A Supreme Court ruling has reinforced a $2000 legal cap on traffic penalties, declaring that higher fixed fines issued under regulations are unlawful.
In a landmark judgment On April 30, The Hon. Mr Justice Terence Arnold, The Hon. Madam Lowell Goddard, and The Hon. Mr Justice William Young ruled that penalties imposed through Traffic Infringement Notices (TINs) cannot exceed limits set out in the Land Transport Act.
“The fixed penalty… was unlawful to the extent that it exceeded the statutory cap of $2,000,” the Court stated.
The case involved Pasifika Enterprise, which had been issued a $13,000 penalty for an overloading offence — far above the legal ceiling prescribed under the Act.
The judges made it clear that while the Government can set fixed penalties through regulations, those penalties must remain within the bounds of legislation.
“It is implausible that the legislature… gave the executive an unfettered power” to impose higher administrative penalties outside the statutory framework, the bench said.
The ruling effectively draws a firm line between what regulators can impose administratively and what the law allows, reaffirming Parliament’s authority in setting penalty limits.
The Court also found unlawful a requirement forcing defendants to pay fines before challenging them, reinforcing legal safeguards for individuals disputing infringement notices.
However, the judges acknowledged the broader purpose of the TIN system — to improve efficiency and reduce court workloads — noting such frameworks remain valid if applied within legal limits.
The decision is expected to have wide implications, particularly for high-value offences such as truck overloading, where penalties have often exceeded the $2000 threshold.
While the Court did not rule the overall system unconstitutional, it made clear that any enforcement regime must comply strictly with the law as written.
The judgment leaves open the possibility for legislative reform, but for now, it firmly establishes that $2000 remains the ceiling for traffic-related penalties under existing law.
