S.I. No. 409/1981 - European Communities (National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties) Regulations, 1981.

1. OJ No. L171/37, 29 July, 1972

2. OJ No. L287/22, 26 December, 1972

3. OJ Special Edition, P. 14, 27 March, 1972

4. OJ No. L2/1, 1 January, 1973

5. OJ No. L356/79, 27 December, 1973

6. OJ No. L16/23, 20 January, 1978

7. OJ No. L205/1, 13 August, 1979

8. OJ No. L239/16, 20 November, 1979

9. OJ No. L341/27, 16 December, 1980.

10. (1) In addition to the powers conferred on him by Regulation 4 (5) of these Regulations, an authorised officer may, at any reasonable time, enter and inspect any place where he has reasonable grounds for believing that the maintenance of a variety is carried on or any place in which he so believes records relating to the maintenance of a variety are kept and any such officer may carry out all such examinations as he considers to be necessary and may take samples of any seed which he finds in the course of his examinations.

(2) Where a sample is taken pursuant to this Regulation, the following provisions shall apply

(

a

) the authorised officer concerned shall notify forth-with the person appearing to him to be in charge that the sample is being taken, and

(

b

) if so required by such person at the time of the giving of such notification, the said officer shall take a second sample which shall be similar to the sample already so taken, and he shall also mark the second sample and leave it with the person by whom the requirement was made.

11. Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the course of exercising a power canferred on him by these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200.

12. The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a certificate of his appointment and, when exercising any power conferred by these Regulations, the officer shall, if requested by any person affected, produce that certificate to that person.

13. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

14. Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as affecting a provision of any statute, whether passed before or after the making of these Regulations, which is a provision for the protection of human life or health, animal life or health, plant life or health, or industrial or commercial property.

15. The European Communities (National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties) Regulations, 1972 (

S.I. No. 339 of 1972

), are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of November, 1981.

ALAN M. DUKES,

Minister for Agriculture.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This Note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The Regulations provide that the Minister for Agriculture shall maintain a National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties, in which the varieties of agricultural plants officially accepted for certification and marketing shall be registered.

I, ALAN M. DUKES, Minister for Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act, 1972

(No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 70/457 EEC of 29 September, 1970,

1

as amended by the directives, act and decision specified in Regulation 2(2) following, hereby make the following regulations