BOSPHORUS HAVA YOLLARI TURİZM VE TİCARET ANONİM ŞİRKETİ
v. IRELAND JUDGMENT
11
the light of the aims sought to be achieved, then the ECJ would intervene.
However, the Advocate General felt that neither the initial decision to
impound nor the continued retention of the aircraft could be regarded as
unreasonable.
49. Whether or not the financial impact of the sanctions were as outlined
by the applicant company, a general measure of the kind in question could
not be set aside simply because of the financial consequences the measure
might have in a particular case. Given the strength of the public interest
involved, the proportionality principle would not be infringed by any such
losses.
50. The Advocate General concluded that the contested decision did not
“... strike an unfair balance between the demands of the general interest and the
requirements of the protection of the individual's fundamental rights. That conclusion
seems consistent with the case-law of [this Court] in general. Nor has [the applicant
company] suggested that there is any case-law under [the Convention] supporting its
own conclusion.
The position seems to be no different if one refers to the fundamental rights as they
result from 'the constitutional traditions common to the Member States' referred to in
the case-law of [the ECJ] and in Article F(2) of the Treaty on European Union. In the
[above-cited Hauer case, the ECJ] pointed out ..., referring specifically to the German
Grundgesetz, the Irish Constitution and the Italian Constitution, that the constitutional
rules and practices of the Member States permit the legislature to control the use of
private property in accordance with the general interest. Again it has not been
suggested that there is any case-law supporting the view that the contested decision
infringed fundamental rights. The decision of the Irish High Court was based, as we
have seen, on different grounds.”
51. By a letter of 19 July 1996, TEAM informed JAT that the aircraft
was free to leave provided that debts owed to TEAM were discharged.
52. On 30 July 1996 the ECJ ruled that Regulation (EEC) no. 990/93
applied to the type of aircraft referred to in the Supreme Court's question to
it. The ECJ noted that the domestic proceedings showed that the aircraft
lease had been entered into “in complete good faith” and was not intended
to circumvent the sanctions against the FRY.
53. It did not accept the applicant company's first argument that
Regulation (EEC) no. 990/93 did not apply because of the control on a daily
basis of the aircraft by an innocent non-FRY party. Having considered the
wording of Regulation (EEC) no. 990/93, its context and aims (including
the text and aims of the United Nations Security Council resolutions it
implemented), it found nothing to support the distinction made by the
applicant company. Indeed, the use of day-to-day operation and control as
opposed to ownership as a criterion for applying the regulation would
jeopardise the effectiveness of the sanctions.
54. The applicant company's second argument was that the application
of Regulation (EEC) no. 990/93 would infringe its right to peaceful
enjoyment of its possessions and its freedom to pursue a commercial