Director of Public Prosecutions v. Canniffe [2002] IESC 71 (18 October 2002)

Director of Public Prosecutions v. Canniffe [2002] IESC 71 (18 October 2002)

The Circuit Court was not correct in making the amendment to the summons on the information then before it, as there was no evidence as to what occurred in the District Court regarding the charge and whether the defendant was tried for the correct (existing) offence. Without such evidence, the power to amend could not be properly exercised.

Citation
[2002] IESC 71
Parties
Complainant: Director of Public Prosecutions; Defendant: Dan Canniffe
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
18 October 2002
Procedural Posture
Consultative Case Stated (criminal Appeal) / Supreme Court Review of Circuit Court Case Stated
Outcome
Circuit Court was not correct in making the amendment on the information then before it; case remitted for further evidence.
Legal Topics
Amendment of Summons, Jurisdiction of Circuit Court, Defective Charges, Retrospective Application of Statutory Amendments, Appeals From District Court
Criminal Law Procedural Law Amendment of Summons Jurisdiction of Circuit Court Defective Charges Retrospective Application of Statutory Amendments Appeals From District Court

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 16 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Director of Public Prosecutions

Complainant

Dan Canniffe

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Consultative Case Stated (criminal Appeal) / Supreme Court Review of Circuit Court Case Stated

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Circuit Court was entitled to amend the charging clause of the original summons to reflect the statutory provisions as contained in the Road Traffic Act, 1994
  2. 2 Whether a conviction can stand where the defendant was tried for an offence not known to law at the time of trial
  3. 3 Whether defects in the summons can be cured by amendment on appeal

Ratio Decidendi

The Circuit Court was not correct in making the amendment to the summons on the information then before it, as there was no evidence as to what occurred in the District Court regarding the charge and whether the defendant was tried for the correct (existing) offence. Without such evidence, the power to amend could not be properly exercised.

Court Disposition

Circuit Court was not correct in making the amendment on the information then before it; case remitted for further evidence.

Orders

  • Case remitted to the Circuit Court to permit the State to adduce evidence as to what precisely happened in the District Court.
  • Depending on the evidence, the appeal may proceed without amendment, with amendment, or the objection may be unanswerable and not curable by amendment.