NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

2.11 Right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions (Article 1 of Protocol No. 1) Article 1- Protection of property

Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. 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. The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties. 2.11.1 General observations Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention sets forth guarantees for the protection from states’ arbitrary interference with the possessions of Article 34 NGOs. It is the only Article of the Convention that expressly uses the expression ‘legal persons’. 1139 It means that business entities clearly fall within the scope of this right. 1140 The legal person must apply to the Court directly. Its shareholders have generally no right to make a claim based on damage sustained by the company, unless they can show that it was impossible for the company or its liquidator to institute the proceedings. 1141 In paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the First Protocol, the Convention recognises the right of the state to control the use of or even deprive property belonging to legal persons under certain conditions. Any interference with property rights, however, must pursue the general or public interest. 1142 Public authorities can control the use of property to secure, for example, the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties. To comply with the test of proportionality between the collective interest and the interests of an individual, the interference should be conducted in such a manner which is not arbitrary and which is in accordance with the law. Although, in general, states enjoy a wide margin of appreciation. Under the Convention, the concept of ‘possessions’ has an autonomous meaning, 1143 independent from the formal classification in national law. The concept was very broadly interpreted in the Court’s case-law. It does not include only the right of ownership but also a whole range of pecuniary rights such as rights arising from shares, patents, arbitration awards, established entitlements to a pension, entitlements to rent, and even rights arising from running a business. 1144 Such a broad interpretation 1139 GRGIÆ, A., MATAGA, Z., LONGAR, M., VILFAN, A. The right to property under the European Convention on Human Rights: a guide to the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols, Human rights handbooks, No. 10, Strasbourg : Council of Europe Publishing, 2007, p. 6. 1140 FURA-SANDSTRÖM, cited above, p. 168. 1141 Agrotexim, cited above, and Pana and Others v. Romania (dec.), no. 3240/03, 15 November 2011. 1142 O‘MAHONY, L. Conceptualising home : theories, laws and policies . Oxford ; Portland, Or.: Hart Pub., 2007, p. 470. 1143 ALLEN, T. Property and the Human Rights Act 1998 . Oxford: Hart, 2005, p. 42. 1144 GRGIÆ, 2007, cited above, p. 7.

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