The municipal council has no right to impose penalties for unpaid parking – said WSA in Wrocław. The case afraid a resolution introducing the alleged additional fee for parking without a ticket. Can the municipality treat this surcharge as a sanction? We explain why the court found this to be an abuse of the law.
The municipality wanted to punish drivers – the voivode and the court refused
The municipal council introduced a resolution regulating the charges for the usage of public parking. In addition to standard halt rates, there is simply a evidence of ‘additional charge’ for parking without paying a fee. Voivoda considered this a violation of the law as the municipality has no competence to impose fines.
The municipality defended its decision, citing Municipal Economy Act, claiming that if he can set parking charges, he can besides introduce an additional surcharge for failing to pay them. Provincial Administrative Court in Wroclaw He firmly rejected that position.
Why is the "additional charge" actually a punishment?
The WSA explained that:
- Parking fee is the remuneration for the service, i.e. for the anticipation of parking.
- ‘Additional charge’ for deficiency of a ticket is not a compensation for any service, but administrative sanctionThat's punishment.
The Court stressed that Punishment is the competence of the legislator, not the self-government. The municipality may not itself impose repressive charges if there is no explicit authorisation in the Act. In this case Municipal Economy Act only allows for the setting of charges for the usage of public facilities, not for imposing penalties for not paying them.
Key conclusions of the WSA judgment
- The municipality must not introduce ‘additional charges’ for the deficiency of a parking ticket, due to the fact that they are a punishment alternatively than a service fee.
- Establishing financial penalties requires explicit statutory authorisationwhich in this case was missing.
- Local governments cannot presuppose their competence – if the bill does not give them the right to impose penalties, they cannot do so.
Summary: Drivers can remainder with relief
The conviction of the WSA in Wrocław constitutes an crucial voice in the discussion of the limits of the competences of local governments. Municipalities must not replace administrative penalties with ‘additional charges’if they have no legal basis. This is good news for drivers who were afraid of unjustified subsidies.
Legal basis: judgement of the WSA in Wrocław of 21 January 2013, ref. act III SA/Wr 563/12
In case of doubt, it is worth consulting a lawyer to avoid unnecessary disputes.The information on the website is simply a description of the legal position at the date of publication and is not a legal advice on an individual case. The legal position of publication may change. The law firm is not liable for utilizing an alert to solve legal problems.
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The municipality is not entitled to impose additional penalties for unpaid parking in the SPP
