LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995 - SECT 9.13
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995 - SECT 9.13
9.13 . Onus of proof in vehicle offences may be shifted
(1) In this section
—
authorised person means a person appointed under
section 9.10(2) to be an authorised person for the purposes of this section;
owner , in relation to a vehicle means the person
to whom a licence in respect of the vehicle has been granted under the
Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012 , or, if there is not such a person, the
person who owns the vehicle or is entitled to its possession;
prescribed means prescribed by a local law or, if
the alleged offence is under a regulation, prescribed by regulations or by a
local law;
vehicle offence means an offence against this Act
of which the use, driving, parking, standing or leaving of a vehicle is an
element.
(2) Where a vehicle
offence is alleged to have been committed and the identity of the person
committing the alleged offence is not known and cannot immediately be
ascertained an authorised person may give the owner of the vehicle a notice
under this section.
(3) The notice is to
be in the prescribed form and is to contain particulars of the alleged offence
and require the owner to identify the person who was the driver or person in
charge of the vehicle at the time when the offence is alleged to have been
committed.
(4) The notice may be
addressed to the owner of the vehicle without naming, or stating the address
of, the owner and may be given by —
(a)
attaching it to the vehicle or leaving it in or on the vehicle at or about the
time that the alleged offence is believed to have been committed; or
(b)
giving it to the owner within 28 days after the alleged offence is believed to
have been committed.
(5) The notice is to
include a short statement of the effect of subsection (6).
(6) Unless, within 28
days after being served with the notice, the owner of the vehicle —
(a)
informs the CEO or an employee authorised for the purposes of this paragraph
as to the identity and address of the person who was the driver or person in
charge of the vehicle at the time the offence is alleged to have been
committed; or
(b)
satisfies the CEO that the vehicle had been stolen or unlawfully taken, or was
being unlawfully used, at the time the offence is alleged to have been
committed,
the owner is, in the
absence of proof to the contrary, deemed to have committed the offence.
[Section 9.13 amended: No. 8 of 2012 s. 123; No.
16 of 2019 s. 65.]