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PART IIISENTENCE

Introductory

Production of licence

29.—(1) Where a person who is the holder of a licence is convicted of an offence involving obligatory or discretionary disqualification, and a court proposes to make an order disqualifying him or an order under Article 49, the court must, unless it has already received them, require the licence and its counterpart to be produced to it.

(2) If the holder of the licence has not caused it and its counterpart to be delivered, or posted it and its counterpart, in accordance with Article 11 and does not produce it and its counterpart as required under this Article or under Article 8 of the [1980 NI 6] Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 then, unless he satisfies the court that he has applied for a new licence and has not received it—

(a)he is guilty of an offence, and

(b)the licence shall be suspended from the time when its production was required until it and its counterpart are produced to the court and shall, while suspended, be of no effect.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply where the holder of the licence—

(a)has caused a current receipt for the licence and its counterpart issued under Article 62 to be delivered to the clerk of the court before which the proceedings were brought not later than the day before the date appointed for the hearing, or

(b)has posted such a receipt, at such time that in the ordinary course of post it would be delivered not later than that day, in a letter duly addressed to the clerk and either registered or sent by the recorded delivery service, or

(c)surrenders such a receipt to the court at the hearing,

and produces the licence and its counterpart to the court immediately on their return.

Penalty points to be attributed to an offence

30.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory endorsement, then, subject to the following provisions of this Article, the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence is—

(a)the number shown in relation to the offence in the last column of Part I or Part II of Schedule 1, or

(b)where a range of numbers is shown, a number within that range.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence committed by aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring, or inciting to the commission of, an offence involving obligatory disqualification, then, subject to the following provisions of this Article, the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence is 10.

(3) Where a range of numbers is shown in the last column of Part I or Part II of Schedule 1 in relation to an offence, the lowest number in the range is the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence for the purposes of Article 63(5) or 82(4).

(4) Where a person is convicted (whether on the same occasion or not) of 2 or more offences committed on the same occasion and involving obligatory endorsement, the total number of penalty points to be attributed to them is the number or highest number that would be attributed on a conviction of one of them (so that if the convictions are on different occasions the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offences on the later occasion or occasions shall be restricted accordingly).

(5) In a case where (apart from this paragraph) paragraph (4) would apply to 2 or more offences, the court may if it thinks fit determine that that paragraph shall not apply to the offences (or, where 3 or more offences are concerned, to any one or more of them).

(6) Where a court makes such a determination it shall state the reasons for the determination in the order of the court.

(7) The Department may by order—

(a)alter a number or range of numbers shown in relation to an offence in the last column of Part I or Part II of Schedule 1 (by substituting one number or range for another, a number for a range, or a range for a number), and

(b)alter the number of penalty points shown in paragraph (2);

and an order under this paragraph may provide for different numbers or ranges of numbers to be shown in relation to the same offence committed in different circumstances.

(8) An order under paragraph (7) shall be made subject to affirmative resolution.

Penalty points to be taken into account on conviction

31.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory endorsement, the penalty points to be taken into account on that occasion are (subject to paragraph (2))—

(a)any that are to be attributed to the offence or offences of which he is convicted, disregarding any offence in respect of which an order under Article 35 is made, and

(b)any that were on a previous occasion ordered to be endorsed on the counterpart of any licence held by him, unless the offender has since that occasion and before the conviction been disqualified under Article 40.

(2) If any of the offences was committed more than 3 years before another, the penalty points in respect of that offence shall not be added to those in respect of the other.

Penalty points: modification where fixed penalty also in question

32.—(1) Articles 30 and 31 shall have effect subject to this Article in any case where—

(a)a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory endorsement, and

(b)the court is satisfied that the counterpart of his licence has been or is liable to be endorsed under Article 63 or 82 in respect of an offence (referred to in this Article as the “connected offence”) committed on the same occasion as the offence of which he is convicted.

(2) The number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence of which he is convicted is—

(a)the number of penalty points to be attributed to that offence under Article 30 apart from this Article, less

(b)the number of penalty points required to be endorsed on the counterpart of his licence under Article 63 or 82 in respect of the connected offence (except so far as they have already been deducted by virtue of this sub-paragraph).

Court may take particulars endorsed on licence into consideration

33.  Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory or discretionary disqualification and his licence and its counterpart are produced to the court—

(a)any existing endorsement on the counterpart of his licence is prima facie evidence of the matters endorsed, and

(b)the court may, in determining what order to make in pursuance of the conviction, take those matters into consideration.