Parking ticket rumors from Karlsruhe: individual not responsible for infraction

Vehicular movement in the city - Parking ticket rumors from Karlsruhe: individual not responsible for infraction

A phrase from Karlsruhe: If a car commits traffic violations, the owner of the car is not automatically the person responsible. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe upheld this notion and helped a person in Siegburg, near Cologne, who was ordered to pay a 30-euro fine for parking too long in a parking lot.

The individual lost their case in both the District Court Siegburg and the Higher Regional Court Cologne. They sought justice with a constitutional complaint in Karlsruhe, ultimately having their conviction deemed unconstitutional. This was due to a breach of the arbitrariness ban in the German Basic Law. The decision was published this week.

The Offense

A car was parked with a parking permit for a longer period than allowed at a Siegburg parking lot. The parking permit was set for an arrival time of 14:30, but the car was still there at 17:35. The owner of the car did not say who parked the car, and they were still fined.

The court did see a photo of the car, but they didn't gather any additional evidence. There were no efforts made to determine the perpetrator in the contested judgment. Without additional proof, the perpetrator couldn't be assumed to be the owner.

"In parking violations, the principle of the perpetrator applies," said traffic law expert and lawyer Christian Demuth in Düsseldorf. The silence of the accused should not be used against them. Therefore, this decision is a fortification of the principle of the presumption of innocence. However, according to Demuth, the district court judgment is more of an exception than the rule. Typically, cases would be dropped due to the lack of evidence.

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1. Despite the parking violation, the owner of the car in Siegburg, near Cologne, argued that they were not responsible for the prolonged parking in the permit-restricted lot.
2. This parking ticket dispute made its way through the local court system in North Rhine-Westphalia, ultimately reaching the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
3. The fine for the parking ticket in Siegburg was initially upheld in the District Court Siegburg and the Higher Regional Court Cologne.
4. The case gained national attention due to the court's decision that the perpetrator of the parking violation couldn't be assumed to be the car's owner without sufficient evidence.
5. As a result of the breach of the arbitrariness ban in the German Basic Law, the faulty conviction was deemed unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
6. Similar incidents of parking ticket disputes may arise in other cities across Germany, and the principles established in this case could potentially apply to these situations.
7. Traffic violations, such as a parking ticket in Cologne or elsewhere in Germany, should be handled with due process and a focus on evidentiary standards to prevent unfair fines and protect the rights of individuals.

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