Dozens of coronavirus fines could expire due to backlog of appeals

A sign indicating lockdown rules due to the coronavirus in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Photo: DutchNews.nl

Dozens of fines for violating coronavirus rules during the lockdown could expire in the coming months as prosecutors flooded with appeals.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office’s central processing unit, CVOM, has received 12,000 formal appeals against fines issued between March 2020 and March 2022.

An additional 4,000 appeals have been considered and are ready to go to court, but in 70% of cases a date must be set for a trial before a judge.

The fine is subject to a three-year statutory time limit, after which prosecutors cannot bring the case to court. About 270 of the contested fines were issued in 2020, meaning they will expire later this year.

The majority of the outstanding penalties issued in 2021 (6,938 total) were primarily due to non-compliance with curfews, which were in place from late January to the end of April. An additional 100 pending fines will be issued in 2021.

Senior Prosecutor Achilles Damen told EenVandaag There was no question that the fine would be written off. “It’s about standards,” he said. “I thought it was important then, and I still do.

“Thousands of cases sounds overwhelming to many, but we are prepared to handle a large number of cases.”

Damen added that appeals will be carefully considered to ensure justice is served to both those fined and the enforcement agencies that issued them.

“People have faced criminal law for something that is usually very ordinary.

Some of them responded with broad legal objections that the government was not empowered to restrict their constitutional rights.

A total of 180,000 fines were issued by police and local government enforcement teams during the two-year 1.5-meter society, most of which have been paid off.

The fine was originally set at €390. This meant that the person who paid the fine also got a criminal record, but in September 2020 he was reduced to €95. A decision was made shortly thereafter. A photo of then-justice minister Feld Grapperhaus has been released.defied social distancing rules and hugged her mother-in-law at her wedding.