A little tip for drivers

If (as happens to many people) you are sent a parking fine more than six months after the date of the alleged infraction, it is unlawful. Don't pay it.

By Alex Deane

Hat tip: a kindly former colleague in the law

Comments

[Rodney Nosnail]

Although you illustrate the story with a notice that has been issued within 6 months of the infringement?

[Paul]

Just to clarify, your link was to regulations dealing with decriminalised parking enforcement, which involves issuing penalty charge notices and not parking fines, so is not relevant. The 6 month deadline for parking fines comes from section 127 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. I'm not sure, but I don't think that the 6 month limit applies to enforcement of penalty charge notices (which involves going to the County Court).

The image you've displayed is of a notice to owner which is different again. While those notices are commonly sent out in connection with a parking fine, the notice must still be completed even if the parking fine is more than 6 months old, as failure to complete the notice is an offence in its own right.

[guy herbert]

Quite, Paul. The distinction is very important.

That's maybe one of the reasons for changing from fines to penalties - which have massively proliferated thoughout the bully state since the early 90s - though the bigger one is that penalties are *much* harder to contest, being only subject to civil standards of proof, and the courts largely excluded by providing for administrative appeals under set by regulation.

Civil penalties used as arbitrary discipline ought to be a concern of any broad civil liberties organisation. They are deliberately constructed to evade the provisions of the Bill of Rights and of Article 6 of the ECHR forbidding punishment without trial.

(The Human Rights Act may paradioxically have contributed to their cancerous growth by making compliance with ECHR, hence dodging Article 6, a direct consideration for officials drafting legislation.)

[Alex Deane]

I illustrated the piece with the nearest thing I could find... :)