The enforcement of infringements
Enforcement
Inhoud pagina: The enforcement of infringements
For the purposes of dealing with infringements, the articles of the Regulations are divided into three categories:
- Articles the infringement of which is classified as ‘serious'
- Articles the infringement of which is classified as ‘minor'
- Articles of a procedural nature
This classification is based on the Economic Offences Act. Section 9.3.3 of the Environmental Management Act lists articles of REACH and CLP that government inspectorates are empowered to enforce in accordance with criminal law. The first subsection lists infringements liable to a higher-category punishment under the Economic Offences Act. The second subsection lists lower-category infringements. The sections in question are as follows:
- Section 9.3.3 (1 and 2) of the Environmental Management Act; and
- Section 9.3.a.3 (1 and 2) of the Environmental Management Act.
It has been agreed with the National Public Prosecutor's Office for Financial, Economic and Environmental Offences that ‘serious' infringements should always be punished under criminal and/or administrative law. The articles in question are listed in Table 1. Infringements of other articles are liable to administrative supervision or administrative enforcement.
Table 1: Infringements of REACH and CLP articles classified as ‘serious'
REACH | |
Article no. | Tenor of article |
Article 5 | No data, no market |
Article 14 (1, 6 and 7) | Chemical safety report and duty to apply and recommend risk reduction measures |
Article 31 (1-3, 7 and 9) | Requirements for Safety Data Sheets |
Article 37 (4-7) | Obligation for downstream users to provide information |
Article 56 (1 and 2) | General provisions on substances included in Annex XIV |
Article 67 (1) | Introduction of new restrictions and amendment of current restrictions |
CLP | |
Article no. | Tenor of article |
Article 4 (1, 4, 7 and 10) | General obligations to classify, label and package |
Article 7 (2 and 3) | Animal and human testing |
Article 13 | Decision to classify substances and mixtures |
Article 17 (1 and 2) | General rules |
Article 18 (1) | Product identifiers |
Article 19 (1) | Hazard pictograms |
Article 21 (1) | Hazard statements |
Article 23 | Derogations from labelling requirements for special cases |
Article 25 (4) | Supplemental information on the label |
Article 29 (3) | Exemptions from labelling and packaging requirements |
Article 30 (1) | Updating information on labels |
Article 35 (1 and 2) | Packaging |
In the case of ‘minor' infringements, the inspectorates will first issue a written warning before taking any action under administrative law. In the cases of an infringement of an article of a procedural nature, a warning is given before any action is taken under administrative law. The articles of a procedural nature are listed in Table 2.
Table 2: Articles of a procedural nature
REACH | |
Article no. | Tenor of article |
Article 11 | Joint submission of data by multiple registrants |
Article 13 | General requirements for generation of information on intrinsic properties of substances |
Article 19 | Joint submission of data on isolated intermediates by multiple registrants |
Article 22 | Further duties of registrants |
Article 24 | Notified substances |
Article 26 | Duty to inquire prior to registration |
Article 41 | Compliance check of registrations |
Article 42 | Check of information submitted and follow-up to dossier evaluation |
Article 47 | Coherence with other activities |
Article 50 | Registrants' and downstream users' rights |
Article 51 | Adoption of decisions under dossier evaluation |
Article 66 | Downstream users |
Article 106 | Participation of third countries |
CLP | |
Article no. | Tenor of article |
Article 16 | Classification of substances included in the classification and labelling inventory |
Article 40 | Obligation to notify the ECHA |
