Driving licence suspension, as it is commonly referred to in practice, is generally a consequence of the imposition of a compulsory administrative measure (temporary withdrawal of a driving licence) and/or an administrative penalty (disqualification from driving) provided for under the Road Traffic Act.
This article focuses on cases in which a driving licence is suspended as a result of failure to re-register a vehicle with the Traffic Police or due to driving a vehicle without mandatory „Civil Liability” insurance.
Vehicle registration following acquisition. Obtaining “civil liability” insurance. What does the law provide?
The Road Traffic Act sets out a number of requirements for vehicle owners and drivers, one of the most important being that every motor vehicle operated within the country must be duly registered.
In addition, every vehicle must have mandatory “Civil Liability” insurance, while upon acquiring a vehicle, the new owner is required to register it with the Traffic Police within two months of its acquisition. What these requirements have in common is, above all, the seriousness of the consequences of failing to comply with them.
In the event of failure to comply with any of these requirements, the vehicle’s registration may be automatically terminated by the competent authorities, by making an entry in the National Register of Road Vehicles.
This can often result in a situation where a driver is operating their vehicle without knowing that its registration has been terminated. As a result, during a roadside inspection, the driver may be found to have committed the offence of driving a vehicle that is not duly registered, the consequences of which are discussed below.
Administrative penalties and compulsory administrative measures. What is the difference?
An administrative penalty is imposed by a penal decree and has a sanctioning function – its purpose is to hold the offender accountable for an administrative offence that has already been committed. By contrast, a compulsory administrative measure has a preventive nature and is applied with the aim of preventing or stopping an offence that has not yet been established by a final and binding act.
The two proceedings are independent and may be initiated simultaneously in respect of the same act, provided that the statutory requirements are met. To illustrate this as clearly as possible, let us consider the following example:
A driver is operating a vehicle that they purchased six months earlier but have still not registered with the Traffic Police. While driving, the vehicle is stopped by police officers who, upon checking the system, establish that the vehicle’s registration has been terminated. This was presumably done automatically four months earlier, when the two-month period for re-registering the vehicle following its acquisition expired.
Following the inspection, the competent authorities draw up an administrative offence report, which establishes the relevant facts and records that the driver was operating a vehicle that was not duly registered.
The administrative offence report does not impose a penalty. Rather, it initiates the administrative penalty proceedings and serves as the basis for the subsequent issuance of a penal decree, which may impose the administrative penalty provided for by law – a fine and disqualification from driving for a period of six months.
The penal decree may be appealed before the district court, and the district court’s decision may in turn be appealed before the administrative court. Until the penal decree becomes final, the administrative penalty imposed by it is not enforceable.
Alongside the administrative penalty proceedings, where the statutory requirements are met, the law empowers the competent authorities to impose a compulsory administrative measure – the temporary withdrawal of the driving licence. This measure may be imposed as early as when the administrative offence report is drawn up and is immediately enforceable.
The compulsory administrative measure is imposed by an order – an act separate from the two documents mentioned above, which may be challenged independently. Unlike an appeal against a penal decree, an appeal against the order imposing the compulsory administrative measure does not suspend the enforcement of the measure.
What are the most common errors in imposing an administrative penalty and/or a compulsory administrative measure?
As mentioned above, the penal decree and the order imposing the compulsory administrative measure may be appealed. The grounds for challenging them may vary and include procedural errors, insufficient reasoning, incorrect application of the law, and others.
One of the grounds most commonly leading to the annulment of an act imposing a driving licence suspension due to the vehicle’s registration having been terminated is the failure to notify the owner of the termination of the vehicle’s registration. The Road Traffic Act does not expressly require the owner to be notified of the termination of the registration, but this requirement follows from the general principles governing administrative proceedings. Where the person has not been notified that the vehicle’s registration has been terminated, including when and on what grounds the termination took place, it cannot be established that the offence was committed with fault.
Since fault is a mandatory prerequisite for establishing administrative liability and imposing a compulsory administrative measure, the absence of fault results in the annulment of the penal decree and the order imposing the compulsory administrative measure.
If you find yourself in a situation where your driving licence or your right to drive has been suspended due to the vehicle’s registration being terminated, it is advisable to seek legal assistance to ensure that your interests are fully protected. Dilyan Kolev, Attorney-at-law can provide comprehensive assistance with appealing a penal decree and/or an order imposing a compulsory administrative measure, taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the particular case.