Despite being prohibited from doing so, four rail companies—Northern Rail, Greater Anglia, and others—used the single justice procedure (SJP) to file lawsuits against thousands of passengers.
Judge Paul Goldspring declared in a decision at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that “they should never have been brought through”.
He went on, “Parliament did not envisage these offences being prosecuted” under the system.
June’s ruling by the judge that the prosecutions were “probably unlawful” was echoed by train companies.
Firms were able to expedite prosecutions and pursue them behind closed doors by using the SJP. In 2015, the process for small offenses in magistrate courts was established.
Judge Goldspring estimated that there have been “over 74,000” SJP prosecutions, however the precise number is unknown.
Thus far in Thursday’s session, only six test cases have been overturned.
The Department for Transport, the Courts and Tribunals Service, and rail companies will identify and get in touch with the remaining tens of thousands.
The judge stated that a list of people impacted by the false prosecutions is to be created by the end of September.
The judge further stated that those individuals will be included in a mass hearing by the end of October, and that they will start receiving their refunds in November.
