Regina v Sheer Metalcraft Ltd: 1954

The defendant company was charged with purchasing sheet metals at prices in excess of those permitted by Order. The defendant complained that the Order had been printed without the Schedules, but the Secretary of State had not given the necessary certificate to exempt the Schedule.
Held: The Statutory Instrument took effect after being made by the Minister and laid before Parliament. The omission of the certificate was a matter of procedure and did not invalidate the Order. However the burden of evidence was on the Crown to establish that at the time of the alleged contravention reasonable steps had been taken to bring the Order to those affected by it.

[1954] QB 586, [1954] 1 All ER 542, [1954] 1 QB 586, [1954] 2 WLR 777, (1954) 118 JP 190, (1954) 98 Sol Jo 253
Iron and Steel Process Order 1951, Statutory Instruments Act 1946
England and Wales

Crime, Constitutional

Leading Case

Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.539329