In the Irish Courts
| Published date | 01 April 1961 |
| Date | 01 April 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836102500207 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
In the Irish Courts
COURT
OF
APPEAL
IN
NORTHERN
IRELAND
POVVER
TO
STATE
A
CASE
McGimpsey v. O'Hare
INGarretty v. Potts (1870,
L.R.
6Q.B. 86),
the
Divisional
Court
proceeded to adjudicate
upon
a case stated from a
refusal by
the
Justices to grant aliquor licence. But in West
v. Potts (Ibid. 88, note), the
Court
refused to do so, when
the
terms of
S.2
of
the
Act of 1857 were pointed out to
them;
and
this latter decision was confirmed in Diss v. Aldrich (1877,
2Q.B.D. 179).
In
Northern
Ireland, power to state a case is
by virtue of S.10 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern
Ire-
land), 1945, which provides
that
"after the determination by
acourt of summary jurisdiction of any information or
complaint
...
any party to such proceedings
...
may make an
application in writing for
the
court to state acase". What,
then, is an information or complaint?
In
McGimpsey o,
O'Hare (1959,
N.!.
98),
the
respondent had made an applica-
tion
under
s. 6 (I) of
the
Betting
and
Lotteries Act (Northern
Ireland), 1957 for a certificate
that
certain premises were
suitable for the purpose of carrying on business as a book-
maker thereon.
He
had given (as required by law) notice
of
his intention to make such an application, addressed to
the
Police, to
the
local Borough Council and to the Clerk of
Petty Sessions. Notice of objection by the police was lodged
and
an Inspector appeared before the Resident Magistrate,
who, having nevertheless granted
the
application, acceded to
the
Inspector's request to state a case for the opinion of
the
Court
of Appeal. Apreliminary point of law was there taken
that
an application for such acertificate of suitability, not
being an information or complaint, could not give rise to a
case stated.
Lord
MacDermott C.J. remarked
that
in
ordinary usage information or complaint connote an informa-
tion or complaint made by someone, generally seeking a
136
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