This reaction follows the recent legal notice published in the Government Gazette regarding the amendments made to

the Justice Commissioners

Act, which are intended, to a certain extent, to limit situations in which the warden can send a fine by mail.

However, contrary to the impression that some may have had when the legal notice was published, the new rules make a number of exceptions as to when an officer or warden is not bound to hand notification of a fine to the offender in person.

When a car is at a distance, or when it is speeding past the officer, are two situations when wardens do not have to stop the vehicle in question.

If a car has faulty brake lights, then it stands to reason that it will have already passed the officer by the time he or she notices the infringement, which means that there is no other alternative but to send the notification of the fine by mail.

Wardens do not have any investigative powers, which means that no warden can pursue a car to advise the driver of any infringement, as this could be interpreted as an investigation.

Wardens (or police officers) may also issue a fine by mail if they feel intimidated or have been threatened by the offender.

When the driver of a stationary vehicle is booked, for example, for illegal parking, the ticket may be attached to the windscreen.

This rule has not changed, but since the new regulations, some people have complained that a fine had not been issued in their presence.

There is, however, no requirement for the driver to be present when a warden is issuing a fine and affixing the notice to a stationary car.

The by-law does say, however, that the fine should be sent to the offender within two days of the offence.