# Legislation (Wales) Act 2019, Section 37S: Proceedings for offence under unpublished Welsh statutory instrument: defence


(1) This section applies to proceedings against a person for an offence consisting of a contravention of a provision in subordinate legislation contained in a Welsh statutory instrument.
(2) It is a defence for the person to prove that, at the date of the alleged contravention, the instrument had not been published by the King’s Printer for Wales in accordance with section 37Q.
(3) But this defence is not available if it is proved that other reasonable steps had been taken before that date, by or on behalf of the responsible authority, to bring the offence to the notice of—
(a) the public,
(b) persons likely to be affected by it, or
(c) the person charged.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not affect any enactment or rule of law relating to the time at which any subordinate legislation made by Welsh statutory instrument comes into force.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2019/4/section/37S (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/legislation-wales-act-2019/section-37S
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.