Construction and the Building Act
A client was facing two charges under Section 46 of the Building Act, which stipulates that:
No person may act as a building contractor, hold himself out to be such or give cause to believe that he is a building contractor, unless he holds a current licence for that purpose.
No contractor may use, for the carrying out of construction work, the services of another contractor who does not hold a licence for that purpose.
The constitutive elements of the offence are:
1- Carrying out construction work;
2- On a construction site;
3- Of a building used to house people;
4- Intended for others and for their own benefit;
5- While they don’t hold a contractor’s licence.
Assessing the contract client’s credibility
During the trial, the contract client came to testify. During cross-examination, we highlighted a motive for the witness not to tell the truth. The evidence concerning the moment when the offence had been committed wasn’t clear. Given the absence of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, the judge acquitted our client.