(1984)1984 February 24 [Λ Loi/ou. DlMITRJADLS A^
- l)Sni.tAMI>lS. JJ ] IWNAYIOTIS Y E R O L E M I D E S A N D A N O ' I H E R , 4ppi Hants THE MUNICIPALITY Ol· NICOSIA. Respondents (Criminal Appeals \'os 4301-4302). Rifusc—Dumping of— Nicosia Municipal Bye-Laws 1965-1980, bye lav s 7 1 , 72 and 216—Collection and accurnidalion of old metals old battetic.s and other old cuticles in an open stoic amounts to "dumping1*—Said matter not ''nfiise" within the meaning of the above Bye-Laws—Holding of a licence tmdei Old Metals {Dealers) Law, Cap 75 and payment of professional tax irrelevant because appellants charged under another enactment—And there is no inherent contradiction in the establishment of separate loniiols o\ei the same cut for diffeient purposes. 5 Words and Phrases—^includes" 10 Nicosia Municipal in the definition oj ''lefuse'' Bye-Law st b\ the 1965-1980. The appellants, who were licensed dealers in old metals and owners a n d occupiers of an open store a t Kaimakli in which the> collected and dumped all kinds of old metals, old batteries. old boxes, old cars and generally such old articles which were 15 useless t o other people and w h i c h were bought by the appel lants and kept there till a buyer could be found, were convicted of the offence of dumping refuse at a place other than the special place allotted for t h e dumping of refuse*, contrary t o byelaws 71. 72 and 216 of the Municipal Bye-Laws of Nicosia, 1965- 2 0 1980. Refuse is defined as follows in b>e-ld\v No.2. '"Refuse* includesashes,dung, dust, hay filth, Inter, paper, rubbish, shavings, straw sweepings or other waste matter" 52 2 C.1..K. Yerolemidcs and Another i. Municipalit> Nicusiu Upon appeal against conviction counsel for the appellant* contended: 5 (
- a)That the appellants, being licensed dealers in old metal.·» and having been issued with a professional licence b> the municipality, could not have been criminal]) liable for the accumulation of the said material; (
- b)That the act of the appellants was not "dumping"; and 10 '5 20 25 (
- c)That the articles placed and accumulated on the said open store were not "refuse". Held.(I) that the Old Metals (Dealers) Law. Cap. 75 regulates the dealing in old metals and is administered by the Divisional Commander of. the Police; that the regulations, under which appellants, were charged, were made by the Municipal Council of Nicosia under the powers vested in it by s.125 of the Municipal Corporations Law to enable the Council to perform the duties assigned to it by s.123(l)(
- a)"to prevent the accumulation in any public or private place of any filth or refuse so as to be dangerous to the public health. . "; there is no inherent contradiction in the establishment of separate controls over the same act for different purposes (see Tsiolisv. DistrictOfficer Nicosia,
(1982)2 C.L.R. II at p. 16); that, therefore, the holding of a dealer's licence in old metals under the Old Metals (Dealers) Law, Cap. 75 and payment of the professional tax are irrelevant for the purposes of this case.
(2)That the act of the appellants of placing and accumulating the said articles in the open store amounts to "dumping'". 30
(3)[After dealingwiththemeaningof the word"includes" in the definition of refuse) that the matter dumped in the open store are not refuse but old metal materials stored there until sale to third persons for processing; that, therefore, the prosecution failed to prove an ingredient of the offence and the appeal must succeed. Appeal allowed. 35 Per curiam: We have to place on record that the appellants' act may be controlled by other provisions in the Bye-laws as the armoury of the law is not exhausted by Bye-laws 53 ^crolcmides and Another ι. Municipality Nicosia (Ϊ984) 71 and 72. hurthcrmorc the Old Metals (Dealers) Law was recently amended by Law 73/83 and the Divisional Commander of Police may impose conditions for the amenities of the affected area where they store their niclals or carry on their trade. 5 ί. .isL-s ieVrred t o : Isiohs \. District Officer Nicosia
(1982)2 C.L.R. II at p. t o : /*.'(/.<- v. Smith. 150 E.R. (E\.) 724 at p. 726: /·'(" \. ./. Bridge Lsq. (Metropolitan Police Magistrate), 24 Q.li.
- 10 Appeal against conviction. *\ppOiii against conviction by Panayiotis Yerolemides and Another who were convicted on the 23rd February, 1982 at the Distric. Court of Nicosia {Criminal Case No. 7120/81) on one count (if the offence of dumping refuse at a place other than the 15 >pecial place allotted for the dumping of refuse contrary to Bye-laws 71, 72 and 216 of the Municipal Bye-laws of Nicosia. 1965-19X0 and were sentenced by loannides, D.J. to pay £5.fine each. 1/ Vuntantos, for the apptHants. 20 /. Georgltiaciou(Mrs.), for the respondents. Cur. adv. wit. Λ. Loi/ou J.: The judgment of the Court will be delivered hy Mr. Justice Stylianides. SiYiiANiDhS J.: This appeal was taken by the appellants against their conviction by the District Court of Nicosia of the offence of dumping refuse at a place other than the special place allotted for the dumping of refuse, contrary to Bye-laws 71, 72 and 216 of the Municipal Bye-laws of Nicosia, 1965-
- The facts, as found by the trial Court, are:The appellants are licensed dealers in old metals. They are the owners and occupiers of an open store situated at 49, Ayios Demetrios Street, Kaimakli (a quarter of Nicosia town). In that open store both accused "collected and dumped all kinds 54 25 30 2 C.L.ll. Ycrolemides and Another v. Municipulity Nicosia Sljfiniiidcs .
- of old metals, old batteries, old boxes, old cars and generally such old articles which are useless to other people and which the accused are buying and keepthert till a buyer is found cither in Cyprus or abroad who buys them". 5 The appeal was argued before us on the following grounds:(a) The appellants, being licensed dealers in old metals and having been issued with a professional licence b\ the Municipality,could not have been criminally liable for the accumulation of the said material: 10 (b) The act of the appellants is not '"dumping": and. (c) The articles placed and accumulated on the said open store are not "refuse". A. The Old Metals (Dealers) Law, Cap.
- regulates Undenting in old metals and is administered by the Divisional 15 Commander of the Police. The regulations, under which thc> were charged, were made by the Municipal Council of Nicosia under the powers vested in it by s. 125 of the Municipal Corf porations Law to enable the Council to perform the dutiu> assigned to it bys. I23(l)(a) "to prevent the accumulation inan> 20 publicor private place of anyfilth or refuse soas to bedangerou> to the public health . .". It is well settled that there is no inherent contradiction in the establishment of separate controls over the same act for different purposes. (Tsiolis v. The District Officer Nicosia,
(1982)2 25 C.L.R. II, at p. 16). The holding of a dealers' licence in old metals and payment of the professional tax are irrelevant for the purposes of this case. B. It was argued .that the placing and accumulation of the 30 materials above-referred to found by the trial Judge was not "dumping"*. "Dump" must be given its ordinary literal meaning. It is a fundamental principle in the construction of statutes that words must be given their literal meaning. The language is 35 clear and explicit and the Court has to give effect to it. This Golden Rule was lucidly stated in this way by Parke B. in Becke v. Smith, 150 E.R. (Ex.)
(1836)724, at p. 726:55 Stilmnidcs .
- Ycnilcmidcs and Another \. Municipality Nicosia (19R4) "It is a very useful rule, in the construction of a statute, to adhere to the ordinary meaning of the words used, and to the grammatical construction, unless that is at variance with the intention of the legislature, to be collected from the statute itself, or leads to any manifest absurdity or repugnance, in which case the language may be varied or modified, soas toavoid such inconvenience, but no further." The ordinary meaning of the verb "dump" is "to throw down in a lump or mass, to fling down or drop with a bump, to deposit". (See TheShorter Oxford English Dictionary, Volume 1). In the Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English the meaning of "dump" is given as follows: "Dump - Put on or into; put or throw down carelessly", and the example given is: "Whirc can I dump this rubbish?" We find no merit in the submission that the ingredient of "dumping" was not proven before the trial Court. The act of the appellants of placing and accumulating the said articles in the open store amounts to "dumping". C. REFUSE: Are the materials dumped in that open store within the definition of the word "refuse" as set out in the Bye-laws? In Bye-law No. 2we read the following definition of "refuse": "'Refuse' includes ashes, dung, dust, hay, filth, litter, paper. rubbish, shavings, straw, sweepings or other waste matter". The point that falls for determination is a point of law. The real controversy between the parties is upon the interpretation of the Bye-laws. There is no dispute as to the nature of the materials dumped. The dispute is whether the subject-matter was refuse. A question of law, therefore, arises as to whether the said material comes within the meaning of the word "refuse" used in the Bye-laws. (Reg. v. J. Bridge Esq. (Metropolitan Police Magistrate), 24 Q.B. 609). The trial Judge had this to say on this issue:"It is the case for the prosecution that all those old articles which are collected and dumped in that open placeis refuse in accordance with the definition of refuse referred to in the Bye-laws. 56 2 C.L.K. 5 10 Yernlemides and Another \. Municipal)!) Nicosia Stylianidcs .
- The submission, on the other hand, of the accused is thai what they are collecting and dumping in their open store is not recuse but various articles which have some value and which they are trading with and actually what they keep there is their stock-in-trade and cannot be considered as refuse. I can find no difficulty in holding that what accused are collecting and dumping there in their open store are waste and uselessthings and therefore refuse. Ican see no reason to hold otherwise and to givea different interpretation to the word 'refuse' considering and having in mind the particular circumstances of the present case". This interpretation and finding of the trial Judge was vigorously challenged by Mr. Montanios. He cited a number of 15 English decisions mainly of the 19th century and early 20th century. Those decisions turn on the statutory definition of "house refuse" or "trade refuse" in the relevant statutes. They are of no assistance whatsoever, and are not applicable in the consideration of our present statutory provision. 20 The overriding principle in the interpretation of legislation made under powers conferred by statute is that it should be construed in the light of the enabling statute generally, and, in particular, so as to be consistent with its substantive provisions. We were invited to apply the Ejusdem Generis rule and to 25 interpret the general expression "or other waste matter" as comprehending only things of the same kind designated by the preceding particular words. For the ejusdem generis rule to apply, the specific words must constitute a category, class or genus and the general words must not by their nature exclude 30 themselves from the category, class or genus, so that, for example, a superior thing will not be held to be within a class of inferior things. (Maxwell on Interpretation of Statutes, 12th edition, p. 297; Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th edition, volume
- para. 877). 35 This is not strictly a case for applying the rule of ejusdem generis. It is noteworthy that the verb "mean" was not used for the specified materials set out in the definition but the word "includes". "Includes" is only explanatory whereas 57 Μ»lu nu (Λ ). \ erdlciniites and 4nutlicr *. Municipality Nicosia
(1984)ii u Γ is restrictive The specific words, which are explana»i\ . nd not restrictive, are not of one genus or category The Miuiime of tne definition in the Bye-law makes it clear that a n.itio! not specifically lefcrred to in the definition, to fall \ithii' the area of "refuse" must be a matter that is obnoxious 5 io sanitation and health and at the same time waste in the sense n.it tt is disposed by the owner Fvery matter has some value - ιcMiaiblo, small or substantial "Waste" does not mean Willi' 'CSS Haung legard to the findings of the trial Court as to the 10 natiei dumped in the open stoie, we hold theview that they are n lelu^e but old metal materials stored there until sale to lurd pmons for processing The prosecution failed to prove in ingredient of the offence and the appeal succeeds. ^ e ha\c to place on re-oid thai the appellants' act may be 15 «. > I'tollcd by other provisions in the Bye-lawsas thearmoury of Ί I ,w is net exhausted by Bye-laws 71 and 72. Furthermore In. t)M Metals (Dealers) Law was recently amended by Law . " jnd the Divisional Commmder of Police may impose .v n ΙΝ,Ο,ΙΊ Ιοί the amenities of the aHeeled area where they store 20 tnui ISK! ιΚ oi carry on theii trade In \( ν i>' the aforesaid tlm appeal succeeds and the con\ uιion is jiias'ied. Appail cdhiwed Conviction quashed. 58