The Justices of The County of Kerry. v R (O'Connor)

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 25 April 1918
• Date: 25 April 1918
• Court: King's Bench Division (Ireland)

R. (O'connor)

and

The Justices of The County Of Kerry (1).

K. B. Div.

CASES

DETERMINED BY

THE KING'S BENCH DIVISION

OF

THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN IRELAND,

AND ON APPEAL THEREFROM IN

THE COURT OF APPEAL,

AND BY

THE COURT FOR CROWN CASES RESERVED.

1918.

National Insurance Act, 1911 — Offence — Failure to give information — Wilful failure — 1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 55, s. 112, sub-s. 3 — Construction of Statute — Punctuation.

The word “wilfully” in p. 112, sub-s. 3, of the National Insurance Act, 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 55), governs and applies to the words “fails to give such information or to produce such documents as aforesaid.”

A conviction under this sub-section which omitted to find the defendant guilty of “wilfully” failing to give information held bad.

S. L. Devitt, for the Irish Insurance Commissioners:—

Bernard Roche, for the prosecutor:—

Certiorari.

Application to discharge a conditional order for certiorari.

The conditional order was made on the grounds that the order of conviction did not state that the defendant “wilfully” failed to furnish information, and, therefore, disclosed no offence. At the

Petty Sessions District of Brosna, County Kerry, the Irish Insurance Commissioners proceeded against Edmund O'Connor for “that the defendant on the 29th day of August, 1917, at Carrigeen, in the said county, did wilfully delay John Dennehy, an Inspector, under sect. 112 of the National Insurance Act, 1911, and being the occupier of premises where the said inspector John Dennehy had reasonable grounds to suppose that employed contributors were employed did fail to furnish him with such information as he, the said John Dennehy, did then reasonably require.” An order was made as follows:— “The defendant is convicted, that he being the occupier of premises where the said inspector John Dennehy had reasonable grounds for supposing that employed contributors were employed did fail to furnish said John Dennehy with such information as he, said John Dennehy, did then reasonably require under sect. 112, sub-s. 2, of the National Insurance Act, 1911.”

S. L. Devitt, for the Irish Insurance Commissioners:—

The offence consists in failing to give information. The word “wilfully” is not a necessary ingredient in the description of the offence. “Fail” per se imports moral blame.

[Gibson J.—In some cases “fail” imports moral delinquency. The meaning of “wilfully” was discussed in Taylor v. Nixon (1).]

Bernard Roche, for the prosecutor:—

The conviction is bad...