Administrative Liability Cannot Be Imposed Solely Based on the Traffic Police Officer’s Conviction for Not Fastening the Seatbelt
- 2022-07-28
The claimant was imposed a fine of 10,000 AMD, as well as an additional penalty of 1 penalty point, by a decision of the "Traffic Police" service of the Republic of Armenia's Police under Article 123.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
According to the decision, the claimant was driving a vehicle without fastening the seatbelt, despite providing an explanation that they were traveling at a speed of only 20 km/h and were wearing the seatbelt.
Upon examining the facts and evidence in the case, the court concluded that the administrative authority did not provide any substantiation regarding the fact that the claimant was driving without fastening the seatbelt. In this case, the court found that the administrative authority was obligated to confirm the existence or absence of the administrative offense during the administrative proceedings, as well as to determine the claimant's responsibility for committing it.
Moreover, the administrative authority conducted the proceedings inadequately, particularly failing to carry out the mandatory and necessary administrative actions for revealing and evaluating the factual circumstances of the case, which resulted in an unjustified administrative act.
The court also deemed it important to note that the only evidence obtained and assessed during the administrative proceedings—the protocol from the "Traffic Police" service of the Republic of Armenia—did not contain any information regarding the use of technical means (such as a camera) by the traffic police officer at the time of the violation, which would have allowed the administrative body to verify the presence or absence of the administrative offense.
Considering all of the above, the court concluded that the administrative act was adopted in violation of the law, and therefore declared it invalid.
Note:
The decision of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia in case No. VD/8798/05/20 has not been appealed and has entered into legal force.