Omenma (Conditional discharge – not a conviction of an offence)

14.05.2014

Citation

[2014] UKUT 314 (IAC)

The Appellant had pleaded guilty to shoplifting, for which she received a conditional discharge. When subsequently applying for leave to remain, she answered ‘no’ when asked whether she had ‘been convicted of any criminal offence’. Her application was refused on the basis that this was a false representation.

In the First-tier Tribunal, the argument had focused on whether the Appellant was subjectively dishonest. Deborah was instructed for the first time in the Upper Tribunal and identified that, under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, a person receiving a conditional discharge is deemed not to have a conviction for any purpose other than the criminal proceedings in question. Accordingly, the Appellant had told the truth in her application and should not have been refused for false representations. The appeal was allowed.

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