Suspended drivers lose their legal challenge

Thousands of drivers who had their licences suspended were correctly convicted, the Supreme Court has found.

A Supreme Court unanimous judgment, released this week, brings to an end questions over the legality of thousands of convictions for drivers who drove on suspended licences between 2011 and 2015, and reverses rulings from both the Court of Appeal and the High Court

The legal wranglings came after two drivers argued their notices for driving on a suspended licence needed to be delivered by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) rather than police.

The drivers were stopped by police officers after their licence plates were matched to demerit data, which exceeded 100 demerit points in both cases, provided electronically by the NZTA.

The officers then filled out a form notifying the drivers of their suspension, which cited the Land Transport Act 1998.

The 1998 act required the NZTA itself give notice in writing but did allow the agency to delegate those powers to police.

Lawyers marshalling arguments in defence of the drivers argued a 2011 amendment separated the idea of giving notice from serving notice, and that only the serving of notices could be exercised by police.

However, Chief Justice Sian Elias said earlier cases had not interpreted the intent of a 2011 law change correctly.

‘‘It would be a surprising result if an amendment intended to simplify the manner of enforcement by the police removed the earlier authority granted to law enforcement agencies. The sense of the provision read as a whole is that the agency has overall responsibility for giving notice which is fulfilled when the person is served by delivery of notice in writing.’’

The Supreme Court ruling was triggered by a referral of two questions of law to the Supreme Court by the solicitor-general after an earlier case at the Court of Appeal.

The result does not affect the overturned convictions of the drivers who took the original case.