The Gazette 1984

GAZETTE

MARCH 1984

European Communities (Units of Measurement) Regulations 1983

by Gerald Moloney, Solicitor

T HE European Communities (Units of Measurement) Regulations 1983' came into force on November 1st, 1983. The Regulations provide the legal basis for the use of the metric system in Ireland and outlaw from use many imperial and other non-metric units of measurement. The Regulations were adopted (2 years and 1 month later than was directed) to give effect to an EEC Council Directive of December, 1979. 2 Before outlining the provisions of the 1983 Regulations, the Weights & Measures Act 1878 ought to be mentioned. The 1878 Act, which remains a principal source of law in the area of measurement, sought to consolidate the existing law relating to weights and measures and provided that "the same weights and measures shall be used throughout the United Kingdom". The Act laid down the imperial standards of measure and weight, provided the method for the exact calculation of such units of measurement as the yard, the pound, the gallon, etc., stipulated the effect on contracts of the use of units of measurement other than those authorised by the Act, provided penalties for improper weighing and measuring, provided for the appointment of Inspectors of weights and measures, provided for the application of the Act to Ireland and dealt with other matters relating to measurement. Interestingly, the Act provides what may be the first legal recognition of the metric system in this part of the world. The Third Schedule to the Act sets out the metric equivalents of the various imperial weights and measures and provides (Section 21) that "a contract or dealing shall not be invalid or open to objection on the ground that the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures in the metric system. . . .". The Directive, on which the Regulations are based, is not dissimilar to the 1878 Act in the sense that it consoli- dates all Community provisions in the area and seeks to take the Community one step further towards a single and unified system of weighing and measuring. Given the volume of business transacted between the Member States, the desirability of a common system is obvious. It is worth quoting from the recitals to the Directive:— "Whereas units of measurement are essential in the use of all measuring instruments, to express measurements or any indication of quantity; whereas units of measurement are used in most fields of human activity; whereas it is necessary to ensure the greatest possible clarity in their use; whereas it is therefore necessary to make rules for their use within the Community for economic, public health, safety or administrative purposes". The Directive is based on Article 100 of the Treaty of Rome, which provides for the issue of Directives for the

approximation of the laws of the Member States. The Regulations The purpose of the Regulations is to specify: (a) Those metric units of measurement authorised for use in Ireland; and (b) Those non-metric units of measurement no longer authorised for use. A. Authorised Units of Measurement It is firstly provided that all S.I. 3 metric units set out in Schedule 1 to the Regulations are authorised for use in Ireland. The Schedule is highly technical (setting out, for example, metric units used only in such fields as physics and electronics), but does set out the metric Base Units, in the terms of which all other units of measurement will be described. These Base Units are — the Metre (length), the Kilogram (weight), the Second (time), the Ampere (electric current), the Kelvin (termperature), the Mole (amount of substance) and the Candela (luminous intensity). These units have, of course, been in use on a voluntary basis for some time. 4 The Schedule defines the method of calculation of these Base Units and provides their symbols. Finally, it is provided that all units of measurement in the metric system must be determined in accordance with the Schedule. In other words, the legal basis of the metric system is now contained in these Regulations. B. Units of Measurement no longer authorised The second main purpose of the Regulations is to provide for the withdrawal from use in Ireland of certain imperial and other non-metric units of measurement. List of Unauthorised Units Schedule 4 of the Regulations lists those units of measurement no longer authorised for use. With certain exceptions, the use of these units of measurement is now illegal. The more common of these outlawed units of measurement are as follows:— - Weight: grain, dram, stone, quarter, central, hundredweight and ton. - Length: hand, chain, furlong and nautical mile. - Area: square inch, rood and square mile. - Volume: cubic inch, cubic foot, cubic yard, bushel (there is an exception in relation to grain storage) and cran. - Pressure: inch of water. - Force: pound force and ton force. - Illuminance: foot candle. 37