Magistrates' Courts Rules (Northern Ireland) 1984

PART X Appeals

A. APPEAL TO THE COUNTY COURT

Notice of appeal, recognizances, etc.

154.—(1) The notice of appeal to be given to the other party and the copy of the notice to be lodged with the clerk of petty sessions under Article 144(1) of the Order shall be prepared and signed by the appellant or by his solicitor or other duly authorised agent and shall contain his address or that of his solicitor or other duly authorised agent.

(2) Where an appeal is against conviction or sentence or both conviction and sentence the notice of appeal shall so state and, where the appeal is against more than one conviction or sentence, only one notice need be given to the other party and only one copy thereof need be lodged with the clerk of petty sessions and such notice shall specify the convictions or sentences which are the subject of the appeal.

(3) Every copy of the said notice lodged with the clerk of petty sessions shall be endorsed with the date upon which and the manner in which the notice was so given.

(4) As soon as practicable after the clerk of petty sessions has received the copy of the notice of appeal and the appellant has, where he is required to do so, entered into a recognizance under Article 148 or Article 149 of the Order the resident magistrate or justice of the peace from whose conviction or order the appeal is to be brought or the clerk of petty sessions shall sign a separate form (in these Rules referred to as a “form of appeal”) setting out the terms of each conviction or order separately appealed against which shall include a certificate signed by the clerk of petty sessions to the effect that notice of appeal has been given and that such recognizance has, where necessary, been duly entered.

(5) Where a notice of appeal refers to more than one conviction or order, only one recognizance under Article 148 or under Article 149 of the Order suitably adapted need be entered into by the appellant.

Documents to be sent to the chief clerk and to the parties to the appeal

155.—(1) As soon as practicable after complying with Rule 154 the clerk of petty sessions shall send to the chief clerk for the county court division in which the appeal will be heard—

(a) the copy of the notice of appeal;

(b) the recognizance, if any, entered into by the appellant under Article 148 or Article 149 of the Order;

(c) the form of appeal duly completed; and

(d) all other proceedings in the case (including any written statements admitted in evidence under section 1 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 and any admission of facts made under section 2 of the said Act of 1968).

(2) The clerk of petty sessions shall at the same time send to the appellant and to the respondent a copy of the form of appeal.

Procedure after appeal to the county court is determined

156.  After the county court has decided an appeal from a magistrates' court, the chief clerk for the county court division for which that county court is held shall, within seven days of such decision, certify such decision at the foot of the form of appeal and shall transmit the form of appeal to the clerk of petty sessions, who shall enter such decision in his Order Book.

Return of recognizance where notice of abandonment of appeal to the county court has been given

157.  After he receives a notice of abandonment of an appeal to the county court the chief clerk of the county court division for which that county court is held shall return any recognizance of the appellant entered into under Article 148 or 149 of the Order to the clerk of petty sessions.

B. APPEAL BY WAY OF CASE STATED

Contents of and signature upon written application for case stated

158.  A written application under Article 146 of the Order for a case to be stated for the opinion of the court of appeal shall—

(a) specify the point of law involved in the determination by the magistrates' court of the proceedings or any issue as to its jurisdiction; and

(b) be prepared and signed by the appellant or his solicitor or counsel and contain his address or that of his solicitor.

Notification of decision to grant application for case stated

159.  As soon as the court grants an application for a case stated, it shall notify the parties to the proceeding of its decision to grant the application.

Preparation and contents of case stated

160.—(1) A case stated by a magistrates' court under Article 146 of the Order shall be prepared and signed by the resident magistrate or where the decision on which the case is stated was made in a proceeding brought for the prosecution of an offence specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to the Order and was heard by a justice of the peace other than a resident magistrate, by such justice.

(2) A resident magistrate or justice of the peace in preparing a case stated shall refer copies of the draft thereof to the parties to the proceeding in which the decision was made upon which the case is to be stated.

(3) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), after copies of the draft case stated have been referred to the parties under paragraph (2) any party may make written representations to the resident magistrate or justice of the peace on such draft within such time as the resident magistrate or justice of the peace may fix and a copy of the document in which such representations are made, dated and signed by the party making the same or his solicitor, shall be served by such party on any other party to the proceeding or his solicitor.

(4) A case stated by a magistrates' court shall state the facts found by the court and, unless one of the questions on which the opinion of the Court of Appeal is sought is whether there was evidence on which the magistrates' court could come to its decision, shall not contain a statement of the evidence.

C. OTHER MATTERS IN RELATION TO APPEALS TO THE COUNTY COURT AND BY WAY OF CASE STATED

Appellant to be told of his right to apply to the High Court for release from custody or reduction of bail pending hearing of appeal

161.  Where a magistrates' court or any justice of the peace having jurisdiction in the petty sessions district for which the court acted refuses to allow a person to be released from custody or has fixed the amount of a recognizance under Article 148(1) of the Order pending his appeal to the county court or by way of case stated to the Court of Appeal, the magistrates' court or justice shall inform him of his right to apply to the High Court or to a Judge thereof in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 148 of the Order for his release from custody or for reduction of the amount of the recognizance he or any surety has been required to enter or of the amount of any security to be given in lieu of sureties to the recognizance.