CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 15 juin 1999

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .s598389F9 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:12pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s7E083FB5 { margin-top:0pt; margin-right:4.2pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .sC8DB3A12 { width:382.75pt; display:inline-block } .s9E7DF94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:12pt } .s85646119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .s23A41E03 { width:36pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4ACA9207 { page-break-before:always; clear:both; mso-break-type:section-break } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s5E71CDDF { width:2.64pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sD33AE1D1 { width:3.28pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS       331 15.6.99 Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF ŠPAČEK, S.R.O. v. THE CZECH REPUBLIC   Tuesday 15 June 1999 at 9.00 am     The applicant company     The case concerns an application (application no.   26449/95) brought by a limited liability company incorporated under Czech law which has its head office in Prague.   Summary of the facts     In 1991 Špaček SW, the predecessor of the applicant company, maintained its accounts by single-entry book-keeping in accordance with the Private Business Activities Act and the Private Business Accounting Rules published in the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Bulletin No. 5. On 1 January 1992 Špaček SW passed to double-entry book-keeping. In November 1992 Špaček SW ceased to exist and the applicant company, Špaček, s.r.o. was incorporated. In April 1993 the applicant company was required to pay additional income tax of 385,600 korunas (CZK) including a penalty of 37,200 CZK, because Špaček SW had not increased the income tax base for the tax year 1991 as required by the regulations on the procedure for passing from single to double-entry book-keeping published in Financial Bulletin No. 6/7.   Complaints     The applicant company alleges that the Czech authorities’ decisions to impose an additional tax of 385,600 CZK violated its right under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. Under these decisions, the applicant was allegedly obliged to comply with the Private Business Accounting Rules and the Regulations on the procedure for passing from single to double-entry book-keeping which were never published or announced in the Official Gazette, and which, it claims, never acquired the quality of a generally binding “law” within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.   Procedure     The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 22 November 1994.     On 14 October 1996 the Commission declared the case admissible.   Under former Article 28 § 1 of the Convention the Commission attempted to secure a friendly settlement. As no such settlement was reached, the Commission drew up a report, under former Article 31 § 1 of the Convention, which was adopted on 15 April 1998. The report, which was transmitted to the Committee of Ministers on 27 October 1998, expressed the opinion that, by 27 votes to 2, there had been no violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. On 2 November 1998 the Commission decided to bring the application before the Court.   Composition of the Court     The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Jean-Paul Costa (French), President Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Willi Fuhrmann (Austrian), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), Kristaq Traja (Albanian), Judges   and also Sally Dollé Section Registrar   Representatives of the parties   Government:     Emerich Slavík , Agent       Alois Dvořák , counsel       Alice Svobodová , counsel       Yann Lemieux , counsel       Antonín Jeřábek , adviser   Applicant company:   Bohuslav Mazourek , counsel       Jiří Svoboda , lawyer       After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   ***   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contact: Roderick Liddell Telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92; fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91; Or: Emma Hellyer Telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15.     The European Court of Human Rights was set up in 1959 in Strasbourg to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.   On November 1 1998 a permanent Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Court and Commission.