Evasion of liability by deception

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Evasion of liability by deception was formerly a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

England and Wales Administrative jurisdiction within the United Kingdom

England and Wales is a legal jurisdiction covering England and Wales, two of the four nations of the United Kingdom. "England and Wales" forms the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England and follows a single legal system, known as English law.

Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom lying in the north-east of the island of Ireland, created 1921

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population. Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments".

Contents

England and Wales

This offence was created by the Theft Act 1978. The law clarified existing law to explicitly make it a crime to, by deception, induce a creditor to remit a liability (i.e., a debt) in whole or part; induce the creditor to wait for payment or to forgo payment; or where the deception exempts a person from a liability or reduces the liability which would have arisen but for the deception. Under section 16 of the Theft Act 1968, it was more ambiguous under what circumstances such deception comprised a crime.

Northern Ireland

This offence was created by article 4 of the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1407 (N.I. 23)). That article was repealed on 15 January 2007 [1] by sections 14(1) and (3) and 15(1) of, and paragraph 1(d)(ii) of Schedule 1 to, and Schedule 3 to, the Fraud Act 2006, subject to transitional provisions and savings in paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to that Act.

Fraud Act 2006

The Fraud Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which affects England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was given royal assent on 8 November 2006, and came into effect on 15 January 2007.

Mode of trial

See article 6(1).

Sentence

A person guilty of this offence was liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, [2] or, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding £1000, or to both. [3]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ The Fraud Act 2006 (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3200 (C.112)), article 2
  2. ↑ The Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1407 (N.I. 23)), article 6(2)(a)
  3. ↑ The Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1407 (N.I. 23)), article 6(3)
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