|
HOW LEGAL IS YOUR COUNCILS PARKING SCHEME?
Some background:
Constitutional Confrontation drawing closer...Common Law Repealed Thanks to Anoneumouse at Anglo Saxon Chronicles for this:
THE COMMON LAW REPEALED
"However in my view the Act (Bill of Rights 1689) cannot be read literally because to do so would ignore the obvious changes between the legal system in 1689 and the present day"
"The intention of the Act was to provide the citizen with certain rights and to prevent the imposition of any financial penalty without there being a right of challenge, which certainly in areas of criminal law is one purpose of the more modern European Convention on Human Rights".
These are the words of Stephen J. Knap Parking Adjudicator
Well Mr Knap, "Non in legendo sed in intelligendo leges consistunt".The laws consist not in being read, but in being understood Section 11 of the Human Rights Act 1998
A person's reliance on a Convention right does not restrict-
(a) any other right or freedom conferred on him by or under any law having effect in any part of the United Kingdom; The Bill of Rights still has effect, it has not been repealed.
The National Parking Adjudication Service is not a court of law.
By assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws, and the execution of laws, without consent of parliament is also illegal under the Bill of Rights.
One only has to apply the principle of Pepper v Hart [1993] 1 All ER 42
Using the principle of Pepper v. Hart, which allows us to refer to what was said in Parliament to determine what the intention of Parliament was, we can determine what the original contract between crown and people is;
"The Rights of the people had been confirmed by early Kings both before and after the Norman line began.
Accordingly, the people have always had the same title to their liberties and properties that England's Kings have unto their Crowns. The several Charters of the people's rights, most particularly Magna Carta, were not grants from the King, but recognition's by the King of rights that have been reserved or that appertained unto us by common law and immemorial custom."
(Sir Robert Howard, a member of the Committee's which drafted the Bill of Rights).
Confirmatio Cartarum [25 Edw. I][29]
"No Freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land."
Note: in the 1354 version, "by the law of the land" was changed to "by due process of law."
We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.
The National Parking Adjudication Service in the UK is not a court of Law within the meaning of Article 234 EC, therefore its decision will be in contravention of Article 6 of The European Convention on Human Rights.
It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right.
The Claim of Rights 1628 amplified and confirmed by the Declaration and Bill of Rights of 1688/9 ensures that no law may be suspended or dispensed with unless with consent of Parliament. (given in judgement by Lord Bingham, House of Lords: Diane Pretty, Motor Neurone disease case, Nov. 2001) Which in turn means that suspension or dispensing of law can only be made by the express agreement of Parliament.
In other words by Statute, ensuring ‘The Rule Of Law’ as the only Constitutional means of governance.
(Hansard, 21 July 1993 column 352), the Speaker of the House of Commons issued a reminder to the courts:
'There has of course been no amendment to the Bill of Rights…the house is entitled to expect that the Bill of Rights will be fully respected by all those appearing before the courts.'
DRIVEN TO COMPLAIN
Parking fines pay appeal panel's costs by Chloe Griffiths, The Journal 14th September 2005 A National appeals tribunal which rules on parking disputes between motorists and councils should be disbanded, a North-East campaigner says.
Political crusader Neil Herron believes the body which assesses parking fine appeals cannot be truly independent - because it is funded by parking fines.
The National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) was set up in 1999 to replace the courts and independently adjudicate on parking ticket appeals.
But it has been revealed that the NPAS receives 60p from every parking ticket that councils issue.
Mr Herron says that the service is completely funded by local authorities from the tickets they issue - and therefore wholly dependent upon them. Mr Herron, of Sunderland, says the service cannot claim to be either independent or impartial.
Sunderland was one of about 80 local authorities which signed up to the 'decriminalised' scheme.
Mr Herron said: "NPAS is neither independent, nor a court of law, but has misled the public into believing this is the case.
The motorist can no longer feel as though he can be treated in a fair and impartial manner."
He has called for an end to the system, which he says offers "no independence, no scrutiny and no recourse for motorists."
An NPAS spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that the Road Traffic Act 1991 required councils to fund parking adjudication at a cost of 60p per fine.
But she said this lifted the burden from the taxpayer and the people on the tribunals remained impartial.
She said: "Appeals are decided by adjudicators who are lawyers, appointed through the normal judicial appointment process. Every adjudicator considers and decides each case on its own merits."
She said 67% of appeals were successful.
Mr Herron said the situation was further complicated within Sunderland because 700 tickets had been issued unlawfully by the council to people parking on a taxi rank since 2003.
Sunderland City Council is refunding £21,000 in parking fines.
Mr Herron is asking if cheated motorists will lose their 60p given to NPAS from these illegal tickets.
Yesterday the council declined to comment, saying the funding arrangement was decided by government.
NO JUSTICE IN PARKING 'COURT' Christopher Booker's notebook Sunday Telegraph (Filed: 11/09/2005)
Neil Herron is the campaigner who has shown that councils are illegally raising millions of pounds from motorists by failing to follow the correct procedures in setting up "decriminalised" parking regimes under the 1991 Road Traffic Act.
When his own council, Sunderland, grudgingly admitted that it had continued to impose fines even after being formally told these were illegal, Mr Herron sought action.
Who better to ensure that the law was being observed, he thought, than the National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS). But when he telephoned them he was puzzled to find that he was getting nowhere (not least when, thanks to an NPAS official failing to close off his mobile phone, Mr Herron overheard himself being described as "mad" - for which he later received an apology).
Mr Herron therefore investigated NPAS further.
Although it presents itself as a wholly "independent" body, it turns out to be financed by 60p on every parking ticket issued by councils operating "decriminalised" regimes.
On its website, the NPAS sternly instructs the public to tell the truth because it is a "court of law". When challenged as to why it seems to act as judge and jury in its own interest, however, it cheerfully insists that it is "not a court of law" after all.
Thus, when local authorities are found to be in breach of the law on parking penalties, the public's only recourse is to a "court of law" which is not a court of law; which represents the very people who are breaking the law in the first place; and which is funded by money some of which itself has been raised illegally.
NATIONAL PARKING ADJUDICATOR MISLEADS THE PUBLIC
Press Release from NEARA neara@btconnect.com 12th September 2005
“Independent' National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) Misleads the Motoring Public”
The British motoring public is being deceived by the body which has supposedly been set up to adjudicate on decriminalised parking tickets.
Many Local Authorities have signed up to the 'decriminalised' scheme which is seen as a useful revenue raiser but is nothing more than a 'back-door' tax on the motorist.
The 'independent' adjudication body, NPAS, has been forced to reveal that it get paid 60p from each ticket issued by the participating Local Authority, yet calls to their helpline reveal that they claim to be independent of both parties involved in the dispute (Motorist vs Local Authority).
They receive no other monies from any other source and are entirely dependent for their existence on tickets being issued and therefore have a beneficial interest in a local authorities parking regime.
Further investigation has revealed that they are further misleading the motoring public by deliberately misrepresenting their legal status.
I have attached a link here to a video clip from the NPAS website.
It begins, "My name is Sian Cole and I am an adjudicator."
Ms Cole then proceeds to make a statement, “This is in fact a Court of Law." NPAS Tribunal Manager, Andrew Barfoot, however, confirms that NPAS are a tribunal and not a Court of Law.
Neil Herron states, “NPAS is neither independent nor a Court of Law but has misled the public into believing that this is the case. The motorist can no longer feel as though he can be treated in a fair and impartial manner. We call for an immediate investigation into this body."
A further complication arises because NPAS have also been funded by Local Authorities that have been unlawfully issuing tickets. Sunderland City Council has admitted that it unlawfully issued over 700 tickets (with more to come), and therefore the sums paid over to NPAS have been made unlawfully.
The deliberate bypassing of the court process for parking offences is growing with more and more local authorities changing from criminalised to decriminalised regimes...not because it is more efficient at maintaining traffic flow but simply as it presents an easy opportunity to raise revenue.
These new 'regimes' are handed over to ruthless private companies with profit as the only incentive with the beleaguered motorist and local businesses the ones who suffer.
Contact:
Neil Herron
0191 565 7143 (office)
07776202045 (mobile)
12 Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NA
www.neilherron.blogspot.com
INFORMATION
NPAS Website: http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk
Further revelations NPAS Call Campaigner 'mad' and Sunderland Council may have to Repay £2m in parking fines.
Further questions for NPAS:
http://neilherron.blogspot.com/2005/09/furtherquestions-as-national-parking.html
|
