The Pretoria High Court has just declared the AARTO Amendment Act, on which the planned penal system for traffic offenses is based, unconstitutional and invalid.
The court delivered its ruling on the constitutionality of the AARTO Act on Thursday morning, 13 January. This follows after the organization against tax abuse, OUTA approached the court over the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offenses Act, or AARTO. OUTA disputed the constitutional validity of the law and asked the court in October 2021 to declare both the main act and the amendment act unconstitutional.
Judge Annali Basson ruled in favor of OUTA and agreed with their position. According to OUTA's Wayne Duvenhage: "We have been trying for several years now to enter into discussions with the authorities and make sure that the various amendments and amendments are constitutional, practical and workable, but they have ignored our input and not significantly with the civil society, which left us no choice but to go to court and let it stop in its tracks. We are very pleased with the judge's ruling. It now sends the government back to the drawing board about what has become quite a mess."
The court ordered the Minister of Transport and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) to pay OUTA's costs. Advocate Stefanie Fick, who represented OUTA in court, said that this decision means that the system is on ice for the time being. The Minister of Transport will now be obliged to enter into discussions with OUTA. This result once again proves the importance of civic and community organizations such as MBF to look after the rights of our citizens.
#AARTO #OUTA #RTIA #StefanieFick #AnnaliBasson #WayneDuvenhage #MBF #MAFUBEBUSINESSFORUM #MAFUBE #SOUTHAFRICA
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