AD.nl, 30 January 2015: 'License plate not mandatory for Amsterdam parking'

“Motorists in Amsterdam are not required to enter their license plate information when parking in a paid parking space. This is evident from a ruling by the Amsterdam court today. The municipality disagrees with the ruling and continues to fine.

Currently, motorists have to enter the registration number of their four-wheeler at parking meters. This allows inspectors with a scanning car to check the license plates of parked cars.

Bas Filippini, chairman of the Privacy First foundation, started a lawsuit against Amsterdam after he entered fabricated license plate information when parking his car and was subsequently fined. Filippini's organisation believes that every citizen has a right to privacy, even if they park their car somewhere. The proof of payment allowed Filippini to prove he had paid anyway.

According to the court, entering incorrect data need not automatically result in a fine. "Proof that a car has been paid for parking can be provided in various ways, not just by correctly entering the registration number at the ticket machine." A fine may only be imposed if no payment has been made, the court stated.

Supreme Court
The municipality disagrees with the ruling and wants the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. Motorists who fail to enter a correct license plate number when paying will therefore still be fined. The court in Amsterdam made a similar ruling last year. Then, too, a receipt was considered a proof of payment even though no correct license plate number had been entered. This case was not about privacy."

Source: http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1041/Amsterdam/article/detail/3841086/2015/01/30/Kenteken-niet-verplicht-bij-Amsterdams-parkeren.dhtml, 30 January 2015.