Get to know yourself: the driver was held accountable for the "double"
Establishing the identity of the offender is a fundamental factor for bringing the perpetrator to justice. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which sent for a new hearing a case against a driver who was deprived of his license as a result of the presentation of fake rights by the true culprit of the accident. The courts are obliged to make sure that the traffic violation was committed by the person whose data appears in the protocol, and the police must identify the driver before processing administrative materials, lawyers and experts say. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
For that guy...
In January 2023, traffic police near Moscow suspected that the driver was Ifanov (last name changed. — Izvestia) is driving under the influence of alcohol and offered to undergo a medical examination. The motorist refused this offer. Based on the presented driver's license, which included the surname Ifanov, the police drew up a protocol under Part 1 of Article 12.26 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Failure by the driver of the vehicle to undergo a medical examination for intoxication"). As a result, the magistrate's court found the motorist guilty, deprived him of his rights for 1.5 years and fined him 30 thousand rubles.
Ifanov disagreed with this decision and appealed it to the Klin City Court of the Moscow Region, and then to the First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction. During the court sessions, the motorist claimed that he was not involved in the commission of the offense of which he is accused, because at the time of the offense he was in another region and did not drive the Vortex Tingo car indicated in the administrative documents. He also claimed that another person had committed the offence, presumably citizen Kozhukhov (surname changed. — Izvestia), who presented a fake driver's license, which included Ifanov's details.
As follows from the case file, the driver's license, on the basis of which the protocol was drawn up, was issued in February 2013 by the Nizhny Novgorod region traffic police department with the code 5201. At the same time, the department code 5203 is indicated in the record card for transactions with a driver's license, as well as the driver's license provided by Ifanov.
In addition, Kozhukhov's wife confirmed that on the day when the offense was committed, her husband traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow in a Vortex Tingo car. She also identified her husband on the video of the traffic police talking to the driver.
However, despite all these circumstances, both the Klin City and the First Cassation Courts upheld the decision of the Justice of the Peace. Therefore, Ifanov filed a complaint with the Supreme Court (Supreme Court of the Russian Federation).
Stand up, the trial is underway
After reviewing the case file, the Supreme Court found that significant violations had been committed by the lower authorities. In particular, when verifying Ifanov's arguments, the witnesses indicated in the protocol were not interviewed, and the traffic police inspectors who drew up the protocol were not questioned. As a result, the courts did not take measures to establish the identity of the offender, the Supreme Court noted.
"The issue of establishing the identity of the offender is of fundamental importance for a comprehensive, complete and objective examination of the case and timely bringing the perpetrator to administrative responsibility. Establishing guilt involves proving not only the guilt of the subject, but also his direct involvement in the commission of an unlawful act," the Supreme Court said in a ruling.
As a result, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided to partially satisfy the driver's complaint, reverse the decisions of the lower courts and send the case for a new hearing to the Klin City Court of the Moscow region.
They didn't check it and believed it
Judging by the current practice, it is highly likely that the Klin City Court will reverse its own decision and terminate the proceedings, said Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement. In his opinion, everything happened because the traffic police did not check the data indicated in the driver's license presented to them.
— This did not allow us to correctly identify the violator and led to the fact that a motorist who was not involved in this offense was brought to justice. He was punished for his "double," the lawyer noted.
At the same time, it will no longer be possible to punish the real offender, who refused to undergo a medical examination, Sergei Radko believes.
— Firstly, there is no factual information about him in the case file. And secondly, the statutory deadline for bringing to administrative responsibility has already expired," the lawyer said.
The mistake made by the traffic police was the first link in a chain of events that eventually allowed the real violator to escape responsibility, according to auto expert Igor Morzharetto. The courts could have fixed it, but they did not, he stressed.
— It is difficult to say why the world, city and cassation courts did not accept the driver's arguments. Perhaps this is due to their heavy workload. In addition, the established practice could have worked, according to which the courts very often have no reason to distrust the words and data provided by police officers," the expert told Izvestia.
Valery Soldunov, a member of the Public Chamber and chairman of the All-Russian Society of Motorists, is convinced that the situation in which neither traffic police officers nor the courts have been able to identify the driver in the context of the active digitalization of all processes is unacceptable.
— The police were required to verify the identity of the driver, whom they suspect of committing an offense. And the courts, in turn, check and give an appropriate assessment to the statements and arguments of the motorist. In this case, neither one nor the other was done," he noted.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
