An offer by legal firm Findlay & Niemeyer Inc to defend the first non-compliant e-toll road user borders on incitement, Sake24 reported on Tuesday.
This is according to Patrick Bracher, a director at the legal firm Norton Rose Fulbright.
He said the offer amounted to incitement to commit a crime and the constitutional court had already dealt with the question of the fairness of e-tolls in Gauteng.
“Somebody could be motivated by this to break a law while being under the impression that it is not a valid law,” said Bracher.
Findlay & Niemeyer Inc made the offer on Tuesday after roads agency Sanral’s warning to motorists to pay within seven days of receiving e-toll bills or be handed over to debt collectors.
“In defending the test case, we will act on a contingency basis in the sense that we will charge no fees to the client and call for no deposit,” the firm’s senior partner John Price said in a statement.
“The prospective test case client, and the basis of his or her complaint, would need to be carefully selected to ensure that the real toll road issues are put cogently before the court.”
Business Day newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) was working with Findlay & Niemeyer.
Transport minister Dipuo Peters announced on Wednesday that e-tolling on Gauteng’s highways would begin on 3 December.
On Sunday, Sanral CEO Nazir Alli said if debt collection failed the Criminal Procedure Act would come into effect and motorists would receive summons to that effect. — Sapa
