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Proceedings began Wednesday before the Supreme Constitutional Court regarding the President's referral of a law passed by Parliament concerning the use of timers in the photo-enforcement system.
The Court granted Parliament’s legal advisor two weeks to file an objection to Referral No. 1/25, which pertains to the 2025 amendment of the Motor Offenses Law. The Attorney General’s Office was given ten additional days to present its arguments. The legal advisor is scheduled to present her case in three weeks.
The law, passed by the House of Representatives on March 13, mandates the installation of countdown timers at intersections monitored by the photo-enforcement system to ensure compliance with traffic lights. If the timers are not installed within six months, enforcement of current traffic light violation provisions would be suspended.
In early April, Parliament rejected the President’s referral of the law. The President argued that the law could not be implemented due to technical issues and would disrupt the ongoing photo-enforcement system contract. Additionally, the law could burden the Republic's budget and interfere with the separation of powers.
A key concern in the referral was the planned upgrade of traffic lights across Cyprus to "smart" systems, which would adjust signal timing based on traffic volume. This change would render fixed-duration timers incompatible with the new, dynamic system.
