My wife and a friend recently went to our local mags court to observe 360 council claims for unpaid tax. I was interested to know how these claims were dealt with and how long the process lasted. Basically the council enforcement officer handed a bundle of A4 papers to one of the magistrates that had 4 sets of names and addresses on each A4 sheet. The magistrate flicked through the bundle and then signed and stamped a top sheet attached to the bundle. This process lasted approximately 2 minutes ! That equates to 0.333333 seconds for each claim ! Due process in law anybody ? The bundle is then handed back to the council enforcement officer, obviously for safe keeping. We already knew that this was the process but had never observed how quickly it takes to perform. How possibly could each case be heard on merit ? Zero chance. And do the courts have a record/case file of each claim, that they have an obligation to do under the criminal procedure rules ? Nope. As the court has no record or case file relating to the alleged claim, the only source of evidence to support the claim is from the council, and their bundle with a signature and stamp on top of the bundle on a separate sheet of paper from the court. First of all, the court has zero evidence that the claim was heard there. Secondly, the only evidence that can be provided is via the claimant ! Thirdly, how does the claimant prove that they did not add an A4 sheet of paper to the bundle with names and addresses on it after the proceedings. They cant. Does a conflict of interest arise between the council and the court ? Of course there is as both parties have a financial interest in the result of the claim, both parties are at the employ of the crown, and both parties benefit via their pensions of which council tax pays on average 50 % towards.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:10:45 +0000
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