Appeals against Traffic Police Reports and Penalty Decrees

If the Traffic Police stop you and draw up a report establishing an administrative offence, you have several options for objecting to the findings in the report if you do not admit fault.

When the report is drawn up, the driver may record their objections in the document itself or state that they have none. The latter does not prevent a subsequent challenge to the lawfulness of the report. If you have objections that you wish to raise, you may do so immediately after the report is drawn up or within three working days thereafter. The latter is the more prudent option because, within that period, you can consult a lawyer who can compare the alleged violation with the facts and circumstances you describe and prepare an objection.

After the expiry of that period, whether or not an objection has been filed, a penalty decree must be issued. It is issued by the administrative penal authority and must contain the particulars precisely prescribed by law. The absence of any of them results in the penalty being set aside because the decree is unlawful. The decree must be appealed before the District Court for the place where the violation was committed within seven days of its service. Under the Administrative Violations and Sanctions Act, the appeal is lodged through the penal authority that issued the decree; that is, the appeal must be addressed to the competent District Court through the authority that issued the decree. From that point onwards, the proceedings develop like any other court case: a hearing is scheduled and evidence is gathered at the court hearing. Witnesses may be called and examined to establish whether the alleged violation was actually committed or whether it was correctly recorded in the administrative offence report on the basis of which the decree imposing the penalty was issued. If the violation was committed, an attempt may at least be made to persuade the court that the imposed penalty is excessive and does not correspond to the seriousness of the violation. The taking of evidence and the conduct of a court case generally require command and knowledge of judicial procedure. Therefore, if you wish to appeal an issued penalty decree, we advise you to use legal assistance for preparing the objection and for legal representation.