R (Thames Water Utilities Ltd) v Bromley Magistrates’ Court [2013] EWHC 472 (Admin) – S 33 EPA.
1) judicial review unlikely to be appropriate where appeal by way of case stated available.
2) statutory interpretation.
- where a word has range of meanings, recourse can be had to the context in which it is used and overall provision.
- existence of statutory defence provision may indicate offence does not require proof of mens rea.
3) s 34, on the facts, was not appropriate and hence did not overlap with s 33 and had no bearing on whether s 33 was an absolute offence.
4) presumption that mens rea is an essential ingredient of every offence is displaced where statute has a social concern and strict liability encourages greater vigilance to prevent offending.
– statutory regime not draconian where due diligence defence applies.
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