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Since January 1, 2002, drivers intercepted after speeding are presumed to have received sufficient information on the withdrawal of points they incur. The Council of State brings two new precisions on the proof of the information of the driver on the withdrawals of points which he incurs on his driving licence.
First of all, the high court completes the reasoning of its Gendron opinion (CE, opinion, June 8, 2011), concerning the offenses noted with interception of the vehicle. It had ruled there that the intervention of the decree of October 5, 1999 did not guarantee that the previous observation and payment forms, which did not sufficiently inform the drivers, had not been used after that date.
On the other hand, as several administrative courts had already considered, the Council of State admits that these previous forms, denominated in francs, could not be used after the introduction of the euro, on January 1, 2002. consequently “for offenses noted with interception of the vehicle from this date, the mention in the national system of driving licenses of the subsequent payment of the fixed fine therefore allows the judge to estimate that the holder of the license has been given a notice of contravention containing the required information”.
Moreover, the Council of State considers that the absence of information has no influence on the withdrawal of points, not only when the criminal judge has ruled according to an adversarial procedure, but also in the event of a penal order.
Maître Grégory DAMY , Nice lawyer; withdrawal of points Update 2022
