The High Court has rejected an application by Gillian Coonan for an order compelling a District Court judge to set a recognisance for a proposed appeal by way of case stated. Mr Justice Kearns said she should first apply to the District Court judge to state a case on a point of law.
Coonan was convicted on 19 November 2009 of offences under sections 56(1) and 56(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended. The case concerned an allegation that she, as the owner of a vehicle, allowed a person whose driving was not covered by her insurance policy to use it in a public place. Garda Patrick Kirwan gave evidence that he had seen William Blake driving the vehicle. Kirwan accepted that Coonan had valid insurance covering her own driving.
Coonan pleaded not guilty and argued that European Directive 84/5/EC had changed insurers’ liability where a driver was not covered by a particular policy. The judge rejected those submissions. Coonan then gave evidence that she had been driving. After cross-examination, the District Court judge found that she was not the driver and convicted her.
After the conviction, Coonan’s solicitor sought a recognisance for an appeal by way of case stated to the High Court. The solicitor said the judge refused, but fixed a recognisance of €100 on Coonan’s own bond and a €1,000 independent surety for an appeal to the Circuit Court. The solicitor said a further request for a case-stated recognisance was also refused. The respondents opposed the judicial review, arguing that Coonan had sought a recognisance before asking the judge to state a case and had not followed the statutory procedure.
The judgment set out the required sequence: apply to have a case stated; enter a recognisance; prepare and serve the case; transmit it to the High Court; and have it heard. The judge said the sequence was a condition precedent to the High Court’s jurisdiction. Since Coonan had sought the recognisance before applying to have a case stated, she had not followed that process.
The court refused the relief sought. It did not decide whether a case should be stated or determine the underlying insurance-law issue. Kearns said Coonan could return to the District Court and apply to have a case stated. If the judge refused, the statutory procedure for challenging that refusal would be available.