The prosecutor appealed against the decision of magistrates to stay a prosecution as an abuse.
Held: The decision of a prosecutor to prosecute remains his alone. Where no clear representations had been made that if certain works were carried out a prosecution would not follow, and the works were not carried out, the prosecution was not an abuse of process.
Lord Bingham LCJ said: ‘The jurisdiction to stay, as has been repeatedly explained, is one to be exercised with the greatest caution . . The question of whether or not to prosecute is for the prosecutor. Most of the points relied on in support of an argument of abuse are more profitably relied on as mitigation.’
Judges:
Lord Bingham of Cornhill LCJ, Thomas J
Citations:
Gazette 16-Jun-1999, [1998] EWHC Admin 690, [1999] ENV LR 286, [1998] COD 373
Links:
Statutes:
Environmental Protection Act 1990 33(1)(b)
Cited by:
Cited – Coates v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 29-Jul-2011
The defendant appealed by case stated against his conviction for driving a Segway scooter on a footpath. He denied that it was ‘a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.’
Held: The appeal failed. The district judge . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Environment, Criminal Practice
Updated: 27 May 2022; Ref: scu.138811
