Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962

107 Power to except innocent act from being illegal practice, payment, employment F1 . . . . N.I.

(1) An application for relief under this section may be made to the High Court or an election court or else, if in respect of a payment made in contravention of sub-section (1) or (2) of section forty-three to the county court.

[F2 (1A) Where a person makes an application under this section for relief in respect of an act or omission at a local election, he shall notify the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland of the application and the Director or his assistant or any barrister or solicitor duly appointed as the Director's representative may attend the hearing of the application and make representations at the hearing in respect of it.]

(2) If the court is satisfied—

(a) that any act or omission of any person would but for this section by reason of being in contravention of this Act be an illegal practice, payment [F3 or employment];

(b) that the act or omission arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and in any case did not arise from any want of good faith; and

(c) that such notice of the application has been given in the constituency or, as the case may be, the area of the local authority for which the election was held, as to the court seems fit;

and in the circumstances it seems to the court to be just that either that or any other person should not be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the act or omission, the court may make an order allowing the act or omission to be an exception from the provisions of this Act making it an illegal practice, payment [F3 or employment] and thereupon no person shall be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the said act or omission.

(3) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from any order of the county court made under this section.

F1 Words in s. 107 heading omitted (16.12.2010) by virtue of Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/2977), arts. 1(2), 4, Sch. 1 para. 25 (with art. 1(3))

F2 SI 1987/168

F3 Words in s. 107(2) substituted (16.12.2010) by Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/2977), arts. 1(2), 4, Sch. 1 para. 25 (with art. 1(3))