The East Brabant court would like to be able to provide tailor-made solutions in cases involving imposed parking fines. That is not possible now, but according to the judges this is contrary to a motion previously adopted by the House of Representatives. The court in Den Bosch has therefore asked the government to look at the current legislation on this matter.
The reason is a case from 2022 in which a man in Den Bosch was given a parking fine. The man visited his father, but his father made a mistake when registering via the parking app. They didn’t realize that in time. He therefore received a parking fine of seventy euros.
The man objected because they thought they had paid. When the municipality rejected that objection, the man went to court. He ruled that the tax officer was indeed allowed to impose the fine.
Questions about legal rule
The court found this case to be a reason to ask so-called preliminary questions to the Supreme Court. This means that the court wants an explanation of a legal rule. The court in Den Bosch wanted to know whether it had the authority to provide customized solutions. For example, in the case of the man from Den Bosch, the judge wanted the option to reduce the amount of the fine.
The Supreme Court’s answer shows that the court did not have the opportunity to do this. Due to current legislation, it is not possible to provide customized solutions when it comes to parking fines.
Motion in the House of Representatives
According to the judges, this is contrary to a motion that was previously passed in the House of Representatives because of the benefits affair. That motion stated that the legislator must always formulate laws in such a way that an executive body has room to provide tailor-made solutions and the judge can offer sufficient legal protection to citizens.
“The legislation on parking taxes raises the question of whether legal protection can be provided,” the East Brabant court indicated.
According to the court, current legislation can also cause people’s confidence in society and the judiciary to decline. “If the court does not apply customization in a specific case – where this is appropriate – this can be seen as an overly rigid attitude on the part of the judge who is therefore too far removed from society.” The court therefore calls on the government to take a closer look at the current legislation.
Detached from reality
In addition, the court wonders whether the legal construction of parking fines is not too disconnected from reality. A parking fine is officially not a fine but an ‘additional parking tax assessment’. Yet society still experiences it as a fine.