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Cases on the site currently cover parking, bus lane, moving traffic and road user charging, including the London Congestion Charge and Clean Air Zones (outside London). More cases and contravention types will be added in due course.
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Mr N – v – Glasgow City Council
First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
Decision Date: 2024-08-28
Outcome: Dismissed
This case clarifies the issue of ‘ostensible authority’, concerning situations where motorists may seek to establish that a third party impacted their case. In this specific case, the motorist claimed that a third party was acting on behalf of the council (by directing traffic).
The adjudicator’s decision makes clear that a motorist must not only prove that specific permission had been given (in this case permission to use a bus lane), but also that the principal (i.e. the council) had in some way indicated that the third party had such authority to direct the motorist as such.
Without these elements, a legitimate expectation that a penalty charge notice will not be issued/enforced cannot arise.
Paragraph 13 of the decision references the issue of ‘ostensible authority’, specifically.
Further, de minimis or ‘near misses’ cannot apply under the regulatory scheme – compliance is binary (as covered in Paragraph 8 of the decision).
English (UK) 
Cymraeg