About this Summary
This summary was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to help readers quickly understand the key points of the article.
It has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication. For complete information and full details, please read the full article.
- MPs questioned the system’s operation, the legal basis for serving fines at crossing points, and the number of unserved notices.
- Officials said the contractor had connected the system to Police systems, and a Law Office opinion allowed fines to be served.
- Police said crossing-point identity checks are lawful, and drivers receiving fines have 90 days to pay.
- MPs said about 180,000 fines remain unserved and demanded further answers before any funding is approved.
The House Finance Committee has unanimously rejected a request to release €146,000 to upgrade the Photo Radar List system, which would allow traffic fines to be served at crossing points.
The decision follows questions from MPs over how the system operates, the legal basis for serving fines at crossing points and the large number of notices that remain unserved. The issue had already been discussed by the committee earlier in September.
The proposed upgrade would allow the system to exchange information with Police systems and manage the serving and monitoring of outstanding fines.
System integration and legal basis
Achilleas Pilias of the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services said the existing contractor had been required to modify its system and connect it to Police systems.
He said the connection had been completed and the procedure could now be implemented, although further integration was still required. The system had previously operated in a test environment and had not entered full production.
Pilias also said there was a Law Office opinion that allowed the serving of fines to proceed.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou asked whether the connection of the relevant records had been approved by the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection. Pilias said the connection had been approved from the beginning of the contract in 2022.
Damianou questioned whether serving fines at crossing points had originally been provided for and raised concerns over the legal basis of the practice.
Police said identity checks at crossing points are lawful and that a fine is served to the citizen, who then has 90 days to pay it.
Questions over unserved fines
AKEL MP Andreas Pashiourtidis questioned the need for the proposed changes and the large number of unserved fines.
The Finance Committee was told that around 180,000 fines remain unserved, while DISY MP Fotini Tsiridou put the current figure at approximately 180,000. Pashiourtidis said the number included fines involving different categories of drivers.
Pashiourtidis also questioned why the contractor needed access to certain information concerning Turkish Cypriot vehicles and why the Photo Radar List was required.
The company said it needed to send the vehicle registration number to the Police so that the vehicle could be identified and stopped at a crossing point, allowing the serving and monitoring process to be completed.
The company added that the original contract did not provide for two-way communication between the systems and that the proposed change would introduce this capability.
Police and contractor explain process
Police said fines at crossing points are issued through its own system and that, based on the Law Office opinion, the process can be carried out through its connection with the Photo Radar List.
For vehicles registered with the Road Transport Department, the procedure can use existing information. For Turkish Cypriot vehicles, information must be collected when they cross through the checkpoints.
The contractor said the proposed changes would cover the wider system for processing traffic violations, including camera systems, public access to information and operational procedures. Additional training would also be required for call-centre staff.
Calls for further answers
Finance Committee acting chair and DIKO MP Chryssis Pantelides said the committee had rejected the request for a second consecutive meeting.
He said MPs had not been convinced of the need for the funding because much of the proposed work was already being carried out.
Pantelides said the committee was particularly concerned about gaps in the traffic camera system and the high number of unserved fines.
“Until we are convinced that the executive understands this problem or brings forward a legislative solution, we are reluctant to keep releasing funds that are simply aspirin for a major problem,” he said.
Tsiridou called for the Transport Ministry to submit legislation modernising the way fines are served, saying public funds should not continue to be released while problems with the system remain.
AKEL’s Damianou said the executive branch, Police and relevant ministries had failed to provide convincing answers about the serving process. He also raised concerns over personal data and the practice of stopping citizens at crossing points.
ELAM MP Marios Pelekanos said the large number of unserved fines showed that the current process required further regulation.
Direct Democracy MP Giannis Laouris questioned the cost of the proposed upgrade, calling the number of outstanding fines – estimated at around 185,000 – a major concern.
The committee’s decision comes after MPs had already withheld approval for the €146,640-plus-VAT request during an earlier discussion and called for further explanations from officials and the contractor.
The issue is expected to remain under parliamentary scrutiny as MPs seek further information on the system, the legal framework and the handling of unserved traffic fines.
Also read: GESY warns beneficiaries over malicious SMS messages
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
