Foreign diplomats will no longer get traffic fines in the Netherlands

Foreign diplomats will no longer be given fines for speeding and parking without a ticket after a court said this breaks the Vienna treaty on diplomatic immunity.

The court ruling has created an ‘extremely complex situation’, justice minister Ard van der Steur and foreign affairs minister Bert Koenders told MPs in a briefing on Tuesday. Officials are now investigating if diplomats can be sent an official notification when they break the law.

The Netherlands had been clamping down on the non-payment of fines by diplomats after a public outcry and there were signs the new approach was working.

In total, 2,871 traffic fines were handed out to cars with diplomatic number plates last year, down from over 4,000 in 2013, the Telegraaf said last month. The total value of 2014’s fines was €198,023, down almost €100,000 on the previous year.

The Telegraaf based its claims on government figures obtained using freedom of information legislation.

The Dutch government had decided that diplomatic corps members who don’t pay up will lose their tax free fuel passes. Russian diplomats are least likely to pay their fines, followed by officials from Georgia and Azerbaijan.