Law on Auto-Fixing of Traffic Violations: The Ministry of Internal Affairs defended it in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
The Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court considered citizens' complaints about the constitutionality of the provisions of the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses, which provide for bringing drivers and/or owners of vehicles to administrative responsibility for offenses in the field of road safety, recorded in automatic mode.
The position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the compliance of the contested norms of the legislation of the Constitution of Ukraine in an open plenary session were defended by the Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko, the First Deputy Head of the Department of Patrol Police Oleksiy Biloshitsky and the Director of the Legal Support Department Denis Horbas.
Arguments of defense regarding the constitutionality of clauses of the law:
- the restriction of rights is proportional to the goal that is planned to be achieved: ensuring road safety, protecting the life and health of citizens;
- in the Falk v. Netherlands case, the European Court of Human Rights recognized the legitimate responsibility of the owners of vehicles;
- KUPap establishes not the presumption of guilt of the owner of the vehicle, as indicated by the authors of the complaint, but the presumption of ownership of the vehicle at the time of the commission of the offense by its legal owner (owner). At the same time, this assumption can be refuted. The establishment of presumptions of this kind does not contradict the practice of the ECtHR (judgment in the case of “Salabiaco v. France”);
- automatic detection of offenses: eliminates the corruption component and has proven itself positively in Austria, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden.
According to the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko, as of March 2020, 175 thousand people died on the roads of Ukraine. At the moment, this figure is already approaching 180 thousand. During the years of independence, more than 1.5 million Ukrainians became disabled, received injuries of varying severity. Last year, 3 thousand 454 people died in Ukraine, including 169 children.
“I would like to emphasize that the provisions of the laws adopted by Parliament, which made it possible to record in automatic mode violations of traffic rules, do not violate the basic constitutional rights of applicants to receive qualified legal assistance, the right to appeal in court the decision of administrative bodies on prosecution for administrative offenses and principle of presumption of innocence”, - summed up Anton Gerashchenko
Denis Gorbas, director of the legal support department, said that Ukrainian lawmakers have gone even further than European countries. In addition to being able to appeal, the law provides for mechanisms that allow a person to escape responsibility if the vehicle is unlawfully removed from its possession. It is possible to ensure administrative liability of the person who was actually behind the wheel, a mechanism has been introduced, in the presence of which information about the beneficial owner can be entered.
“I want to say that on the basis of these positions, the arguments of the applicants are not sufficiently convincing, because the norms of the Constitution are not violated in this case. And the legislator, adopting the relevant provisions of the legislation, adhered to the balance and the principle of proportionality, which the European Court of Human Rights draws attention to,” said Denis Horbas, summing up the results of his speech.
Deputy Chief of the Patrol Police Department Oleksiy Biloshitsky noted that in 2006 in Ukraine 7 thousand 592 people died as a result of accidents, in 2007, when there were fewer vehicles than today, 9 thousand 574 people were recorded. In 2014, before the appearance of the patrol police, 4 thousand 483 people died. In 2018 - this figure decreased by a thousand, thanks to proper control and response.
The system of automatic fixation during its operation (1 year in Kiev and Kiev region), has proven its high efficiency. In the places where cameras were installed over the past three years, an average of 123 accidents with casualties and fatalities were registered. During the year of operation of the cameras, 43 cases were registered in these places. It is possible to state a decrease in the number of accidents with victims by three times.
As for prevention, on June 1, 2020, 57,000 violations per day were recorded. Now these same cameras record 7-8 thousand, which indicates a reduction in possible negative consequences.
“At the moment, Ukraine has a liberal system of bringing to justice and fixing the fact of offenses against certain persons. The responsibility of the owner is in accordance with the principle of proportionality and what is necessary for our society today” - said Oleksiy Beloshitsky.
Please note that the court decision will be published in accordance with the law on the official portal of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
