Communicated on 4 June 2018
FIRST SECTION
Applications nos. 44612/13 and 45831/13
Ilias GEORGOULEAS against Greece
and Spyridon NESTORAS against Greece
lodged on 6 July 2013 and 12 July 2013 respectively
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications concern the imposition of fines in 2007 by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission on the applicants, Director General and employee respectively of the company “Global Money Centre, Ilias Georgouleas & Associates”, for disseminating false or inaccurate information concerning the shares’ value that could affect their price. In particular, the Hellenic Market Commission considered that in 2003 and 2004 the applicants had participated in transactions intended to artificially determine the shares’ value of the company “Domiki Kritis SA” which had resulted in the dissemination of false or inaccurate information to the investors, thus violating Article 72 § 2 a) of Law no. 1969/1991.
The applicants lodged appeals with the Athens Administrative Court of Appeal against the decisions of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission. On 31 October 2008 their appeals were accepted by the Court of Appeal, which annulled the decisions of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission on the grounds that Article 72 § 2 a) of law no. 1969/1991 could not be infringed by transactions but only by disseminating false or inaccurate information.
Following appeals on points of law lodged by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, in 2013 the Supreme Administrative Court reversed the judgments of the Court of Appeal. In particular, it held that performing transactions with a view to artificially determining the shares’ value of a company was a way of disseminating false or inaccurate information and therefore, the applicants had acted in breach of Article 72 § 2 a) of law no. 1969/1991.
The applicants complain of a violation of their rights under Article 7 of the Convention.
QUESTION tO THE PARTIES
In the circumstances of the present case, has there been a violation of Article 7 of the Convention? In particular, is Article 7 applicable to the administrative sanctions imposed to the applicants by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court? If so, could the applicants foresee, if need be with appropriate legal advice, on the basis of the domestic law and the domestic courts’ interpretation of it that their transactions concerning the shares of “Domiki Kritis SA” in 2003 and 2004 amounted to a breach of Article 72 § 2 a) of law no. 1969/1991? Did the relevant provisions on the basis of which the sanctions were imposed on the applicants fulfill the qualitative requirements as have been set out in the Court’s case-law under Article 7 of the Convention (see Scoppola v. Italy (no. 2) [GC], no. 10249/03, § 99, 17 September 2009)?
Application no 44612/13
Ilias GEORGOULEAS is a Greek national who was born in 1965, lives in Athens and is represented by I. Ktistakis
Application no 45831/13
Spyridon NESTORAS is a Greek national who was born in 1974, lives in Piraeus and is represented by I. Ktistakis
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy