{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-277",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-277.json",
  "legislation": "nia/2016/18",
  "legislation_title": "Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016",
  "path": "section/277",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "277",
  "heading": "Contravention of regulations under section 276(2)",
  "text": "(1) Regulations under section 276(2) may provide that a contravention of any prescribed provision of the regulations is an offence.\n(2) A person guilty of an offence under the regulations is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.\n(3) Proceedings in respect of an offence under the regulations may be brought only—\n(a) by RQIA; or\n(b) by, or with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.\n(4) Proceedings for an offence under the regulations may be brought within a period of 6 months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecution to warrant the proceedings came to its knowledge; but no proceedings may be brought by virtue of this subsection more than 3 years after the commission of the offence.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": "prospective",
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/18/section/277",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:19:54.781348+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}