The Constitutional Court on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the application of the controversial Administrative Law on Road Traffic Offenses (ARTO) to become law on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court was initially expected to uphold the Pretoria High Court’s January 2022 decision, which ruled that Artu was unconstitutional and invalid, and should be overturned in its entirety.
The request for confirmation of the judgment issued in January 2022 was submitted by A civilian group The organization Retreat from Tax Abuse (OTA), which argued the legislation was flawed in several respects, was concerned about making money and violating the rights of drivers and vehicle owners.
The organization also argued that the law interfered with the functions of local and regional governments as defined in the constitution, and prevented local and regional governments from regulating their own affairs, an argument with which Concourt disagreed.
The Minister for Transport, the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Roads Infringement Authority (RTIA) and the Court of Appeal were the defendants in the case.
In a unanimous ruling drawn up by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, the Court ruled in favor of the Minister for Transport that Arto was, in fact, legal and should remain in force, overturning the Pretoria High Court ruling.
“This court thus refused to confirm the High Court’s invalidation order, upheld the Minister’s appeal and set aside the High Court’s order and replaced it with an order denying Ota’s application,” said Chief Justice Zondo.
Read more at The Daily Maverick: The carnage on the roads in South Africa is also a human rights issue
more than 12,500 people have lost their lives on the roads in South Africa in 2021. The country’s death rate of 26 deaths per 100,000 is among the highest in the world and contrasts sharply with that of about Five deaths per 100,000 for European Union countries.
Work day he have mentioned The government views Arto as a means of punishing repeat offenders with a demerit points system. Drivers who accumulate more than 15 points will eventually have their driver’s license suspended or revoked. In addition, Aarto will legalize the submission of fines via email.
Constitutional, but still impractical
Responding to the ruling, OTA’s executive director, advocate Stephanie Vick, said the organization believes the legislation is impractical and will not effectively address the epidemic of road fatalities and injuries.
“We are disappointed with ConCourt’s decision, but we stand by the Supreme Court’s ruling. Ohta believes that measures are urgently needed to improve road safety and reduce fatalities. However, we do not think that Artaud’s Laws will achieve this; It is practically not possible. South Africa needs effective processes that are enabled through a fair judiciary that is in accordance with the Constitution,” said Vick.
The organization believes that the legislation is likely to lead to troublesome and complex issues for most motorists and car owners and will not enhance road safety.
Currently, traffic violations are treated as criminal offences, but with the entry into force of Arto, most violations will be decriminalized and dealt with through an administrative, rather than criminal, process.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga welcomed Concourt’s ruling, which she said underlined the government’s view that Artoo was a necessary law to help stop carnage on South Australian roads.
Chikunga said the legislation would help promote interventions such as classifying traffic police as a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job, along with regulating driving schools and introducing NQF Level 6 training for traffic law enforcement officers.
Move quickly
“The implementation of this law across the country has been pending for 25 years, with pilots in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. Having this ruling paved the way for the implementation of Artu, we will move quickly to start implementing it across the country without delay.
“In the coming days, we will ensure that the Anti-Road Traffic Violation Agency mobilizes the necessary capacity and move forward with plans to roll it out in all municipalities in the country,” Chikunga said.
She said the ministry is ready to implement the legislation and finalize recommendations to President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint the Court of Appeal and announce the implementation of the Artaud Act and the Artaud Amendment Act.
“We will move equally quickly with the implementation of the negative points system, an important cornerstone of Artaud’s Law that aims to guide drivers’ behavior on our roads.”
Administrative indiscipline
However, Ohta says the challenges Artoo faces are largely due to weak enforcement, a lack of administrative discipline when it comes to managing traffic violations and problems with managing vehicle and driver licensing.
“Merely legislating a policy does not make it logical or workable. Governments often suffer from the misconception that if laws and regulations exist, people will simply comply with them. Irrational and/or impractical laws and a lack of transparency set back society, making Systems are ungovernable.
“The sad truth is that government begins to suffer from a crisis of legitimacy when it cannot exercise its power over the people by effectively applying its legislation and policies,” Vick said. DM
