The High Court has upheld the conviction of Bronisaw Opach for owning a vehicle used without an approved policy of insurance after the named driver was found to be using a forged driving licence in Roscommon.
The case arose from a Garda detection on May 30, 2014 at Lisnacroghy or Gallowstown, Roscommon. Pawel Opach was using vehicle registration 99WH4865. He was named on an insurance policy held by Bronisaw Opach, the registered owner.
However, Pawel Opach was using a forged driving licence. He was later separately convicted in the District Court for using that licence and for driving without insurance.
At Bronisaw Opach’s trial in Roscommon District Court, his solicitor argued that the insurance policy remained valid because Pawel was expressly named as a driver. Garda evidence also confirmed that Liberty Insurance had issued a valid insurance certificate.
The prosecution argued that Pawel’s lack of a valid licence meant the policy did not provide the cover required by road traffic law. The District Court accepted that argument, convicted Bronisaw Opach and imposed a €500 fine and a two-year driving disqualification.
The legal issue was then sent to the High Court by way of a case stated, a procedure allowing the District Court to obtain the High Court’s ruling on a point of law.
Mr Justice Twomey examined the wording of the policy schedule. It stated that all riders had to hold a valid licence and warned that failure to do so could result in a claim being declined and the policy cancelled.
The High Court held that this meant Liberty Insurance was not legally bound to indemnify the insured where a rider did not have a valid licence. As a result, the policy did not meet the statutory definition of an “approved policy of insurance” for the use in question.
The court therefore confirmed that the District Court was correct to convict Bronisaw Opach under sections 56(1) and 56(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1961.