Strasbourg court rules against Hungary over tobacconist’s complaint

Brussels, January 13 (MTI) – The state of Hungary violated rules protecting private ownership when it stripped a tobacconist of his licence in 2013, the European Court of Human Rights, acting as a primary court, said in its non-binding ruling in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

The case was filed by Laszlo Vekony of Sopron in western Hungary, who lost his licence to sell tobacco products after Hungary decided to make the retail trade of tobacco a state monopoly.

The court’s ruling does not require the legislator to amend the rules. But it will require the Hungarian state to pay 15,000 euros in compensation and payment of an additional 6,000 euros in legal fees once the ruling becomes final.

The court ruling rests on the European Convention on Human Rights that states under its 1st Protocol the protection of private ownership. That clause establishes that everybody is entitled to “the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions”.

The provision also states that “no one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.”

Legislation approved in September 2012 established a state monopoly on the retail sale of tobacco products from July 1, 2013.

Mihaly Varga, the economy minister, told a press conference that the Hungarian government acknowledged the Strasbourg court’s ruling, as it had done in connection with past rulings, and would pay the compensation and the legal fees set by the court.

Socialist board member Karoly Beke insisted that the ruling was “written proof” that Hungary’s system was corrupt. The government’s reaction to the ruling will be a “test of democracy”, Beke said. Beke encouraged all others with a similar complaint to file suits “out of a shared, democratic interest to demonstrate the borderlines of the rule of law to a usurious, corrupt government”.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters