapter is liable—

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

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both.

(2) No proceedings for a decommissioning offence shall be instituted in England and Wales or Northern Ireland except—

(a) by the Secretary of State;

(b) by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State; or

(c) by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions or (as the case may be) the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(3) Where a decommissioning offence is committed by a body corporate and 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 director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or

(b) a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,

he (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and dealt with accordingly.

(4) Where such an offence—

(a) is committed by a Scottish firm, and

(b) is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner of the firm,

he (as well as the firm) is guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and dealt with accordingly.

(5) Where a decommissioning offence is committed outside the United Kingdom, proceedings for the offence may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the United Kingdom.

(6) Section 3 of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878 (c. 73) (consents to prosecution of offences committed on the open sea by persons who are not British citizens) does not apply to proceedings for a decommissioning offence.

(7) In this section—

• “decommissioning offence” means an offence under—

  (a)

  a provision of this Chapter; or

  (b)

  regulations made under section 111;

• “director”, in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of the body corporate.