THE DEFUNCT traffic cameras dotting the island’s roads will not be removed for now — at least not until the legal action taken by Electromatic Consultants Ltd (the company which installed the system) against the Republic of Cyprus has been resolved.
On Tuesday an order from Nicosia District Court banned the Ministry of Transport and Works from removing the cameras from their installed locations.
The plaintiff, who is represented by the Legal Office of Alecos Markides, is suing for more than €4 million in damages.
Two and a half million euros are for compensation for damage incurred following the government’s unilateral decision to pull out of the contract.
The court ordered the Attorney-general’s office to appear on February 1 to state whether it will appeal against or accept the court order.
It should be noted that the court rarely issues a one-sided order of this type; it is an order which requires certain conditions to be fulfilled.
First, the court must be convinced that the issue under question requires arbitration.
Second, the court must be convinced that the plaintiff has a possibility of winning the case.
Third, that it is possible that the plaintiff could suffer irreparable damage unless the court issues the order.
The affair will not be a short-lived one.
Panos Panayiotou, a solicitor with Markides’ offices told the Mail that the whole trial may last for two to three years.
The staff at the Ministry’s Electromechanical services who is responsible for the traffic camera system were unavailable for comment.
The system was deactivated on September 21, 2007 after the government pulled out of a contract with the supplier after negotiations to fix technical problems collapsed.
As of October 2007 the Ministry of Transport and Works has sent an invitation which asks traffic camera suppliers for road traffic control equipment.
According to past statements by state services, a new competition would have been proclaimed for the traffic camera system by the end of January, a target which has been moved into February because of the elections.
The ambition was to complete the first phase of installation of a total of 400 traffic cameras (both stationary and mobile) by the end of 2008.
However, as Panayiotou explained, his client has also requested a court order which will prevent the government from signing a contract with a third party.
The imminent legal battle is another chapter in the long saga created by the government’s decision to improve traffic safety by installing cameras in the roads.
In December 2005 government officials were left red-faced after paying millions of euros for a traffic camera system that did not work according to standards.
Reports say German-based Robot Visual Systems GMBH (who is represented by Electromatic) apparently did not realise that motorists in Cyprus drive on the left hand side of the road.
The traffic camera system was finally switched on September 18, 2006, ending nearly a year of delay and uncertainty.
Forty cameras had been activated across the island.
Trouble was just round the corner, however, as the system proved to be erratic in its functioning.
The result was that several drivers charged for road offences because of camera evidence have since launched legal challenges over the validity of the cameras and declared their readiness to go to court.
In November 2007, following the suspending of the operation of the cameras, Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous announced that during their time in operation, 107,000 offences were recorded, amounting to €2.9 million in fines.
Sophocleous said that 95 per cent had been settled.
However, matters were not so simple, as a report by Auditor-General Chrystalla Yiorkadji released in early December exposed the dysfunctional traffic camera system once again.
The report said that 34.8 per cent, or one in three violations, during the first eight months of operation were not taken any further for various reasons.
The violations were said to be inadmissible in court, mainly due to apparent problems with the photographs.
However, no cases where the defendant has pleaded not guilty have made it to trial.
Approximately €683,000 in outstanding fines from 8,000 cases remain.
