Criminal Liability And Unincorporated Associations

The case R v RL and JF (28 August 2008) arose

when heating oil escaped from a fractured pipe into a nearby

watercourse. The pipe, together with the tank and boiler that it

connected, was owned by a members' golf club - an

unincorporated association. The fracture was located on land

that it occupied.

The Environment Agency initiated a prosecution under section

85(1) Water Resources Act 1991 ("WRA") which makes it an

offence for any "person" to cause or knowingly permit any

poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter any controlled

waters.

It considered that an unincorporated association could not be

prosecuted under section 85(1) WRA as it was not a

"person" for the purposes of the section. It

considered that the correct approach was to bring the case against

two individual members of the club.

One of the members was the club chairman. The other was

both the club treasurer and also chairman of the "special

building committee" which, within the club, oversaw work

carried out by contractors which led to the fracture. There

was no suggestion that either defendant was...