General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Encyclopedia
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 is a 2005 Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 that demands that "No producer shall [supply or] place a [consumer] product on the market unless the product is a safe product" (reg.5(1)) and provides broad enforcement powers. The regulations implemented European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 directive 2001/95/EC and revoked the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 (reg.1(2)). The regulations also repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....

ed section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987
Consumer Protection Act 1987
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made important changes to the consumer law of the United Kingdom. Part 1 implemented European Community Directive 85/374/EEC, the product liability directive, by introducing a regime of strict liability for...

 which had previously imposed a more limited general safety requirement (reg.46(2)).

It is a crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

 to breach the general safety requirement. On summary conviction in the Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...

, an offender can be sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...

d to up to three months' imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....

 and the statutory maximum fine. On conviction on indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

 in the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, an offender can be sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and a £20,000 fine (s.20(1)). An enforcement authority can recover the full costs of enforcement from an offender (s.27).

It is a defence that all due diligence
Due diligence
"Due diligence" is a term used for a number of concepts involving either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations...

 was exercised in the supply of the product (reg.29(1)). Were a person wishes to rely on the defence that supply of a dangerous product was due to the default of someone else or reliance on information from someone else, he must serve
Service of process
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...

 notice on the court seven days before the hearing (s.29(2)-(3)).

The general safety requirement

The regulations require that no producer shall (reg.5):
  • Place a product on the market
    Marketing
    Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

    ;
  • Offer or agree to place a product on the market or expose or possess a product for placing on the market;
  • Offer or agree to supply a product or expose or possess a product for supply;
  • Supply a product;

— unless the product is a safe product.

A producer must provide appropriate information to consumers (art.7). Either a producer or distributor must inform an enforcement authority if they become aware that they have supplied a dangerous product (reg.9). The authority must inform the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, who must inform the European Commission (regs.33-34)

A distributor must exercise due care in helping to ensure safety through (reg.8):
  • Not selling dangerous products;
  • Providing information to purchasers;
  • Maintaining traceability
    Traceability
    Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable....

    ;
  • Co-operating with enforcement authorities.

Producer

A producer is (s.2):
  • The manufacturer of a product who is established
    Four Freedoms (European Union)
    The European Union's Internal Market seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people – the EU's four freedoms – within the EU's 27 member states.The Internal Market is intended to be conducive to increased competition, increased specialisation, larger...

     in the EU;
  • A person established in the EU, holding himself out as the manufacturer, for example by selling private label
    Private label
    Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting...

     products under his own brand
    Brand
    The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

     ("own-branders");
  • A person established in the EU who reconditions the product;
  • A person established in the EU who represents a manufacturer from outside the EU;
  • Where there is no EU representative of the manufacturer, the import
    Import
    The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

    er into the EU;
  • Other professional
    Professional
    A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

    s in the supply chain
    Supply chain
    A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...

     who affect the safety of the product.


A supply chain professional whose activity does not affect product safety is a distributor (reg.2).

Product

The regulations apply to products supplied commercially, whether or not for consideration
Consideration under English law
Consideration in English law is one of the three main building blocks of a contract. Consideration can be anything of value , which each party to a legally binding contract must agree to exchange if the contract is to be valid. If only one party offers consideration, the agreement is not legally a...

, that are (reg.2):
  • Consumer product
    Consumer product
    A consumer product is generally any tangible personal property for sale and that is used for personal, family, or household for non-business purposes. The determination whether a good is a consumer product requires a factual finding, on a case-by-case basis...

    s; or
  • Likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by consumers;

— including products that are:
  • New, used or reconditioned;
  • Made available for consumer for their own use during providing a service, for example hire
    Hire
    Hire may refer to:*Employment*Rental*Payment for the use of a ship under a time charterHIRE may refer to*Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, a United States law enacted in 2010...

     of bowling shoes.


The regulations do not apply to products used by service providers themselves, especially means of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

 (reg.2), nor do they apply to second hand
Second Hand
Second Hand is the title of an album by Mark Heard, released in 1991, on Heard's own Fingerprint Records. The album was listed at #4 in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....

 goods supplied with the clear intention that they will be repaired or reconditioned before use (reg.4). They do not apply to products where there are specific provisions as to the product's safety in the law of the European Union (reg.3).

Safe product

A safe product is a product which, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use including (reg.2):
  • Duration of use;
  • Putting into service;
  • Installation; and
  • Maintenance
    Maintenance, Repair and Operations
    Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...

     requirements;

— does not present any risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...

 or only the minimum risks compatible with the product's use, considered to be acceptable and consistent with a high level of protection for the safety and health of persons.

Relevant factors are (reg.2):
  • Characteristics of the product, including:
    • Composition;
    • Packaging; and
    • Instructions for assembly
      Manufacturing
      Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

      , installation and maintenance;
  • Effect on other products, where it is reasonably foreseeable that it will be used with other products;
  • Presentation, labelling, warnings
    Precautionary statements
    In United States safety standards, precautionary statements are sentences providing information on potential hazards, and proper procedures. They are used in situations from consumer product on labels and manuals, to descriptions of physical activities...

    , instructions for use and disposal and any other indication or information regarding the product; and
  • Categories of consumers at risk when using the product, in particular children and the elderly
    Old age
    Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...

    ;


— and conformance to or compliance with (reg.6(3)):
  • A voluntary UK standard giving effect to a European standard, but not a European standard published in the Official Journal of the European Union
    Official Journal of the European Union
    The Official Journal of the European Union is the official gazette of record for the European Union . It is published every working day in all of the official languages of the member states. Only legal acts published in the Official Journal are binding.It was first published on 30 December 1952 as...

    ;
  • Other UK standards;
  • Recommendations of the European Commission
    European Commission
    The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

     setting guidelines on product safety assessment;
  • Product safety codes of good practice in the sector concerned;
  • The state of the art and technology; and
  • Reasonable consumer expectations concerning safety.


A product that is not a safe product is a dangerous product. A product is not dangerous solely because other products are safer or it was feasible to make the product itself safer (reg.2).

Products deemed safe by conformity

Products are deemed safe products where they conform to:
  • UK safety legislation where there is no EU legislation (reg.6(1)); or
  • A voluntary UK standard that gives effect to a European standard that itself has been published in the Official Journal (reg.6(2)).

Antiques

A supplier has a defence where (reg.30):
  • The product is second hand goods;
  • The product is an antique;
  • The supplier sells the product, rather than supplying it for use on some other basis; and
  • The supplier informs the purchaser that the product is an antique.

Enforcement authorities

Enforcement authorities that have a duty to enforce the regulations are (reg.10):

  • England:
    • County Council
      County council
      A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

      s;
    • District Councils;
    • London Borough Councils;
    • Common Council of the City of London;
    • Council of the Isles of Scilly;

  • Scotland:
    • Councils for a local government area; and
  • Wales:
    • County Councils or County Borough Councils.
  • Northern Ireland:
    • District Councils
      Local government in Northern Ireland
      Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing...

      .

Enforcement authorities must act proportionately and encourage voluntary action but may take urgent action in the case of a serious risk (reg.10(5)). They have the power to make test purchases (reg.21) and powers of entry and search (regs.22-23, 25-27). Authorities must undertake market surveillance (reg.36) and make information available to the public (reg.39) It is a crime to obstruct an officer of an enforcement authority, punishable on summary conviction to a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
Standard scale
The standard scale is a system whereby financial criminal penalties in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than each individual piece of...

 (reg.24(1)).

Safety notices

An enforcement authority may serve a safety notice being a:
  • Suspension notice preventing marketing or sale of the goods while safety evaluations, checks and controls and performed (reg.11);
  • Requirement to mark to ensure an adequate safety marking (reg.12);
  • Requirement to warn to issue a warning about a dangerous product to past and future consumers;
  • Withdrawal notice to withraw a dangerous product from the market and, possibly, to warn past consumers (reg.14);
  • Recall notice to recall
    Product recall
    A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence and to improve or avoid damage to publicity...

     a dangerous product (reg.15).


The Secretary of State can require information or a product sample
Sample
Sample or samples may refer to:* Sample , a subset of a population* Sample , a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal* Sample , a specimen or small quantity of something...

 from a producer and it is a crime not to comply unless the information is protected by legal professional privilege or the right to silence
Right to silence
The right to remain silent is a legal right of any person. This right is recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the world's legal systems....

 (reg.43).

Appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....

 against a notice can be made to a Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...

 in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, and to a Sheriff
Sheriff Court
Sheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...

 in Scotland (reg.17).

Breach of a safety notice is a crime and, on summary conviction in the Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...

, an offender can be sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...

d to up to three months' imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....

 and the statutory maximum fine. On conviction on indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

 in the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, an offender can be sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and a £20,000 fine (s.20(4)).

Forfeiture

In the case of prosecution for a breach of the regulations or an appeal against a safety notice in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the enforcement authority may apply to the court for forfeiture of the product. Appeal is to the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

 (England and Wales) or County Court
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...

 (Northern Ireland) (reg.18). In Scotland, application must be made to the Procurator fiscal
Procurator Fiscal
A procurator fiscal is a public prosecutor in Scotland. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland , conduct Fatal Accident Inquiries and handle criminal complaints against the police A procurator fiscal (pl. procurators fiscal) is a public prosecutor in Scotland. They...

 with appeal to the High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...

 (reg.19).

Further decisions under the Directive

Art.13 of the directive gives the European Commission the power to issue further decisions
European Union decision
In European Union law, a decision is a legal instrument which is binding upon those individuals to which it is addressed. They are one of three kinds of legal instruments which may be effected under EU law which can have legally binding effects on individuals. Decisions may be addressed to member...

with which the Secretary of State must comply (reg.35).
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