A female driver was about to be fined for an unreadable license plate, but she proved that the illumination failed while the car was moving
A citizen appealed to the Kyiv District Court of Odesa city with an administrative lawsuit against the Patrol Police Department in Odesa region of the Patrol Police Department and the Patrol Police Department to cancel the resolution series ENA dated April 2, 2026, which held her administratively liable under part one of article 121-3 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, and to close the proceedings in the case.
Circumstances of the case
By the resolution of the patrol police inspector dated April 2, 2026, the plaintiff was held administratively liable with a fine of 1,190 hryvnias. The basis was that on that day at 21:46 in Odesa, at 113 Knyaz Yaroslav Mudry Street, she was driving a Toyota Prius V with an unlit license plate at night (in conditions of insufficient visibility), thereby violating clause 2.9 "b" of the Traffic Rules.
The plaintiff considered the resolution unlawful because before starting to drive, she checked the technical condition of the car, including the functionality of the license plate illumination, which was working. The malfunction occurred during the drive and could not have been detected in advance. After stopping, she took measures to fix the malfunction on the spot and asked for time to replace the bulbs, but the police refused and issued the resolution within about 4 minutes. The plaintiff provided video footage from a surveillance camera showing that the license plate illumination was working at the start of the drive. She also pointed out the absence of intent and public danger.
The defendant in the response asked to deny the claim, referring to video recordings from police body cameras confirming the fact of driving the vehicle with an unlit license plate.
What the court decided
The court partially satisfied the claim.
The court canceled the resolution series ENA No. 6955327 dated April 2, 2026, on imposing an administrative penalty under part one of article 121-3 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and sent the case for a new review to the Patrol Police Department in Odesa region of the Patrol Police Department.
The court refused to satisfy the request to close the proceedings in the case.
The court established that the fact of the absence of license plate illumination is confirmed by video footage from the police officer's body camera. At the same time, the court concluded that when issuing the resolution, the authority did not comprehensively, fully, and objectively clarify all the circumstances of the case, in particular did not check the presence of intent in the plaintiff's actions, did not take into account her explanations about the malfunction occurring during the drive and the measures taken to eliminate it. The court noted that the defendant did not provide sufficient evidence confirming the intentional nature of the violation.
The court was guided by articles 245, 280 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, article 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, and the principle of presumption of innocence. The court indicated that the decision of the authority cannot be based on assumptions, and all doubts about proving guilt are interpreted in favor of the person.
The court recovered part of the court costs in favor of the plaintiff for payment of the court fee in the amount of 332.80 hryvnias at the expense of the defendant's budget appropriations.
The decision may be appealed to the Fifth Administrative Court of Appeal within ten days from the date of its announcement. The decision enters into legal force after the expiration of the appeal period if no appeal is filed.
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