Regulatory Prosecutions Latest News
09/02/2012 - HMA v Railcare Limited: Health and Safety Prosecution
On 25 January 2012 at Glasgow Sheriff Court Railcare Limited pled guilty by way of Section 76 indictment to a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 relating to the death of one of their employees whilst working on an axle lathe in December 2008. On 08 February 2012 before Sheriff JK Mitchell Railcare Limited was sentenced to a fine of £133,000.00 (reduced from £200,000.00 to take account of plea by way of Section 76 indictment).
Railcare Limited was represented by Peter Gray QC of Compass Chambers.
http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2012/02/08/company-fined-133k-for-employee-death/
26/01/2012 - : Scottish Sea Farms Ltd v HMA: Appeal against Sentence allowed
On 31 May 2011 Scottish Sea Farms Ltd pled guilty by way of Section 76 indictment at Oban Sheriff Court to an offence under Section 2 of the Health and Safety Act 1974 in relation to the death of two of its employees whilst working in a confined space on a barge operated by Scottish Sea Farms on Loch Creran. The Sheriff imposed a sentence of £900,000.00, discounted to £600,000.00 to take account of the plea of guilty. At the Appeal Court today, the appeal against sentence was allowed and the fine reduced to £333,335.00 on the grounds that the Sheriff had insufficient regard to the presence of mitigating factors and absence of aggravating factors of the type recognised by the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Appeal Court in HMA v Munro.
Scottish Sea Farms Ltd was represented in the Appeal proceedings by Peter Gray QC of Compass Chambers. (Mr Gray did not appear at the court below).
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2012HCJAC11.html10/11/2011 - Talisman Energy Wins Improvement Notice Appeal
In February 2011 the Health and Safety Executive served an Improvement Notice on Talisman Energy regarding alleged breaches of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction) Regulations 1996 in relation to accommodation on the Tartan installation. Talisman appealed against the Notice on the grounds that its accommodation complied in all respects with the Regulations. The appeal was heard by the Employment Tribunal at Aberdeen in November 2011. After three days of evidence the HSE withdrew its opposition to the appeal and the Tribunal ordered that the Notice be cancelled.
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2513006
Talisman Energy UK Limited was represented by Peter Gray QC of Compass Chambers.
16/09/2011 - HMA v Alexander Dennis Ltd: coachbuilder fined £50,000
At Falkirk Sheriff Court on 13 September 2011, Alexander Dennis Ltd (“ADL”), pled guilty to a breach of section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company operates a state of the art coach building plant at Falkirk, from where it exports buses, including those using the latest hybrid technology, to Europe, Australasia, the Far East and North America. ADL has a 39% share of the UK bus market, larger than any other manufacturer.
In September 2009, during the assembly process, an experienced worker was injured when a floor platform he was manoeuvring into place slipped from slings on a fork lift truck and struck him. The company accepted that no risk assessment of the lifting operation had been carried out, no safe system of work had been employed and that their employees had not received sufficient training. The court heard that ADL immediately suspended the operation and carried out a full review of all lifting operations. Sheriff W G Gallagher, sentencing, stated that he took into account the company’s international reputation, its importance locally as a significant employer and that it had no previous convictions, Following submissions, the Sheriff imposed a discounted fine of £50,000.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-14912877Barry Smith of Compass Chambers represented the accused.
24/05/2011 - Health and Safety Prosecution - HMA -v- Maersk
The Maersk Company Limited was indicted for trial at Stonehaven Sheriff Court in respect of charges under Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and a charge under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 following an offshore incident where two contractors were severely injured following an uncontrolled release of gas from a gas export riser during major repair operations. The charges were denied, and after ten days’ evidence Maersk was acquitted of all charges.The Maersk Company was represented by Peter Gray QC of Compass Chambers.
21/02/2011 - Alastair Brown to travel to Washington DC as an Expert Evaluator for GRECO Group
Advocate Alastair Brown is set to travel to Washington DC as part of a group of expert evaluators for the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). Dr Brown is undertaking the trip at the behest of the GRECO Secretariat in an evaluation of the extent to which the USA complies with the treaty obligations it has accepted in relation to combating corruption. Dr Brown explained: “My part of this round of evaluation will focus on the compatibility of US law with the offences which States have agreed to establish in the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. “We will receive materials on relevant US law and then travel to Washington DC on May 1. Whilst there, we will hold meetings with senior lawyers and government officials at which we will probe the extent of compliance. “We will travel back to our home countries on May 4 and then prepare a report, with recommendations, which will be discussed with us later in the year by the plenary meeting of GRECO in Strasbourg. “Once recommendations are adopted by the plenary, the State to which they are addressed has a treaty obligation to implement them.” In his role as an expert evaluator Dr Brown has previously taken part in evaluations of the Czech Republic, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Azerbaijan and Italy. GRECO was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor States’ compliance with the organisation’s anti-corruption standards. It comprises 48 European States and the USA. GRECO monitors all its members on an equal basis, through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure The objective is to improve its members’ capacity to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with Council of Europe anti-corruption standards. It helps to identify deficiencies in national anti-corruption policies, prompting the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. GRECO also provides a platform for the sharing of best practice in the prevention and detection of corruption. The GRECO mechanism ensures the scrupulous observance of the principle of equality of rights and obligations among its members. All members participate in, and submit themselves without restriction to, the mutual evaluation and compliance procedures. Alastair Brown called to the Bar last year after a legal career dedicated to the public prosecution system in Scotland and to academic legal writing.He was latterly an Advocate Depute.He is the author of a number of leading legal works on human rights law and the Proceeds of Crime and his revised third edition of Criminal Evidence and Procedure has just been published.
31/01/2011 - Compass Chambers - Regulatory Bulletin - January 2011
Welcome to the first edition of the Compass Chambers Regulatory Defence Bulletin of 2011. The Bulletin, published bi-monthly, will keep you up to date with all developments relating to regulatory crime, in particular health and safety, environmental and corporate financial issues. The Bulletin this month includes a discussion of the Bribery Act 2010, due to come into force in April.
For further details about the Compass Chambers Regulatory Team, please visit our Regulatory page. If you wish to receive this and future bulletins please contact Grace Moran on grace.moran@compasschambers.com.
21/12/2010 - HMA -v- Hochtief Construction AG - Health & Safety at Work Act s.3
Global construction giant Hochtief Construction AG has been fined £266,000 (discounted from £400,000 for a guilty plea) at Inverness Sheriff Court, following a fatal accident at the £145,000,000 Glendoe Hydro-Electric scheme construction project in September 2008. An agency worker died when he leant through a broken cab window aperture of a telehandler lifting vehicle and was crushed by its descending boom. The telehandler had not been properly maintained and was in extremely poor condition. In particular, the accident could not have happened had the cab window not been missing. In addition the company had allowed the vehicle to be accessed & used by non-authorised drivers including the deceased, in breach of its own procedures. This accident prompted the issuing of an HSE Safety Notice (in March 2010), alerting users of telehandlers to the dangers of not replacing broken window glass.Jamie Gilchrist QC of Compass Chambers represented Hochtief Construction AG
19/11/2010 - HM Advocate v Claire Angus
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 19th November 2010, Mrs. Claire Angus was found not guilty of a charge of causing two deaths by driving without due care and attention. On 18th February 2009, Mrs. Angus was driving her car on the A68 road towards Newton St. Boswells. Her car drifted onto the opposing carriageway and collided head-on with a car travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of the other car and her passenger sustained fatal injuries. A special defence of non-insane automatism was entered. Evidence demonstrated that Mrs. Angus was unconscious at the wheel of her car at the time it crossed onto the opposing carriageway. She had taken prescribed medication, namely Diclofenac, earlier that day. That medication had been taken in good faith and in accordance with instructions from GP, pharmacist and packaging. Undisputed medical evidence in the case confirmed that memory loss, confusion, an inability to make informed decisions and loss of consciousness were some of the known, albeit rare, side effects of Diclofenac. The side effects were likely to have been enhanced by the effects of other prescribed medication being taken by the accused at the material time. The Sheriff (Holligan) held that on the undisputed evidence in the case the special defence had been made out and that the Crown had, in those circumstances, to demonstrate that the Accused’s earlier conduct effectively precluded her from availing herself of that special defence. There was, in that regard, an insufficiency of evidence in the case and, following a common law submission, the Sheriff directed the jury to acquit. Steve Love of Compass Chambers represented the Accused.
19/11/2010 - Compass Chambers – Regulatory Bulletin – November 2010
Welcome to the November 2010 edition of the Compass Chambers Regulatory Bulletin. This months edition includes a review of Lord Young’s long-awaited report, published in October. For further details about the Compass Chambers Regulatory Team, please visit our Regulatory page. If you wish to receive this and future bulletins please contact Grace Moran on grace.moran@compasschambers.com.
12/10/2010 - Gary Allan QC to chair major Proceeds of Crime event
Butterworths /LexisNexis, the law publishers and trainers have invited Gary Allan QC, one of the senior members of the Compass Chambers Financial and Regulatory Crime team to chair its major conference in Edinburgh on 9 December 2010 on Proceeds of Crime and the Bribery Act. The conference will hear from many distinguished and expert contributors including those from the SCDEA, the police, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, commercial law firms and the practising bar.
The conference will provide advocates and legal, accountancy and other financial practitioners with an informed and up to the minute picture of the state of the law and practice, in Scotland and beyond, in the extremely complex world of Proceeds of Crime, from a criminal confiscation and restraint position and a civil recovery perspective. The panel of expert speakers will explain the particular issues of HMRC involvement and anti-money laundering initiatives which may impact on the activities of individuals and corporate bodies.
The conference will also hear contributions on the impact of the Bribery Act on the activities of businesses of all sizes.
This promises to be a superb conference with speakers of the highest calibre making contributions. It will be of value to any practitioner from any discipline who requires to advise clients on financial matters.
More information can be obtained at http://www.conferencesandtraining.com/proceeds-crime-scotland and bookings made by email to registrations@lexisnexis.co.uk .29/09/2010 - Stena interdicts Greenpeace
At the Court of Session on Friday afternoon (24 September), Stena Drilling Ltd & others successfully obtained an interdict against Greenpeace to effectively bring to an end Greenpeace blockade of the MV Stena Carron, a drill ship off Shetland. The activists had earlier scaled the anchor chain before attaching themselves to it and later attaching and occupying a Greenpeace survival pod. The vessel later sailed for the Lagavulin Field in the North Sea. Greenpeace activists halted the vessel again en-route when small boats and swimmers were spotted in the sea. Greenpeace have now ended this further action.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11407265
Barry Smith of Compass Chambers was junior counsel for the Petitioners, led by Lord Davidson of Glen Clova Q.C.
28/09/2010 - UK Environmental Law Conference 2010
The UKELA (Scotland) Conference will take place in Edinburgh on Thursday 7th October 2010. The event aims to promote discussion, understanding and awareness of environmental law whilst proposing new ways in which the law can work toward a better environment.
The list of leading speakers is made up of those involved in the practice, study and formulation of environmental law across the UK and EU.
Peter Gray, QC of Compass Chambers will present the opening session entitled “Sentencing Principles in Environmental Crime – Recent Developments” which looks at the position in both Scotland and England, and identifies the factors to which the Courts in Scotland will have particular regard in the future when assessing the appropriate level of penalty for breaches of environmental legislation.
For further information regarding registration for this event, please click here.
24/09/2010 - Compass Chambers Regulatory Defence Bulletin - September edition
Welcome to the September edition of the Compass Chambers Regulatory Defence Bulletin. Following the summer break, the Bulletin returns this month with a review of developments in sentencing in environmental crime. The Bulletin, published bi-monthly, will keep you up to date with all developments relating to regulatory crime, in particular health and safety, environmental and corporate financial issues.
To subscribe to this, or another one of our bulletins, please contact grace.moran@compasschambers.com
For further details on the Compass Regulatory team, please click here.