(posted 7947 days ago)The Times
July 16, 2002Traffic charges 'breach human rights'
By Christopher WalkerA LEGAL challenge to the attempt to charge motorists £5 to drive into Central London and fine them up to £120 for failing to comply began in the High Court yesterday.
Westminister Council and the Kennington Association demanded a judicial review of the plan by Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, to introduce the congestion charge from next February.
With Mr Livingstone sitting in the well of the court, the judge, Mr Justice Maurice Kay, was told that he had failed to carry out a full and efficient consultation before he approved the multimillion-pound scheme.
Roger Henderson, QC, appearing for Westminster Council, said that the mayor’s decision was flawed and a breach of human rights because he had also failed to order an environmental impact assessment, or hold a public inquiry.
Mr Henderson said that failures in the way that the scheme had been introduced meant that it had been impossible to consider fully all relevant matters, including local traffic management, parking, local air quality and the effect it would have on all who lived in the city.
The hearing to determine whether a judicial review will be permitted is expected to last all this week. Transport for London, the mayor’s transport authority, has earmarked £2.3 million to cover legal fees.
The judge declared his own personal interest in the case, saying that he had lived in Kennington, South London for ten years. He said that the issues raised were of personal importance to every judge working at the High Courts situated near The Strand, as all either lived in, or had to travel into, the congestion charging area.
Mr Henderson said that he also had a personal interest, as he lived in Kensington, West London, which would also be affected by the proposal.
Mr Livingstone is due to start a separate legal case of his own next week, trying to halt plans for partly privatising the London Underground.