The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Amendment Bill is headed to the National Assembly, after the Portfolio Committee on Transport has voted and adopted the Bill, with the exception of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Committee Member Mr Chris Humsinger of the DA pointed out that some aspects of the bill may render it unconstitutional. These include: not providing transgressors with an opportunity to state his/her case during the 94-day notice period; the timing of the appeal process; and elevating the tribunal to a status that may be conceived as being above the courts.
“These are the issues we have raised during the deliberations at the committee. The DA has concerns around the constitutionality of the amendments as contained in the bill in its current form,” Mr Humsinger said.
A representative from the State Law Advisor, Advocate Mongameli Kweta, said the bill will pass the constitutional test. “These constitutional issues were raised during the [drafting] process. The clauses are crafted in such a way that a person is served with courtesy letters, there will be written notices, then the person can go appeal to the tribunal. The bill provides that a person may appeal or go to a magistrate court, Adv Kweta said.
“The right is there, it is just that one has to exhaust all process before going to court. The bill is constitutional,” he said.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, said the bill will now go to the National Assembly.
Sibongile Maputi
12 February 2019
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