Interpretation of provisions imposing penalties
18 Interpretation of provisions imposing penalties
The penalty—
specified at the end of a section of an Act (whether or not the section is divided into subsections), or
specified at the end of a subsection of a section of an Act, but not at the end of the section, or
specified at the end of a section of an Act or subsection of a section of an Act and expressed in such a way as to indicate that it applies to part only of the section or subsection,
indicates that a contravention of the section, subsection or part, respectively, is an offence against the Act, punishable on conviction by a penalty not exceeding the penalty so specified.
For the purposes of subsection (1), a penalty specified at the end of the last subsection of a section is taken not to be specified at the end of the section if a penalty is specified at the end of any previous subsection.
If—
a section of an Act, or a subsection of a section of an Act, provides that a person is guilty of an offence under specified circumstances, and
a penalty is specified at the end of the section or subsection and expressed in such a way as to indicate that it applies to the section or subsection,
a person who is guilty of such an offence is liable, on conviction, to a penalty not exceeding the penalty so specified.
This section applies to a statutory rule in the same way as it applies to an Act, subject to any necessary modification.
This section applies to a provision of an Act or statutory rule except in so far as the contrary intention appears in the Act or statutory rule concerned.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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