Petitions board revokes 9,560 warden fines since 2006

James Debono
Local wardens have had 57% of all the fines they issued revoked by the Petitions Board – a total of 9,560 from the 16,854 citations processed by the board since 2006.
The board also reduced 303 fines, a government spokesperson told this newspaper. It refused 6,763 petitions from aggrieved citizens.
Seen as a redress by a staggering 30,124 citizens, the board already faces a backlog of 13,270 cases.
While in 2007 it received an average of 32 petitions daily, in the first nine months of 2008 the board was getting 37 petitions every day.
A staggering 2,835 were presented by people fined in St Julians, while Sliema is the runner-up with 1,519 petitions against fines imposed in this locality.
The Petitions Board can revoke any fines issued by local councils, and plaintiffs have the right not to appear in front of local tribunals until the petition is decided upon by the board.
The only people who cannot resort to the board are those who have already paid the fine. In fact 177 petitions were withdrawn because the fine had already been paid.
Although the petition’s board offers a redress to citizens aggrieved by wardens, it is having a crippling effect on local council finances. Instead of paying outstanding fines, many are taking their case directly to the petitions board.
The petitions board is composed of three separate boards chaired by Dr Benny Delia, Dr Joseph Refalo and Dr Ramon Rossignaud.

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