Over €5 million in traffic fines issued illegally

Serious doubts exist about the legality of the fines issued by the local tribunal in San Gwann since at least 2007, given that the tribunal, which currently hears charges for offences committed in the Central Region, was officially established in 2011.

MaltaToday is reliably informed that the local tribunal in San Gwann has been operating since 2007, yet it was only established in May 2011, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the parliamentary secretary from local councils.

This could possibly mean that the fines paid to the tribunal between 2007 and 2011, which may have run into the millions of euros, were illegal. If it is proven that the fines were issued illegally, they could be challenged and reimbursed.

Local tribunals are regulated by the Commissioners for Justice Act, which states that "sittings shall be held in such place or places designated as Local Tribunals by the Minister".

In reply to MaltaToday's questions, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera's spokesperson said, "Local tribunals are established by the justice ministry through a notice published in the government gazette. The last notice of this kind was notice number 458, published on 18 May 2011."

The spokesperson explained that the San Gwann local tribunal was "established on 18 May 2011" as the tribunal for the Central Region.

"This means that the San Gwann tribunal exists and is functioning according to the provisions in the Commissioners for Justice Act, as shown in the government notice."

Unofficial records show that the tribunal convenes for an average of 350 sittings yearly, with 120 cases heard per sitting. This equals an average 42,000 cases every year; and at €34.95 per case, around €1.46 million in fines would be issued every year. Spread over four years, to cover the period in which the tribunal functioned before the government notice of 2011, the San Gwann tribunal dished out around €5.84 million in fines.

To complicate matters further, the San Gwann tribunal appears under two different regions. A big sign on the office at Triq San Mikiel, San Gwann, reads 'Eastern Region Tribunal', while a smaller sign indicates that the tribunal hears cases for offences committed in the Central Region.

The same contradictory information is shown on the summons received by persons accused of violating the law in the Central Region, which includes Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara, Gzira, Iklin, Lija, Msida, Pieta, San Gwann, Sliema, St Julian's, Sta Venera and Ta' Xbiex.

The summons seems to be irregular, as it summons contraveners to the 'Eastern Local Tribunal', yet such a tribunal is not legislated.

According to the subsidiary legislation on local tribunals (Establishment of Tribunals and Designation of Registry, Registrar and Other Officers) regulations, the tribunal in San Gwann is not legislated and should be located in Sliema.

The subsidiary legislation (291.02) lists nine tribunals, but San Gwann is not included. The nine tribunals, in Valletta, Birkirkara, Fgura, Zejtun, Zurrieq, Qormi, Sliema, St Paul's Bay and Xewkija, reflect the previous local enforcement system, which was divided into nine joint committees.

On 1 September 2011, five regions were created, replacing the nine joint committees. Local enforcement was delegated to the Central Region from the Eastern Joint Committee, meaning that the Central Tribunal should have been constituted through the subsidiary legislation.

To date such legislation has not been published, and therefore the operation of the tribunal is deemed to be irregular.