Parking meters unconstitutional according to tribunal

The Constitutional Tribunal decided yesterday that fees collected by roadside parking meters were in conflict with the constitution. However, drivers will still have to pay for parking as the Tribunal granted Parliament one year to change the law and decided that money would not be returned. The Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) and the ombudsman asked the Tribunal to analyze the regulations. "We have to eliminate regulations allowing the drivers to be charged. We receive many complaints from drivers about the boundaries of parking zones and the level and means of calculating the fees," said Krystyna Milart-Szostak from the ombudsman's office. The officials took particular issue with one regulation which allowed Parliament to choose the body responsible for the rules and level of parking fees. NSA judge Malgorzata Jaskowska considered such a regulation to be in conflict with the constitution, which states that taxes and "other public contributions" have to be accepted through bills. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 4) M.M.