Magistrates Conviction
Where a person has been convicted in a Magistrates’ Court, the court may, order him to pay the sum immediately or allow time for payment by instalments. It shall consider representations. The time for payment must commence within twenty-eight days.
A person may make an application to pay by instalments and the court may order accordingly, allow further time or vary an order for payment. The courts will take into account the personal circumstances in determining applications for variation of payments.
Where a person defaults in making payment under a conviction or installment, the court may enforce by issue of a warrant of distress, a warrant committing the person to imprison or warrant committing him to prison in default of sufficient distress.
A warrant committing a person to prison in respect of default of payment of a sum due on a fine is not to issue unless he appears to have sufficient means to pay immediately; on being asked by the court whether he wishes to have time if he does not ask for time; the court is satisfied he has no fixed abode in Northern Ireland; or there is some special circumstances appearing to justify immediate committal; the committal order is to state the reasons.
A person ordered to pay sums on complaint other than a conviction may be ordered to pay that sum in installments. As the above, there is special provisions for maintenance orders. Where a default is made on payment of a sum, a magistrates or the justice of the peace, may on complaint made, after the expiration of 14 days from the default, issue a summons to the person to appear before the court or by a warrant require him to be brought before the court.
Where a person is brought before a District Judges (Magistrates’ Court) pursuant to a warrant, he may be ordered to pay the sum, the relevant costs for the issue of the proceeding. He may be detained in custody until the appointed day for return of the warrant of distress, being not more than eight days, unless he enters into a recognisance for his appearance before the court on that day.
Where, a person has been convicted in a Magistrates’ Court or in the above types of domestic proceedings, he may be searched and cash found on him, may be applied to words payment of the order, the balance to be returned, if any.
Where imprisonment has been imposed on any person by conviction or order of the Magistrates’ Court in default of payment of a sum for warrant of distress, then on payment of the sum authorised, the order shall cease to have effect. Where after imprisonment has been imposed in default of payment of any sum, adjudged to be paid by conviction or order of the Magistrates Court for warrant of distress, payment of the sum is made, the period of imprisonment is to reduced by such number of days as bears to total number of days in that period less one day, as the proportion as the amount of bears to the sum owed.
Where power is conferred on a Magistrates’ Court to require a person from doing or abstaining from doing any act and the mode is provided for exercise of the power, the court may exercise the power by order. The court may annex to the order, requiring a person to do anything, to abstain from doing anything other than payment of money, a condition as to the time and mode of action and may order on complaint, suspend or rescind such order on any undertaking being given.
Where a person fails to comply within the order specified or otherwise forthwith and the enactment prescribes no punishment for such failure, a resident issue is summonsed for the appearance of the person concerned or cause such person to be brought by warrant. A person arrested by warrant may be released on recognisances to appear.
On appearance before the court, the court may order that he pay a sum up to £50 per day and up to £5000 for every day he fails to comply with the order or may commit him to prison for a fixed period not exceeding two months or until he complies with the order or satisfies the court that he intends to do so.
A person who is ordered to pay a sum for every day until he complies with the order or indicates his intention to comply shall not be ordered to pay more than £1,000 or be committed for more than two months in all for doing or abstaining from doing the same thing contrary to the order. This is without prejudice to the operation of the Article in relation to subsequent failures to comply with the order.
A person who has been committed may apply to have his detention reviewed. The court may refuse the application or if it is satisfied that he has complied with the order or intends to comply with it, order his release.
On such application, the court may fix a period of further imprisonment in respect of any continued or future failure of compliance, not to exceed the amount or term provided in the previous warrant, may postpone the issue of the warrant for commital on such conditions, as may be specified.
The police are obliged to execute warrants. Where they are unable to execute it within the time fixed or a reasonable time, then it shall return it to the magistrate or justice of the peace with a certificate stating why it has not been executed. The justice of the peace or magistrate may examine on oath the person to whom a warrant has been addressed concerning the reasons why it has executed.
Where a person gives notice of appeal to the County Court or has applied for a case stated to the Court of Appeal or where he is required to enter into a recognisance for appeal, a decree or warrant shall not be issued until the order has been affirmed, varied or amended on appeal; or it appears to the court that the appellant has refused, failed to perform the conditions in the recognisance or has abandoned the appeal.