The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

V I E W

MARCH 1992

Report on the Indexation of Fines

(Law Reform Commission, 1991),

LRC 37-1991, 92pp, £6.50

Everyone who practises in the

District Court will be aware of

serious anomalies in the monetary

penalties that can be imposed on

summary conviction. To take some

random samples: dropping litter

£800, pollution £250, common

assault £50, assault on a Garda

(summary) £20, violent behaviour in

a Garda station £2, dangerous

driving £1,000, forcible entry £50,

unlicensed firearm £50, breach of

food hygiene £100, breach of food

labelling regulations £800, failure to

show a pedlar's certificate on

demand 25p, casual trading £800,

contempt of court £2, indecent

behaviour £5, trespass on an airport

£1,000.

The Law Reform Commission has

addressed this problem in its Report

on the Indexation of Fines and

recommends that the law should:

(a) ensure equal fines for offences of

equal gravity,

(b) take account of the past and

future effect of inflation on the

real value of fines, and

the differing means of those on

whom fines are imposed.

The Commission considered the

choice between a standard fine

system which maintains values by

reference to an index, and variable

fine systems which are means-

related. The Report comes down in

favour of the former; rightly, in the

opinion of this reviewer.

The variable fine system imposes

fines in units of gravity whose

monetary value is in each case

dictated by the means of the

offender. Most fines in Sweden are

of this nature. The calculation is

based on the gross income for the

year prior to conviction less income

tax, living costs and the costs

involved in earning the income. The

amount left over is used to calculate

a day fine which is fixed at one

thousandth part of it.

This system appears to work well in

Sweden and in Germany. It has also

been introduced in Denmark,

Austria, Hungary, Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Bolivia and France. A

similar system has been introduced

in the United Kingdom by the

Criminal Justice Act, 1991. The

Commission however, referring to

"peculiar circumstances of this

jurisdiction", conclude that two

difficulties present themselves: one,

the practical one of ascertaining

offenders' means, the other whether

such a scheme may not be

unconstitutional. It is the first of

these that would seem to this

reviewer to be the crucial objection.

The Commission recommends:-

1. That a standard fine system be

introduced by legislation. They

suggest that offences be divided

into three (or more) categories say

( A ) up to £100 (B) Up to £500

and (C) up to £1,500. There

should then be a table that

equates category A (£100) with

fines of £2 in pre-1914 statutes, £5

or less from 1915-1944, £10 or less

1945-1964, £25 or less 1965-1974,

£50 or less 1975-1979 and £100 or

less 1980 onwards.

2. That in the interests of clarity all

existing fine levels be allocated to

their proper categories in a statute

with long schedules.

3. That category levels be

periodically updated by statutory

instrument with specific reference

to the Consumer Price Index.

4. To deal with large scale and

profitable offences that provision

be made for the confiscation of

criminal proceeds and the

imposition on legal persons of a

certain size of fines of the

category immediately above that

ordinarily applicable to the

offence in question.

This last recommendation will

doubtless be the subject of much

detailed discussion. The principle is

a sound one. Regard might also be

had to the comparative privilege any

limited company has of immunity to

imprisonment, community service or

disqualification from driving.

The other recommendations are a

vast improvement on the present

jungle of incongruous fines. This

reviewer would suggest, however, that

updating should be in round figures

not precise fractions, and that the

updating be done by quinquennial

statute not by Ministerial Order.

This Report has been produced with

admirable clarity and deserves swift

implementation.

Peter Smithwick

President of the District Court.

Copinger And Skone James on

Copyright

13th Edition. Sweet and Maxwell,

1598pp, £160 Stg, hardback.

The latest edition of Copinger and

Skone James on Copyright, the

textbook which is regarded by many

as the leading text on copyright law in

these islands, comes over ten years

after the previous edition which was

published in 1980. The main

prompting for the 13th edition was

the passage in the UK of the

1988 which came into force on 1

August, 1989 and brought about

major amendments and a substantial

codification of the law on copyright

in the UK. This is reflected in a

completely changed chapter