S.I. No. 458/1994 - European Communities (Safety of Toys) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994.

S.I. No. 458 of 1994.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SAFETY OF TOYS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1994.

I, RICHARD BRUTON, T.D., Minister for Enterprise and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Articles 3 and 14 of Council Directive 93/68/EEC of 22 July, 1993,⁽¹⁾ amending Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May, 1988⁽²⁾, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safety of toys, hereby make the following Regulations:

1 Citation, Construction and Commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Safety of Toys) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994.

(2) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the European Communities (Safety of Toys) Regulations, 1990 and 1994.

(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January, 1995.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Principal Regulations, as amended by these Regulations, a person may place a toy on the market until 1 January, 1997 if it complies with the terms of the Principal Regulations as they stood prior to their amendment by these Regulations and the Principal Regulations shall be construed accordingly.

2 The Principal Regulations

2. In these Regulations, the "Principal Regulations" means the European Communities (Safety of Toys) Regulations, 1990 ( S.I. No. 32 of 1990 ).

3 Conformity Marking

3. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L220, 30.8.1993, p.1.

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L187, 16.7.1988, p.1.

( a ) the substitution for the term "EC mark" of "CE marking" wherever the former term occurs therein;

( b ) the substitution for the matter contained in the Second Schedule of the Principal Regulations of the matter contained in Annex V of Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May, 1988 added by Council Directive 93/68/EEC of 22 July, 1993, a specimen form of which is set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

4 Amendments to the Principal Regulations

4. Regulation 2 (1) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by

( a ) the substitution for the definition of the Council Directive of the following definition:

" 'the Council Directive' means Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May, 1988 as amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC of 22 July, 1993;" and

( b ) the substitution for the definition of "EC mark" of the following definition:

" 'CE marking' means the Community mark of conformity consisting of the initials "CE", taking the form of the specimen given in Annex V of the Council Directive;".

5 ..

5. Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by

( a ) the substitution for paragraph (3) of the following paragraph:

"(3) ( a ) Where a toy bears the CE marking in accordance with Regulation 14, or in accordance with a similar procedure of another Member State, the toy shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to comply with these Regulations, including the essential safety requirements, and the conformity assessment procedures set out in Regulations 7, 8 and 9.

( b ) Where a toy bearing the CE marking conforms with the standard specification it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to comply with these Regulations, including the essential safety requirements", and

( b ) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (3):

"(4) ( a ) Where a toy is subject to Directives (other than the Council Directive) which provide, amongst other things, for the affixing of the CE marking, the latter shall indicate that the toy in question is also presumed to conform to the provisions of those other Directives.

( b ) However, where one or more of the said Directives allows the manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which arrangements to apply, the CE marking shall indicate conformity only to the Directives applied by the manufacturer. In this case, particulars of the Directives applied, as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, must be given in the documents, notices or instructions required by the Directives and accompanying such toy or, failing that, on its packaging.".

6 ..

6. Regulation 15 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (2) of the following paragraph:

"(2) A person shall not give information in connection with a toy by means of a marking which is likely to deceive any person as to the meaning and the form of the CE marking. Any other marking may be affixed to the toy, its packaging or a label provided that the visibility and legibility of the CE marking is not thereby reduced.".

7 ..

7. (1) Regulation 17 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (5):

"(6) Where the Minister, the Director or an authorised officer is of the opinion that the CE marking has been affixed unduly to a product, the Minister, the Director or the authorised officer may direct that the manufacturer or the manufacturer's authorised representative shall ensure that the product is a toy which conforms to the provisions concerning the CE marking, and ceases to infringe those provisions.

(7) Where a manufacturer, or the manufacturer's authorised representative, does not comply with a direction pursuant to paragraph (6), the provisions of Regulation 5 shall apply to the product.".

(2) Paragraph (1) of Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion of "or Regulation 17 (7) "after "Regulation 4".

SCHEDULE

Specimen Form of CE Conformity Marking

— The CE conformity marking shall consist of the initials "CE" in the following form:

— if the CE marking is reduced or enlarged the proportions given in the above graduated drawing must be respected;

— the various components of the CE marking must have substantially the same vertical dimension, which may not be less than 5mm.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 22nd day of December, 1994.

RICHARD BRUTON,

Minister for Enterprise and

Employment

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations amend the European Communities (Safety of Toys) Regulations, S.I. No. 32 of 1990 . They give effect to the European Communities Council Directive (93/68/EEC) of 22 July, 1993 amending Council Directive (88/378/EEC) of 3 May, 1988, on the CE conformity marking and assessment procedures for the technical harmonisation of the laws of the Member States.

These Regulations require the manufacturer, or the manufacturer's authorised representative within the community, to affix the revised CE conformity marking on Toys. The Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January, 1995. Toys complying with the marking arrangements in force before this date shall continue to be allowed to be placed on the market until 1 January, 1997.

The Director of Consumer Affairs has powers of enforcement for these Regulations.