(Gibraltar) The appellants sought to argue that the failure to allow an acquitted defendant any possible order for costs was a breach of the Constitution.
Held: Section 8 of the Constitution, like its analogue article 6 of the European Convention, seeks to guarantee the procedural fairness of the criminal process. Though the Convention is not part of the law of Gibraltar, its cases are persuasive. Such case law did not establish an obligation to create a power to award a defendant his costs against the prosecutor. There was no unconstitutionality, and therefore no possibility in the court to nullify the law. The appeal failed.
Judges:
Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Steyn, Lord Scott of Foscote, Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Carswell
Citations:
[2005] UKPC 26, (2005) 20 BHRC 223, [2005] 1 WLR 3335
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Commonwealth
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Diani 1999
(Gibraltar) The court in Gibralter had no power to award a successful defendant in criminal proceedings his costs. . .
Cited – Liubov Ford v Richard Labrador PC 22-May-2003
(Gibraltar) The appellant had failed in an action for defamation, she had been ordered to pay costs as a condition of her continuing the action.
Held: The order was made by the Chief Justice sitting as a judge of the Court of Appeal in an . .
Cited – Regina v Dotto 4-Apr-2001
(Supreme Court of Gibraltar) A successful defendant in criminal proceedings is not entitled to any award of costs against the prosecution. . .
Cited – Golder v The United Kingdom ECHR 21-Feb-1975
G was a prisoner who was refused permission by the Home Secretary to consult a solicitor with a view to bringing libel proceedings against a prison officer. The court construed article 6 of ECHR, which provides that ‘in the determination of his . .
Cited – Ziegler v Switzerland ECHR 21-Feb-2002
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-1; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses partial award – domestic proceedings . .
Cited – Leutscher v The Netherlands ECHR 26-Mar-1996
Lack of jurisdiction (complaint inadmissible); No violation of Art. 6-2 – The Commission distinguished cases in which there has been no acquittal on the merits of the accusation. . .
Cited – Beer v Austria ECHR 6-Feb-2001
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-1; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention . .
Cited – Robins v The United Kingdom ECHR 23-Sep-1997
Over-long delay by court system in settling amount of costs constituted breach of human rights; order made in 1991, not settled till 1995 . .
Cited – Minelli v Switzerland ECHR 25-Mar-1983
It was capable of being an infringement of a defendant’s right to a fair trial, to refuse to order payment of his costs after an acquittal in such a manner as to cast doubt on his innocence. ‘In the Court’s judgment, the presumption of innocence . .
Cited – Saunders v The United Kingdom ECHR 17-Dec-1996
(Grand Chamber) The subsequent use against a defendant in a prosecution, of evidence which had been obtained under compulsion in company insolvency procedures was a convention breach of Art 6. Although not specifically mentioned in Article 6 of the . .
Cited – Masson And Van Zon v The Netherlands ECHR 28-Sep-1995
ECHR Judgment (Merits) – Lack of jurisdiction (complaint inadmissible); No violation of Art. 6-1; Not necessary to examine Art. 13.
The court discussed whether article 6 requires a discretion to be given to . .
Cited – Lutz v Germany ECHR 25-Aug-1987
Only criminal charges attract the additional protections under article 6(2) and 6(3). Insofar as these provisions apply to ‘everyone charged with a criminal offence’ it is well established in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights . .
Cited – Lewis, Taylor and Mcleod, Brown, Taylor and Shaw v the Attorney General of Jamaica and Another PC 12-Sep-2000
(Jamaica) When the Privy Council considered a petition for mercy by a person sentenced to death, it could not revisit the decision, but could look only at the procedural fairness of the system. The system should allow properly for representations, . .
Cited – Haroon Khan v The State PC 20-Nov-2003
PC (Trinidad and Tobago) The appellant had been convicted of felony murder. He was one of four engaged in a robbery, where the victim received fatal injuries.
Held: The felony murder rule had been . .
Cited – De Haes and Gijsels v Belgium ECHR 24-Feb-1997
The court emphasised that the press plays an essential role in a democratic society. The court trenchantly observed ‘It is incumbent on the press to impart information and ideas of public interest. Not only does the press have the task of imparting . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Constitutional, Criminal Practice
Updated: 01 July 2022; Ref: scu.228316