High Court in Northern Ireland
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838504900107 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
HIGH
COURT
IN
NORTHERN
IRELAND
SUSPENSION OF DISQUALIFICATION PENDING APPEAL
Re Derry's Application
The
Road
Traffic
(Northern
Ireland)
Order
1981, art. 194(3)
provides that aperson who is disqualified from holding or obtaining
a driving licence on conviction by a court of summary jurisdiction
shall have aright of appeal.
That
court or any
other
court specified
by the magistrates' courts rules may
order
the
suspension of the
operation of
the
disqualification pending appeal; and, failing that,
the High
Court
may make such an
order.
InRe
Derry's Application
(a note of which appears in [1982] N.!. 152), the applicant was
convicted of
three
separate offences
and
was fined
and
disqualified
for 15 months.
The
magistrate refused to grant permission to drive
pending the appeal. On an application made to the High
Court
for
the suspension of
the
order,
O'Donnell
L.J. stated
that
"it
will be a
rare case" where amagistrate feels constrained to exercise his
discretion in such a way as to refuse to suspend his order. This is
particularly so where
the
order
has
been
made in a case in which it is
not mandatory. As
the
court pointed out, amagistrate's refusal in
such a case pre-empts the decision of
the
Crown Court to which the
appeal lies; it serves to trammel
the
statutory right of
the
appellant;
and in some cases, it may cause grave injustice. In
none
of
the
convictions in
the
present case was
the
disqualification mandatory.
The court suspended
the
operation of
the
magistrate's
order,
remarking
that
there
was no good reason why
the
parties
and
the
State should be
put
to the expense of making such applications to
the High Court, for,
"save
in
the
most exceptional cases", they will
be granted.
COMPENSATION
FOR
CRIMINAL INJURY TO PERSONS
Niland v. Secretary
of
State
For
the
purposes of an application for compensation for criminal
injury to
the
person, "criminal injury" means an injury "attribut-
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