Facts
The appellant Erich Bienz was convicted by the Police Court President of Basel-Stadt for improper parking in a public parking garage in Basel and fined 20 Swiss francs. He filed a nullity appeal against this judgment with the Federal Supreme Court.
Bienz requested that the judgment of the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt be annulled and the case be remanded for acquittal. He argued that the levying of parking fees in the Elisabethen parking garage violated Article 37 paragraph 2 of the Federal Constitution (FC). He also disputed the legal validity of the cantonal ordinance on road traffic, on the basis of which the parking management was carried out.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the levying of parking fees was compatible with Article 37 paragraph 2 FC, provided that free parking spaces were available at a reasonable distance from the fee-paying parking areas. This was the case in the present situation.
Regarding the legal validity of the cantonal ordinance, the Federal Supreme Court found that it was an implementing ordinance, the enactment of which was authorized…