In accordance with legal provisions, both the driving licence document and the rights to drive play a key role in assessing the legal situation of the driver. However, these two issues do not always have to be treated as identical. Supreme Court Resolution of the Day 13 February 2025, on reference no. I KK 387/24, on the K.S. case sheds a new light on the issue of the validity and expiry of the driving licence document, indicating that these concepts concern only the document itself and not the driving rights.
Facts
The District Court of Z. issued a court order in the K.S. case, which 5 April 2023, in the town of L., drove the S. brand vehicle without the required documents. The defendant who held an international driving licence did not show it during the inspection, resulting in a fine of 500 PLN for misconduct with Article 94(1) Code of misconduct (KW).
After the K.S. objected and the hearing was held, the court held the judgment in force. The President of the District Court of Z. refused to accept the appeal, citing the expiry of the deadline. The Attorney General requested the cassation and claimed that the court had made a mistake in assessing the evidence gathered, including the driver's license.
Cassation and Supreme Court ruling
Supreme Court on 13 February 2025, on reference no. I KK 387/24, having examined the cassation, annulled the judgment under appeal by referring the case back to the District Court. SN noted that the defendant had the right to drive, which resulted from the attached driving licence document issued 20 April 2023 and previous driving licence from 1976, that was valid indefinitely. Therefore, it could not be concluded that K.S. did not have driving rights.
The Supreme Court stressed that the driving licence document was merely a confirmation of having driving rights. In the context Article 124(6) Act of 5 January 2011 The validity of a driving licence means only its validity as a document and not the loss of driving rights. In the case of an invalid driving licence, the person shall not lose his or her rights but may not use them without a new document.
Meaning of validity of the driving licence
The Court of First Instance indicated that the concepts of validity and loss of validity in the context of a driving licence refer to the document itself and not to the rights of the driver. A person whose driving licence has become invalid shall not lose his right to drive if he meets other formal requirements. Therefore, in this case, the defendant was entitled to drive, even though he did not have a valid document on him and the lack of a document alone did not result in the loss of his rights.
Justification
The Attorney General indicated that the District Court had made a mistake ignoring documents proving that the defendant had the power to drive. The SN acknowledged the prosecutor’s right, considering that the court had not carried out a full assessment of the evidence, including the driving licence document and the explanations blamed, which was crucial for the correct assessment of the legal situation.
The relevance of the ruling to practice
The Supreme Court ruling is essential for judicial and administrative practice. The fact that the driving rights are independent of the document itself is an important guide to the courts ruling on traffic offences. Persons who hold an invalid driving licence shall continue to retain their rights unless they have been received or revoked administratively.
The Supreme Court also indicated in its ruling that the exchange of driving licences, in particular in the case of documents issued before 2013, is not equivalent to the loss of driving rights, and the driving licence itself is only evidence of those rights.
Conclusion
In the case of driving by a person holding a valid driving licence but having valid driving rights, the court should assess the situation in accordance with the rules on the holding of the required documents and should not consider that the absence of a valid document results in the loss of rights. This issue may affect further judicial practice and interpretation of traffic law.