Nuttall v Vehicle Inspectorate (18 March 1999) House of Lords

Although not an environment related case this case involved an offence of permitting a state of affairs. Offences of this nature are common in environment law. This case concerned Mr Nuttall, the owner of a coach business, who had taken the decision not to examine tachograph (recording equipment that can record time, speed, distance travelled and work which a driver is carrying out) charts installed in his coaches. In so doing, he had not discovered a series of drivers' hours offences committed by his drivers. The charges against Mr Nuttall had been based on the provisions of Regulation EEC 3820/85 which lays down requirements in respect of driving periods, brakes and rest periods as well as Regulation EEC 3821/85 which provides for the installation, maintenance and use of tachographs in vehicles. The magistrates' court had dismissed the charges against Mr Nuttall on the grounds that he could not have the necessary knowledge to be guilty of the offences simply because he failed to check the tachograph charts and that he had no reason to examine them closely. The matter had been appealed by the Vehicle Inspectorate and the Queen's Bench Divisional Court had convicted Mr Nuttall. Mr Nuttall appealed to the House of Lords. The House of Lords said that the word "permit" could mean: (i) consenting or agreeing to; or (ii) not taking reasonable steps to prevent something in one's power. It found that the wider meaning matched the situation as the relevant EC legislation aims to make employers of drivers responsible for using tachograph records to prevent contraventions and promote road safety. The contextual meaning of "permitting" in Section 96(11A) of the Road Transport Act 1968 was to take reasonable steps to prevent contraventions by drivers. The House of Lords held that the magistrates had gone too far in ruling that Mr Nuttall had no reason to check the tachograph charts but the Queen's Bench Divisional Court had gone too far in directing the magistrates to convict. It was for the magistrates to make their decision based on the facts. The House of Lords held that the direction of the Queen's Bench Divisional Court to convict Mr Nuttall should be set aside and that the case should be returned to the justices for trial.
(Times Law Reports, 19 March 1999).