On 8 June 2022, the Land and Environment Court of Appeal issued a ruling (case No. P 13945-21) on the correct forum for imposing fines in relation to supervisory decisions regarding street cleaning and signage.
Background
A building and traffic committee had ordered a property owner to remove advertising from a property on pain of a fine. The decision was made pursuant to section 12 of the Act containing special provisions on street cleaning and signage. The property owner appealed the decision before the county administrative board, which dismissed the appeal. The committee then applied to the Land and Environment Court for imposition of a fine. The Land and Environment Court approved the application, whereupon the property owner appealed the judgment and requested that the judgment be set aside and that the committee’s application be dismissed.
Judgment of the Land and Environment Court of Appeal
By setting aside the judgment of the Land and Environment Court, the Land and Environment Court of Appeal dismissed the committee’s application for imposition of a fine. The Land and Environment Court of Appeal, unlike the lower court, had noted the existence of specific rules regarding the forum for applications for imposition of fines. In its decision to dismiss, the Land and Environment Court of Appeal referred to the fact that the administrative court is the correct forum for an application for imposition of a fine. Another court, such as the Land and Environment Court, can only hear an application for imposition of a fine if such is specifically stipulated. This is set out in section 1(2) and section 6(1) of the Conditional Financial Penalties Act. Since the Land and Environment Court was not specifically designated as a forum for hearing applications for fines as a result of supervision under the Act on street cleaning and signage, the Land and Environment Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the lower court and dismissed the committee’s application.
Comments
The decision of the Land and Environment Court of Appeal demonstrates how important it is for the supervisory authority to check which rules regarding forum apply before submitting an application for imposition of a fine. Since a large number of the supervisory cases dealt with by the country’s building committees must be heard by the Land and Environment Court, that need to check can be easily overlooked. As the above judgment shows, that leads to dismissal of the application. Provided that the two-year time limit for notification of an action for imposition of a fine is not exceeded, the committee could, in the case in question, apply for imposition of a fine for the infringement in question at the correct instance, i.e. before the administrative court. That is because no decision that has gained legal force has been issued on the matter.
Do you want to know more or did the article give rise to other questions? You are very welcome to contact any of us or your regular contact at Lindahl.
