Where a principal instructs a contractor to perform work but qualifies that instruction by requiring compliance with a regulatory code or legislation, the qualification operates as a constraint upon the width of the general instruction. An instruction to comply with the 10/50 Code is in effect an instruction not to fell trees beyond the 10/50 zone. A court assessing vicarious criminal liability must first determine the precise terms of the instruction, including any such qualification, before applying the Stoneman v Lyons test.
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