Courts / Dublin / Report

Comparison between urinating in public and breastfeeding 'extraordinary'

Summary

In a 31‑page Court of Appeal judgement, Mr Justice Aileen Donnelly dismissed Tezaur Bita's challenge to the constitutionality of the offence of urinating in public under section 5 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Amendment Act 1871. Bita, who was arrested after relieving himself on Old Nangor Road at 3.45 am on 27 August 2015, had argued that the 1871 offence was too vague and uncertain, and that he could not have known his conduct fell within the section. The court rejected his arguments, finding them irrelevant, and noted that the offence was not applied to him simply for urinating but for the circumstances in which it occurred, which the respondents contended were indecent. Bita's comparison of urinating to breastfeeding in public was described as an "extraordinary comparison" and was not considered relevant to the appeal. The court also rejected his claim that the section was arbitrary or conferred excessive power on Gardaí.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Comparison between urinating in public and breastfeeding 'extraordinary'. Charges or matters: committing an act contrary to public decency to wit urinating in public under section 5 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Amendment Act 1871; is similar to the offence of causing scandal and injuring the morals of the community, which had previously been struck down and deemed unconstitutional by the courts, counsel had submitted in the High Court. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• August 27th, 2015 Incident
• 2020-03-13 Publication

Why: Counsel for Mr Bita, Conor Devally SC, argued that the "Victorian" 1871 offence was unconstitutional because it was too vague and uncertain. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report