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Land Transport Act 1998

Mitigation of penalties and rights of appeal - Rights of appeal

107: Appeals against court orders relating to disqualification or grant of limited licence, and deferral of disqualification

You could also call this:

“You can challenge driving bans and limited licence decisions in higher courts”

If you have been disqualified from driving by the District Court, you can appeal to the High Court if the District Court refuses to give you a limited licence or reduce your disqualification.

While you’re waiting for your appeal to be decided, you can ask the District Court to delay your disqualification. If the District Court says no to this delay, you can appeal that decision to the High Court too.

If the High Court disqualifies you from driving, you can ask the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal if the High Court refuses to give you a limited licence or remove your disqualification.

If you’re asking the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal a disqualification order, the High Court might delay the disqualification while they decide whether to let you appeal.

If your appeal to the High Court or Court of Appeal is successful, even partly, the High Court will tell the Director about the result.

When working out how long you’re disqualified for, they won’t count any time that your disqualification was delayed because of an appeal.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM435084.

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Part 8 Mitigation of penalties and rights of appeal
Rights of appeal

107Appeals against court orders relating to disqualification or grant of limited licence, and deferral of disqualification

  1. A person who has been disqualified by order of the District Court from holding or obtaining a driver licence may appeal to the High Court against a decision of the District Court by—

  2. refusing to grant the person a limited licence; or
    1. refusing to reduce the person's disqualification.

      1. If it thinks fit, the District Court may, on an application by a person who has appealed to the High Court under subsection (1) or Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, defer the operation of the disqualification order pending the determination of the appeal.

      2. If the District Court refuses to defer the operation of the disqualification order pending the appeal, the person who applied for the disqualification order to be deferred may appeal to the High Court against that decision of the District Court.

      3. Subpart 2 of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 applies, with the necessary modifications, to an appeal to the High Court under subsection (1) or subsection (2A).

      4. A person who is disqualified by an order of the High Court from holding or obtaining a driver licence may, with the leave of the Court of Appeal, appeal to that court against a decision of the High Court—

      5. refusing to grant the person a limited licence; or
        1. refusing to remove the person's disqualification;—
            1. and the provisions of subpart 2 of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 applies with the necessary modifications, as if it were an appeal under that section.

          1. If an application is made to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal to that court against a sentence of the District Court or the High Court that is or includes an order of disqualification, the High Court may, if it thinks fit, defer the operation of the order pending the application for leave to appeal and, if leave is granted, pending the determination of the appeal.

          2. If any such appeal to the High Court or Court of Appeal is allowed, whether in whole or in part, the Registrar of the High Court must notify the Director of the result of the appeal.

          3. In determining the period for which a person is disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence, any time during which the operation of the disqualification order is deferred under this section must be disregarded.

          Compare
          Notes
          • Section 107(1): substituted, on , by section 60 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 77).
          • Section 107(1): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
          • Section 107(2): substituted, on , by section 60 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 77).
          • Section 107(2): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
          • Section 107(2): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
          • Section 107(2A): inserted, on , by section 60 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 77).
          • Section 107(2B): inserted, on , by section 60 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 77).
          • Section 107(2B): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
          • Section 107(3): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
          • Section 107(4): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
          • Section 107(5): amended, on , by section 98 of the Land Transport (NZTA) Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 48).