Unauthorised speed cameras, the judge this time agrees with the police
The Court of Bologna did not follow the most recent and consolidated orientation of the Court of Cassation: never take it for granted that you will win your case
of Regulations and Taxes
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Key points
3' min read
The news might raise a lot of fuss, but for now it should be taken only for what it is: that is, the fact that the Ansa news agency made public the case of a ruling in which the Court of Bologna deemed a fine for speeding to be valid even though it was based on the detection of a speed camera that was merely 'approved' and not 'homologated'. This should be read in the light of the fact that for more than a year (18 April 2024), the Supreme Court of Cassation has held that type approval is required instead.
Always uncertain appeals
.So, if there is a lesson to be learned from the Bologna case, it is this: those who think they can afford a fine today, safe in the knowledge that they will have it annulled by the judge, must take into account the possibility that they will be proved wrong in the first and/or second instance and therefore have to bear the effort and expense of an appeal to the Cassazione. Assuming that the orientation of the Court has not changed in the meantime.
Among the possible unknowns, one should never overlook the one related to how the appeal is set up: the technicalities of law are a matter for experts and quibbles are never lacking.
Of course, at the moment it seems more likely that a judge on the merits will take into account the current orientation of the Supreme Court, given that it is now consolidated: the disruptive ordinance 10505/2024 has been followed in a few months by others in favour of the plaintiffs (one of the most recent being 13996/2025, filed on 26 May) and the principle has also been transposed in criminal judgments (as in the case of ruling 10365/2025, filed on 14 March). However, one case is not like another and the judges on the merits are always free to make their own free convictions.
The Bologna Judgment
.This was the case of Judge Alessandra Cardarelli, of the Tribunal of Bologna, who rejected the appeal of a citizen who contested a fine he had received - because he was going 67 kilometres per hour on a stretch with a 50 kilometre limit - claiming the invalidity of the report because the speed camera was not homologated, but only approved.
