The Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Endorsement where penalty paid

82.—(1) Where—

(a) in pursuance of a conditional offer a person (referred to in this Article as the “licence holder”) makes payment of the fixed penalty to the fixed penalty clerk and delivers his licence and its counterpart to the clerk, and

(b) the clerk is not required by paragraph (4) of Article 81 to return the licence and its counterpart to him and did not, before the payment was tendered, notify the Chief Constable under paragraph (5) of that Article,

the clerk must forthwith endorse the relevant particulars on the counterpart of the licence and return it to the licence holder together with the licence.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where a cheque tendered in payment is subsequently dishonoured—

(a) any endorsement made by the fixed penalty clerk under paragraph (1) remains effective, notwithstanding that the licence holder is still liable to prosecution in respect of the alleged offence to which the endorsement relates, and

(b) the fixed penalty clerk must, upon the expiry of the period specified in the conditional offer or, if the period has expired, forthwith notify the Chief Constable that no payment has been made.

(3) When proceedings are brought against a licence holder after a notice has been given in pursuance of paragraph (2)(b), the court—

(a) must order the removal of the fixed penalty endorsement from the counterpart of the licence, and

(b) may, on finding the licence holder guilty, make any competent order of endorsement or disqualification and pass any competent sentence.

(4) The reference in paragraph (1) to the relevant particulars is to—

(a) particulars of the offence, including the date when it was committed, and

(b) the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence.

(5) The fixed penalty clerk must send notice to the Department—

(a) of any endorsement under paragraph (1) and of the particulars endorsed, and

(b) of any order under paragraph (3)(a).

(6) Where the counterpart of a person’s licence is endorsed under this Article he shall be treated for the purposes of Articles 16(4), 30, 31 and 50 of this Order and of the [1978 NI 27.] Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 as if—

(a) he had been convicted of the offence,

(b) the endorsement had been made in pursuance of an order made on his conviction by a court under Article 49 of this Order, and

(c) the particulars of the offence endorsed by virtue of paragraph (4)(a) were particulars of his conviction of that offence.

(7) In relation to any endorsement of the counterpart of a person’s licence under this Article—

(a) the reference in Article 50(3) of this Order to the order for endorsement, and

(b) the references in Article 16(4) to any order made on a person’s conviction,

are to be read as a reference to the endorsement itself.