The High Court declared that a small public service vehicle driver’s licence issued to Md. Saydur Rahman in December 2019 was invalid because it purported to last less than five years. In a supplemental judgment delivered on 20 June 2022, Mr Justice Garrett Simons also ordered the Garda Commissioner to pay the applicant’s legal costs, subject to agreement or adjudication.
The judgment dealt with the final order and costs following the court’s principal judgment of 5 May 2022. The proceedings concerned the refusal of a taxi driver’s licence on grounds connected with Rahman’s immigration status. The court had found the December 2019 decision invalid because the governing regulations required a fixed five-year licence and did not permit a shorter duration.
The court did not order the authority to grant Rahman a licence or to reconsider his application. His counsel no longer sought remittal, because Rahman no longer had immigration permission allowing him to work in Ireland. The court instead made the declaration that the licence was invalid insofar as it purported to last less than five years.
The judgment records that, by the time the case was heard, Rahman’s right to reside had been refused. In separate proceedings, he had successfully challenged an earlier review decision, after which the matter was reconsidered. On 3 June 2022, the Minister for Justice found that his marriage to an EU citizen had been one of convenience for the purpose of obtaining an immigration permission, and revoked his right to reside. Those immigration decisions were background to the supplemental judgment; the court was addressing the licence order and costs.
The licensing authority had asked the High Court to determine the legal issues despite the case being largely moot for Rahman. A number of District Court appeals against licence refusals had been adjourned pending the outcome, making the case a test case, the judge said. The principal judgment clarified the authority’s powers under the Taxi Regulation Act 2013, including how immigration status may be considered.
The Commissioner, as interim licensing authority, must pay Rahman’s costs, including reserved costs, written submissions and the costs application. If the parties do not agree the amount, it is to be adjudicated under Part 10 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. The two superintendent respondents were joined as authorised persons and have no personal liability under the order.