The Supreme Court ruled that a Green Card issued in Latvia did not provide an approved insurance policy for an Irish-registered car being used in Ireland. It answered “No” to both questions referred by the Circuit Court in a consultative case stated.
The case concerned Gunita Leipina, the car’s owner, and Dzinters Suhanovs, its user. They had been convicted in the District Court of offences under section 56(1) and (3) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended, and appealed to the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court judge referred questions to the Supreme Court under section 16 of the Courts of Justice Act 1947.
The case stated recounted evidence that Gardaí stopped the car at a checkpoint in Tully, Carrick-on-Shannon, on 1 August 2005. The car’s motor tax had expired in May 2003. Suhanovs produced an insurance document issued by a Latvian company, which confirmed it had issued the policy. Evidence from the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland was that the insurer was not a Bureau member. The defence argued that Article 8 of the 1992 International Circulation Order covered the vehicle’s use in Ireland; the Bureau’s claims manager said that provision concerned temporarily imported vehicles.
Justice Finnegan explained that the Green Card system allows a vehicle registered in one country to be treated as insured when visiting another, for the purpose of compensating accident victims. It does not operate in the country where the vehicle is registered. For a vehicle registered in Ireland, the Road Traffic Act required an approved policy issued by a vehicle insurer, and the court said the Latvian insurer did not meet the applicable requirement.
The court also addressed the statutory burden concerning production of an insurance certificate. It said the accused had failed to establish that they produced a certificate within the statutory period after it was demanded.
The Supreme Court’s answers resolved the legal questions in the case stated: the vehicle was not covered for use in Ireland under the Green Card system, and a Green Card for an Irish-registered vehicle could not be a defence to the charge. The judgment did not itself determine the appeal or state a further order on the convictions.