Judge nullifies court ruling

A judge declared yesterday that a court ruling jailing two men for theft was null and void because the Magistrates' Court had failed to state the facts for which the accused were found guilty, as requested by law.

Jeffrey John Brincat had been jailed for two years and Marvin Zammit had been jailed for a year for stealing from two stores and causing damage to the stores in November 2003.

Mr Brincat was also found guilty of stealing a motorcycle, driving dangerously and trying to seriously injure three police officers.

Both appealed the sentence on various grounds.

On evaluating the case, Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, ruled that the first court's judgement was null. This was because the law laid down that, in delivering judgment, the court "shall state the facts of which he has been found guilty, shall award punishment and shall quote the article of this (Criminal) Code or of any other law creating the offence".

In this case, the first court had failed to state the facts and this made the judgement null.

The judge sent the case back to the Magistrates' Court so that the judgement would be handed down again according to law.