Driver’s license in exchange for a summons: New rules are already in the Parliament
6 May 18:05
The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on a new procedure for depriving drivers of their driving privileges and withdrawing driving licenses from persons temporarily restricted in this right, in particular, by the claims of the Military Criminal Court. In other words, men liable for military service who have been temporarily restricted from driving by a court under a claim filed by the Military Criminal Court will be able to have their driving licenses revoked. Kommersant found out how this will happen in practice.
The version of draft law No. 8082 finalized by the committee stipulates that in case of deprivation of the right to drive vehicles or temporary restriction of such a right, the driver’s license shall be seized by the National Police or handed over to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Ministry of Defense has repeatedly warned that driver’s licenses will be confiscated from violators of military registration as a measure of influence. A new provision of the Code of Administrative Procedure (Article 283-2) states that if a citizen of Ukraine fails to fulfill the requirements of the MCC to perform his or her duties within the time limits established by the law on mobilization, the MCC shall file a lawsuit with the court to impose a temporary restriction on the right to drive vehicles. And now it remains only to regulate by law how exactly this should happen.
It is proposed to supplement the Law “On Road Traffic” with new Articles 15-1 to 15-6, which, in particular, will separately regulate the issues of termination (suspension) of the right to drive vehicles and invalidation of a driver’s license. And not only in the case of claims from the TCC.
The right to drive vehicles is proposed to be suspended in the following cases:
- establishing the fact that a driver’s license was issued on the basis of fictitious or forged documents, or with violations during theoretical or practical exams;
- if it is established that there were violations of the law when confirming the absence of medical contraindications to driving, on the basis of which the driver’s license was issued.
Information about the termination of the right to drive a vehicle and the need to surrender the driver’s license within 15 business days is sent to the person by registered mail to the address indicated in the Unified State Register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Unified State Demographic Register.
If a driver’s license is found to be invalid according to the Unified State Register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police shall withdraw it and send it to the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A license that has been suspended due to a temporary restriction on the right to drive a vehicle is considered valid from the day after the state enforcement officer issues a resolution to lift such a restriction or completes the relevant enforcement proceedings.
Why the SCC wants to deprive drivers’ licenses
Last year, Ukraine approved a mechanism for punishing violators of the rules of military registration and mobilization. Namely, they plan to deprive drivers’ licenses until the problem is resolved. Otherwise, if the “evader” gets behind the wheel, he will be fined up to UAH 40,000.
Restrictions on the right to drive a vehicle were spelled out in the law on enhanced mobilization, adopted in May, for those who did not appear voluntarily or under summons to the MCC to clarify their data. Representatives of the MCC can go to court and demand the revocation of a driver’s license.
As explained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after a court decision, the police will have to withdraw the license until the requirements of the territorial center for recruitment and social support are met. Only then can the court decision be canceled. However, if a citizen continues to drive and is stopped, he or she will be deprived of his or her license for 3-6 months and fined UAH 20,400. A second offense will result in a fine of UAH 40,800 and deprivation of rights for a period of 5-7 years. In some cases, the car may be confiscated.
They can ban it, but they can’t seize it
Attorney Vadym Volodarsky notes that all this looks good in words, but in practice it is different. If the court decides to restrict the right to drive, it is not clear how to physically seize the document.
“The TCC has the right to temporarily restrict the right to drive the vehicle through the court until the violations are resolved. But how can this be implemented in practice if there is no procedure? Even after a court decision, it can take a long time to wait for a person to come to the police and hand over their license. They don’t go to get it themselves. That’s why many people continue to drive as before, until they accidentally run into the police,” says Vadym Volodarskyi.
There is also the problem that many people do not know about the court or its decision – they often do not live at their place of registration. And even when a case is heard in court, they don’t receive notices because of problems with delivery, especially in villages. Plus, the court may not send a summons. This means that there will be a certain number of people who will not know that they have been deprived of their right to drive.
Lawyer Andriy Varenyk agrees with his colleague and gives an example of people being deprived of their driving privileges because of non-payment of alimony, and they did not even know about it.
“Back in 2018, the court restricted my client’s right to drive a vehicle for non-payment of alimony. He found out about it only seven years later, by accident, when he was stopped by a police officer. They ran him through the database. He didn’t even know that the state enforcement officer had issued a ruling. Moreover, the case was closed the same year, but the restrictions were not lifted. And he had no idea all this time,” says lawyer Varenyk.
There is a solution, but no mechanism
The problem of drivers continuing to drive after being deprived of their license is difficult to solve. Unless a person is accidentally stopped and has a plastic document, nothing can be done.
Now we have to take into account that everyone has a driver’s license in Diia. Many people do not show the plastic, but only the app. In this case, the police cannot seize the document. The only option is to indicate in Diia that the person does not have the right to drive a vehicle. But if the police officer does not check the database of the Unified State Register of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the driver will continue to drive safely.
Author: Alla Dunina
