In an attempt to intimidate the Metric Martyrs from appealing, Sunderland Council are to apply for the £55,000 costs incurred by themselves in prosecuting Steven Thoburn earlier this year.
The reason Sunderland gives for not applying at the time is that they were not aware that a campaign fund existed for Steven Thoburn. This is clearly not true, since the council was invited to the campaign fund dinner the week before the trial.
Moreover, the costs requested by the council are not proportionate to the offence. The fine for using lb/oz is £2,000, so the amount of the costs awarded should reflect this. It is unprecedented for a council to expect £55,000 costs for a trial that leads to a maximum fine of only £2,000.
Nevertheless, the appeal by the Metric Martyrs WILL go ahead at the High Court in London, starting on Monday 19 November and expected to last several days. The judge Mr Justice Scott Baker has ordered the largest possible courtroom in view of the public interest.
The exact time and place of the trial will be posted when details are available.
Submissions have been made by the legal team representing the five
metric martyrs. Here is an account by John Aston of PA News:
Britons are fighting for the right to their own "cultural space", a
judge was told today, as the first shots were fired in the High Court
battle of the "metric martyrs".
Five market traders from different parts of the country are arguing in a
test case that has drawn worldwide attention that they have the right to
serve their customers in traditional imperial measures, in spite of
European Union regulations favouring the metric system.
Backed by celebrities including Elaine Paige, Edward Fox and Lord
Tebbit, the five are fighting convictions and court orders made against
them after they defied weights and measures inspectors and carried on
trading in pounds.
Their lawyers argue that the 1985 Weights and Measures Act authorises
them to continue using imperial measures.
But the lower courts and the prosecuting authorities say they are under
a duty to use metric in line with European regulations, as the UK signed up
to the European Communities Act of 1972.
Today Mr Justice Scott Baker ordered that their appeals, expected to
last up to five days, should begin on November 19.
After being told of the wide public concern, the judge called for the
biggest available courtroom in the Royal Courts of Justice in London to be
set aside for the hearing and added: "I shall await with interest to see
what happens."
Michael Shrimpton, appearing for four of the traders, told the judge the
cases were of constitutional importance and marked the first courtroom
clash since the UK joined the European Community between the sovereignty of
Parliament and an EC directive.
Signalling that the new Human Rights Act would be relied on by the
traders, he described the Euro restrictions on the imperial system as "an
invasion of cultural space and a violation of the right to freedom of
commercial speech".
He suggested that a policy of compulsory metrication might not comply
with human rights law, and there was legal authority in both Canada and the
US to support the challenge.
The Metric Martyrs are Steven Thoburn, from Sunderland, who was fined
for selling bananas by the pound; John Dove, of Camelford, Cornwall,
ordered to pay court costs for selling mackerel at 1.50 a pound; Julian
Harman, also of Camelford, ordered to pay costs for selling Brussels
sprouts by the pound; Colin Hunt, of Hackney, east London, was given a
12-month conditional discharge for pricing pumpkins by the pound; and Peter
Collins, of Sutton, Surrey, who had his licence revoked for selling in
imperial measures.
The date for the start of the Appeal by Steven Thoburn and the 4 other Metric Martyrs has been changed to Tuesday 20th November at The Royal Courts of Justice, Divisional Court, in the Strand, London.
This is a change on the original date (Monday 19th November). The judges have decided to devote the Monday to a private reading of the skeleton arguments lodged with the court.
Supporters should gather from about 9:00am for a 10:00 to 10:30 am start. London WC2. References: CO3308/2001 and CO 3639/2001. The largest courtroom has been requested. The trial could last several days.
BWMA urges as many people to attend as possible, especially on the first morning.
Supporters of five "Metric Martyrs" who were taken to court for trading in pounds and ounces have picketed the Law Courts in London as a legal challenge got under way.
Around 200 protesters waved placards and banners demanding "Keep our lb" and "No to Euro Fascism".
Members of the UK Independence Party have also set up a fruit and veg stall - selling in imperial measures.
Backed by celebrities including Elaine Paige, Edward Fox and Lord Tebbit, the five are fighting convictions and court orders against them after they defied weights and measures inspectors.
Mr Fox said: "I am here simply as a supporter of the Metric Martyrs' cause. I believe it is such an important issue for the people of Britain."
The five "Metric Martyrs" say the 1985 Weights and Measures Act authorises them to continue using imperial measures.
But the lower courts and the prosecuting authorities say they are under a duty to use metric measures in line with European regulations, as the UK signed up to the European Communities Act of 1972.
Lawyers for the five arguing their cases say they are of constitutional importance and mark the first courtroom clash between the sovereignty of Parliament and an EC directive since the UK joined the European Community.
The Metric Martyrs are Steven Thoburn, from Sunderland, who was fined for selling bananas by the pound; John Dove, of Camelford, Cornwall, ordered to pay court costs for selling mackerel at £1.50 a pound; Julian Harman, also of Camelford, ordered to pay costs for selling Brussels sprouts by the pound; Colin Hunt, of Hackney, east London, who was given a 12-month conditional discharge for pricing pumpkins and other vegetables by the pound; and Peter Collins, of Sutton, Surrey, whose trading licence was revoked for selling in imperial measures.
Copyright 2001 PA News.
By John Aston, Cathy Gordon and Mike Taylor, PA News
Five market traders -- the so-called metric martyrs -- today asked the
High Court to rule that they have the legal right to trade in pounds and
ounces despite European Community attempts to prevent them.
Their lawyers warned that making it "a criminal offence to sell a pound
of bananas in order to please Brussels" threatened to cause a "deep
constitutional crisis".
Car horns tooted support of the "imperial rebellion" as members of the
public gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in numbers rarely
seen in recent years to back the legal challenge.
Around 200 protesters waved placards and banners demanding "Keep our lb"
and "No to Euro Fascism".
Members of the UK Independence Party set up a fruit and veg stall --
selling bananas and sprouts in imperial measures.
The case has gained worldwide attention and is being keenly watched as
it marks the first head-on legal clash since the UK joined the European
Community between laws made by Parliament and an EC Directive.
Backed by celebrities including singer Elaine Paige, actor Edward Fox
and Lord Tebbit, the metric martyrs are fighting convictions and court
orders against them after they defied weights and measures inspectors.
They faced legal action after the Government complied with European
metrication directives by making it a criminal offence last year to weigh
and sell goods in imperial measures.
Mr Fox was among those at court and said: "I am here simply as a
supporter of the metric martyrs' cause. I believe it is such an important
issue for the people of Britain."
Demonstrators crowded Court No 2, packed the gallery and queued outside
in the corridor as two judges were asked to rule that the 1985 Weights and
Measures Act, introduced after Britain joined the European Community,
provided a loophole which meant EU directives requiring goods to be sold in
metric units did not apply in England and Wales.
Michael Shrimpton, appearing for the five, told the two judges: "It is a
test case of constitutional importance, we say, and the public and the
country are entitled to know what has been done in their name."
Mr Shrimpton described the powers used by the Government to impose the
metric system on reluctant Britain in line with a European Union directive
akin to the powers taken by Henry VIII to have his way in the 1500s.
A "Henry VIII order", in legal terms, involves a minister being allowed
to amend the law without passing a new Act of Parliament -- "exercising his
power by order".
Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Crane, suggested that the
comparison "might not be entirely fair to the memory of the late monarch".
Mr Shrimpton quickly agreed, saying the Tudor king had never gone as far
as modern ministers and "never tried to make the sale of bananas by the
pound unlawful".
He added: "Even his late majesty never went so far, my lord."
Mr Shrimpton said none of the five had refused to serve in metric.
If asked to serve in metric, they would. But they also wanted the
constitutional freedom to serve in imperial measures.
He told the court that if the various local authorities defending the
ban on selling goods solely in pounds and ounces succeeded in defeating
their challenge, "the damage which will be done to the fabric of the
constitution will be awesome".
The constitutional crisis caused by the Factortame case would be
deepened with the courts and executive "pitted against Parliament".
In Factortame, the courts ruled that Spanish fishermen were entitled to
fish against the UK quota and were awarded millions of pounds in
compensation for the time when they were banned.
Mr Shrimpton argued the 1985 Weights and Measures Act authorised traders
to continue using imperial measures, even though the UK had signed up to
the 1972 European Communities Act and became subject to European
directives.
He argued there was no "hierarchy of legislation", and the 1985 Act had
just as much legal weight as the 1972 Act.
"The later 1985 Act impliedly repealed the earlier Act, in so far as it
related to weights and measures," he argued.
The Government and the courts were now "duty bound" to apply the 1985
Act, even though it "ran a coach and horses through a Commission Directive
with spectacular effect".
Laws made by Parliament could undo, "in part or in whole," the contents
of the 1972 Act.
The metric martyrs include Steven Thoburn, from Sunderland. He was found
guilty in April this year and given a 12-month conditional discharge for
using two sets of imperial scales, which did not bear an official stamp, to
sell bananas by the pound.
The stamp had been obliterated by a trading standards officer on a
previous visit because his scales only weighed imperially.
His lawyers say he had the facility to serve in metric and had always
dual priced his goods.
Fishmonger John Dove, of Camelford, Cornwall, was ordered to pay court
costs for selling mackerel at 1.50 a pound; Julian Harman, also of
Camelford, was ordered to pay costs for selling Brussels sprouts at 39p a
pound.
Hackney market greengrocer Colin Hunt was given a 12-month conditional
discharge in June for pricing pumpkins, sweet potato, cassava and other
vegetables by the pound and ordered to pay 4,500 costs.
Street trader Peter Collins, of Sutton, Surrey, had his trading licence
revoked for using imperial scales.
Mr Shrimpton described them as "ordinary men without means or higher
education but whose patriotism and courage put ministers to shame".
The hearing continues tomorrow and is expected to last about three days.
:: Euro-MP Simon Murphy, Labour leader in the European Parliament, said
today's case was being "shamelessly used" by a Conservative and UKIP
alliance "to stir up anti-European feeling".
He said: "With four out of five weighing scales in the UK trading in
metric, the metric martyr is out of step with the modern world.
"The Tories have distorted a British decision to go metric and turned it
into another anti-European myth.
"British governments of all persuasions have supported the transition to
metric since the 1960s."
Five market traders -- the so-called metric martyrs -- will have to wait
to learn whether they have won their High Court battle for the legal right
to trade in pounds and ounces, despite directives from Europe.
Two judges sitting in a courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice in
London packed with "keep our lb" campaigners today reserved judgment after
a three-day hearing.
Lawyers for the five warned that making it "a criminal offence to sell a
pound of bananas in order to please Brussels" threatened to cause a "deep
constitutional crisis".
Backed by celebrities including singer Elaine Paige, actor Edward Fox,
comedian John Cleese and Lord Tebbit, the metric martyrs are fighting
convictions and court orders against them after they defied weights and
measures inspectors.
They faced legal action after the Government complied with European
metrication directives by making it a criminal offence last year to weigh
and sell goods in imperial measures.
Their lawyers asked Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Crane, to
rule that the 1985 Weights and Measures Act, introduced after Britain
joined the European Community, provided a loophole which meant EU
directives requiring goods to be sold in metric units did not apply in
England and Wales.
Michael Shrimpton, appearing for the five, told the two judges: "It is a
test case of constitutional importance, we say, and the public and the
country are entitled to know what has been done in their name."
The judges indicated they hope to give their ruling within the next few
weeks.
The following article, dated 29-1-02, was taken from EUObserver.com, written by Blake Evans-Pritchard and edited by Blake Evans-Pritchard and Lisbeth Kirk.
The five British traders convicted for selling fruit and vegetables in imperial rather than metric measurements are angry that, eleven weeks after the appeal against their convictions was heard by the High Courts in London on 20-22 November, there is still no sign of a judgement being given.
On 1 January 2000, it became a criminal offence in the EU to sell anything in imperial measures. The five Metric Martyrs - Steven Thoburn, John Dove, Peter Colins, Julian Harman, and Colin Hunt - each received a criminal conviction for not converting to metric measurements.
Neil Herron, campaign organiser for the "Metric Martyrs", believes that a verdict has been slow in coming because of the vast constitutional implications of the case.
Mr Herron told the EUobserver.com that, whether the case is won or lost, it will have been crucial in highlighting exactly what Britain's relationship is to the EU. "If we lose, the courts give a clear sign that parliament's authority has been ceded to the EU. If we win, the judgement calls into question various acts of parliament that have gone before. And furthermore, if we win, we must consider how many other traders have been wrongly accused of selling goods in imperial measurements. It is a difficult decision to reach."
At the heart of the issue is the question of whether a decision of one parliament can bind future ones. Mr Herron referred to the currently hot topic of whether or not Britain should join the EMU, and said that a ruling against the metric martyrs would have large implications for a referendum on the euro, because it would indicate that successive parliaments can be bound by the decisions taken in previous ones. Effectively, noted Mr Herron, the decision to join the EMU would have to be permanent.
Deliberations are taking so long because the judgement is not an easy one to reach. The whole of the EU movement in Britain - both the eurosceptics and the europhiles - have their eyes focussed on the case, and await a judgement eagerly. The courts cannot just bury the verdict. The moment the judgement is given, everyone will know about it, and will start debating its constitutional repercussions. The courts want to make sure that they deliver the most appropriate verdict possible, according to Mr Herron.
Mr Herron is concerned that one possible solution would be for the courts to deliver a "fudged judgement". According to Mr Herron, the courts could acquit either Steve Thoburn or Peter Collins (or possibly both) of the charges that they failed to convert their scales to metric measurements when asked, whilst still upholding the convictions of the other defendants. The judgement could argue that Mr Thoburn and Mr Collins did not have to convert their scales immediately when asked, but instead could introduce a series of supplementary measures. The case for the other three defendants is not quite so easy to resolve, argues Mr Herron.
The defence team of the metric martyrs is pushing for a full acquittal of all defendants. Mr Herron says that, if the criminal convictions of the five traders are upheld, the defendants will appeal the decision.
Metric martyrs intend to appeal Judgement to High Court
February 18 2002, 4:53 PM
18/2/02 - The following news release has been issued by Ananova:
Five market traders - the so-called metric martyrs - have lost their High Court battle for the legal right to trade in pounds and ounces.
Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Crane, rejected their claim that domestic law provided a loophole which meant European Union directives do not apply in England and Wales.
Lawyers for the five had warned during a three-day hearing last November that making it a criminal offence to sell a pound of bananas in order to please Brussels threatened to cause a deep constitutional crisis.
They received backing for their anti-metric battle from celebrities including singer Elaine Paige, actor Edward Fox, comedian John Cleese and Lord Tebbit.
Mr Fox was in court to see the judges dismiss their application for judicial review.
All were fighting convictions and court orders against them after they defied weights and measures inspectors.
Neil Herron, spokesman for the five traders, said defeat meant "the death of democracy" but pledged that the fight would continue.
Mr Herron said it showed that an act of the UK Parliament could be overruled by a mere directive from "an entity, a gathering of unelected bureaucrats over which we have no democratic control".
By Simon Baker, PA News
Four market traders who were told in the High Court last week that they
could not sell their goods in pounds and ounces took their fight to the
House of Lords today.
Lawyers representing Stephen Thoburn, from Sunderland, who are also
acting on behalf of Colin Hunt, from Hackney, and Cornwall traders John
Dove and Julian Harman, lodged a petition for leave to appeal.
They should hear in about eight weeks whether they will be able to make
a final bid to reverse their criminal convictions for dealing in Imperial
measures.
Neil Herron, a spokesman for the Metric Martyr Defence Fund, said: "We
have to take the fight forward. This is the final domestic legal avenue
that we have.
"It is of massive constitutional significance, what we are doing. We
have four men who still have criminal convictions against their name.
"Everyone knows that the decision in the High Court was wrong, the
customers know and so do the public.
"We believe the judgment was seriously flawed; what the judge has done
is create a hierarchy of statutes."
Mr Herron, standing by the Churchill Statue in Parliament Square,
London, before handing in the petition at a meeting in the House of Lords,
went on: "It is a massive democratic issue, there are many men and women
who fought and died to protect the right of what we are doing today.
"The Metric Martyrs have exposed exactly what their elected
representatives have done in their name and without their consent.
"We are not going to let the politicians over-ride the will of the
people."
Copyright 2002 PA News. 13/7/02
By John Aston, PA News
Five market traders -- the so-called metric martyrs -- will tomorrow take their legal battle for the unfettered legal right to trade in pounds and ounces to the House of Lords.
They are asking the Law Lords, sitting in the highest court in the land, to give them permission to challenge a High Court ruling that European law "ranks supreme" in Britain.
Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Crane ruled in February that regulations made in line with EU metric policy were lawful, even though that meant "our Imperial measures, much loved of many, seem to face extinction".
The judges rejected the anti-metric campaigners' claim that European Union directives giving priority to the metric system's grams and kilos did not apply in England and Wales.
Domestic law provided no loopholes allowing pounds and ounces to survive, said the judge.
The case gained worldwide attention and marked the first head-on legal clash since the UK joined the European Community between laws made by Parliament and Euro law.
Backing for the anti-metric battle came from celebrities including singer Elaine Paige, actor Edward Fox, who was in court today, comedian John Cleese and Lord Tebbit.
Neil Herron, spokesman for the Metric Martyr Defence Fund, warns that final defeat for the traders could signal "the death of democracy", but pledged that the fight, which has cost 100,000 so far, would continue to the House of Lords.
The campaigners argue argue that the 1985 Weights and Measures Act authorised traders to continue using Imperial measures, even though the UK had signed up to the 1972 European Communities Act and became subject to European directives.
There was no "hierarchy of legislation", and the 1985 Act had just as much legal weight as the 1972 Act.
The five "martyred" traders include fishmonger John Dove, of Camelford, Cornwall, who was ordered to pay court costs for selling mackerel at 1.50 a pound; Julian Harman, also of Camelford, was ordered to pay costs for selling Brussels sprouts at 39p a pound.
Hackney market greengrocer Colin Hunt was given a 12-month conditional discharge in June last year for pricing pumpkins, sweet potato, and other vegetables by the pound, and ordered to pay 4,500 costs.
Street trader Peter Collins, of Sutton, Surrey, had appealed against having to comply with local council conditions for renewing his licence for trading in fruit and vegetables. These required that any goods sold by net weight had to refer to the metric system only, and that his scales should be calibrated in metric only.
Their counsel Michael Shrimpton described the five as "ordinary men without means or higher education but whose patriotism and courage puts ministers to shame".
Lords refuse leave to appeal in metric martyr case
The House of Lords has refused leave to appeal in the case of a so-called metric martyr in his legal battle to trade in pounds and ounces.
An appeal committee of three law lords, sitting in the highest court of the land, refused to give market trader Steven Thoburn permission to challenge a High Court ruling that European law "ranks supreme" in Britain.
Mr Thoburn, who was not present at the hearing, was prosecuted by Sunderland City Council for using imperial measures to sell fruit and vegetables.
It is now likely that leave to appeal in the cases of three others prosecuted for using imperial measures will also be refused.
In the hearing before Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Steyn and Lord Scott of Foscote, counsel for Mr Thoburn, Michael Shrimpton, argued that the 1985 Weights and Measures Act authorised traders to continue using imperial measures, even though the UK had signed up to the 1972 European Communities Act and became subject to European directives.
I understand that the so-called Metric Martyrs were planning to take their appeal to the European Court. Has anything happened on this front?
(I say "so-called" because the "Christian Martyrs" of the first and second Century AD were supporting Christianity whereas the "Metric Martyrs" are opposing the metric system).
The following was extracted from the Metric Martyr's website
<<
After a wait of over 18 months since lodging the case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Metric Martyrs received the court's decision.
In a statement which makes the Hutton Inquiry look positively anaemic, the three judges declared the case inadmissable. The letter stated.
"I write to inform you that on 3 February 2004 the European Court of Human Rights, sitting as a Committee of three judges (M.Pellonpaa, President, S.Pavlovschi and L.Garlicki) pursuant to Article 27 of the Convention, decided under Article 28 of the Convention to declare the above inadmissable because it did not comply with the requirements set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention.
In the light of all the material in its possession, and in so far as the matters complained of were within its competence, the Court found that they did not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the convention or its protocols.
This decision is final and not subject to any appeal to either the Court or any other body. You will therefore appreciate that the Registry will be unable to provide any further details about the Committee's deliberations or to conduct any further correspondence relating to its decision in this case. You will receive no further documents from the Court concerning this case and, in accordance with the Court's instructions, the file will be destroyed one year after the despatch of this letter."
>>
The full text is on http://www.metricmartyrs.sageweb.co.uk/
As far as the appeal goes, I understand it to be progressing. The problem with the ECHR is that it takes years to process cases. Why didn't they bring an action under the Human Rights Act?