Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 135
November 2010
Allianz-Slovenská poisťovňa, a.s., and Others v. Slovakia (dec.) - 19276/05
Decision 9.11.2010 [Section IV]
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1
Peaceful enjoyment of possessions
Statutory obligation on car insurers to pay percentage of premiums to road-safety bodies: inadmissible
Article 14
Discrimination
Statutory obligation on car insurers to pay percentage of premiums to bodies responsible for road safety: inadmissible
Facts – In their application to the European Court, the applicants, who are private insurance companies, complained of their statutory obligation to pay 8% of premiums collected for road-traffic insurance to the Ministry of the Interior for the benefit of the emergency services and other road-safety bodies.
Law – Article 1 of Protocol No. 1: The obligation to pay the contributions amounted to an interference with the applicant companies’ right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions. That interference had a legal basis and pursued the legitimate aim of road safety that was “in accordance with the general interest”. The duty to transfer 8% of collected premiums was imposed not only on the applicant companies but on all providers of insurance for liability for damage caused by the operation of motor vehicles and only in respect of premiums collected for providing this specific type of insurance. No specific facts or arguments had been submitted to establish, by means of calculation or other verifiable assessment, that the scope of the duty under the legislation was prohibitive, oppressive or otherwise disproportionate.
Conclusion: inadmissible (manifestly ill-founded).
Article 14 in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1: The applicant companies had argued that they were in an analogous situation to other entrepreneurs but had been treated differently in that they were required to make contributions under the legislation. The Court noted, however, that the applicant companies’ situation appeared to be different from that of other entrepreneurs, including insurers who did not provide road-accident insurance, and that in providing that specific type of insurance they had the advantage of a secure market created by the statutory duty of all road users to take out such insurance. All providers of insurance in that market were subject to the same regime as the applicant companies. In any event, even assuming that they could be considered to be in a relevantly similar situation to that of other entrepreneurs, the reasons given for disposing of the applicant companies’ complaint under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 sufficed to show objective and reasonable justification for any difference of treatment.
Conclusion: inadmissible (manifestly ill-founded).
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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