Unpaid parking fines waived

JERUSALEM, June 18 (JTA) — Israel’s highest court has granted motorists a reprieve from unpaid parking tickets. The High Court of Justice ruled this week that the municipality of Tel Aviv could not collect fines from a man who had been issued 154 tickets from 1989 to 1997. The court, in a 4-3 vote, accepted the man’s argument that he could not be forced to pay accumulated fines of more than $8,000 because a three-year statute of limitations applies to parking offenses. Justice Dalia Dorner, who voted with the majority, chastised the Tel Aviv municipality, saying its failure to enforce payment of such fines more aggressively discriminated against those citizens who paid their penalties on time. Justice Eliahu Matza, who joined the minority, said it was regrettable that a citizen was being rewarded for deliberately displaying contempt for the law. The ruling is expected to serve as a precedent for other municipalities across the country.