A barrage of criticism from MPs has been directed at the Police for "threatening citizens" with court referrals if they fail to pay fines from the photo-enforcement system by the end of March. These fines must be located by citizens on a website, as they have not been officially delivered.
Members of the parliamentary legal committee raised objections, highlighting legal gaps in the online platform's operation. They urged the Republic's Legal Service to re-examine the matter, considering recommendations from the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection.
Damianou: No legal basis
MP Aristos Damianou, representing AKEL, declared that the platform's operation is illegal. "A platform was created without any legal foundation or legislative framework, where citizens are required to input their details to ascertain if they have been issued citations for minor infractions," he stated. He described the situation as a "global prototype," asserting that the Ministry of Justice, Legal Service, and Cyprus Police had adopted a "sophistry, a Solomonic solution," lacking any provision in the relevant legislation.
Dimitriou raises questions
DISY's Nikos Tornaritis suggested that the platform's operation may violate aspects of data protection law, while Dimitris Dimitriou questioned whether the company responsible for the photo-enforcement system had proven two unsuccessful attempts to deliver notifications to offenders before utilizing the platform.
"Not just through threats"
DIKO MP Panikos Leonidou stated after the committee session that the platform's operation "violates fundamental constitutional rights." He added that he raised the issue to emphasize legislative gaps. "If our goal is not solely to achieve results through threats, then we can improve the situation," he explained.
Evripidou: Fully legal
On behalf of the Police, Charis Evripidou stated that the process was conducted following instructions and approval from the Legal Service. "If there are disagreements, individuals refusing to pay can resolve them in court by claiming there's no legal basis. From our perspective, since the Legal Service advised us to proceed, we consider it fully legal," he said.
