Walsh & ors -v- Garda Complaints Board & anor [2010] IESC 2 (18 January 2010)

Walsh & ors -v- Garda Complaints Board & anor [2010] IESC 2 (18 January 2010)

The statutory six-month period for making a complaint under section 4(1)(a) of the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986 includes the date of the conduct complained of, as required by section 11(h) of the Interpretation Act, 1937. The complaint received by fax after midnight on 4th September 2004 was out of time. Section 4(3)(iv) does not alter this result, and both provisions must be interpreted consistently.

Citation
[2010] IESC 2
Parties
Applicant/appellant: Timothy Walsh, Conlaith Mulhall, Mary Gilmartin, Seamus Fitzgerald, Patrick Joseph Black, Brian O’Neill, Edward Monaghan; Respondent: Garda Síochána Complaints Board
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
18 January 2010
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court to Supreme Court
Outcome
appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Statutory Time Limits, Judicial Review, Complaints Procedure, Interpretation of Statutes
Administrative Law Statutory Interpretation Statutory Time Limits Judicial Review Complaints Procedure Interpretation of Statutes

Case Brief

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Parties

Timothy Walsh, Conlaith Mulhall, Mary Gilmartin, Seamus Fitzgerald, Patrick Joseph Black, Brian O’Neill, Edward Monaghan

Applicant/appellant

Garda Síochána Complaints Board

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review / Appeal From High Court to Supreme Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a complaint made to the Garda Síochána Complaints Board was out of time under the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986 due to the statutory six-month limit and the Interpretation Act, 1937.

Ratio Decidendi

The statutory six-month period for making a complaint under section 4(1)(a) of the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986 includes the date of the conduct complained of, as required by section 11(h) of the Interpretation Act, 1937. The complaint received by fax after midnight on 4th September 2004 was out of time. Section 4(3)(iv) does not alter this result, and both provisions must be interpreted consistently.

Court Disposition

appeal allowed

Orders

  • Order of certiorari quashing the decision of the Garda Síochána Complaints Board
  • High Court order set aside