Court: computers are not allowed to issue fines

The court in Leeuwarden has quashed a fine that was issued completely automatically. The person who was fined for not insuring his car does not have to pay it because no ‘authorized official’ was involved.

The recipient of the fine had not insured his car. This came to light during a check of the RDW database. The fine stated as code ‘404040’; according to the court, that code is used within the judiciary for automated processes.

Because the code 404040 has been entered, it is not possible to check whether a person was involved in the imposition of the fine. “According to the Administrative Law Enforcement Traffic Regulations Act, only authorized officials may impose an administrative sanction in register checks,” said the court.

Earlier it appeared that the system of the CJIB, which imposes traffic fines, is not watertight, but nevertheless imposes automatic fines. The CJIB’s computer system even turned out to have automatically ordered the kidnapping of someone in a similar case, which also involved an uninsured car, ICT lawyer Arnoud Engelfriet wrote in September. At the same time, the system would also state that the person who received the fine did not have a car at all.