Road traffic recidivism and mandatory license withdrawal

ATA/430/1997Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberJul 1, 1997Confirmed

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The court held that the recourant, whose earlier licence withdrawal ended on 1995-03-20 and who committed a further offence on 1997-03-20, was in a recidivist situation under Art. 17(1)(c) LCR. As a result, a mandatory driving-licence withdrawal of at least six months applied. The appeal was therefore rejected and the sanction confirmed.

Omnilex headnote

Art. 17 al. 1 lit. c LCR; recidivism and minimum duration of licence withdrawal. A subsequent offence committed within the statutory recidivism period after expiry of a prior withdrawal entails a mandatory withdrawal of the driving licence for at least six months. In assessing recidivism, the decisive point is the temporal relation between the end of the previous measure and the new offence; if the statutory conditions are met, the authority has no discretion below the minimum duration (consid. implied by the holding).

Full text

Descripteurs

CIRCULATION ROUTIERE; PERIODE D'ESSAI; CALCUL; LCR

Normes

LCR.17 al.1 litt.c

Résumé

Le recourant qui a fait l'objet d'un retrait de permis prenant fin le 20.03.95 et qui commet une nouvelle infraction le 20.03.97 est dans un cas de récidive donnant lieu à un retrait obligatoire de 6 mois au minimum.

Keywords

road trafficdriving licence withdrawalrecidivismminimum durationadministrative sanction

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether the new traffic offence committed on 1997-03-20 after a prior withdrawal ending on 1995-03-20 constituted recidivism under Art. 17(1)(c) LCR.

Extracted holding

Yes. The prior withdrawal had not yet fallen outside the relevant recidivism period, so the case required a mandatory withdrawal of at least six months.

Extracted reasoning

The court treated the interval between the end of the previous withdrawal and the new offence as falling within the statutory recidivism framework of Art. 17(1)(c) LCR, which triggers an obligatory minimum withdrawal.

Road traffic recidivism and mandatory license withdrawalAI generated