The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today announced a decision on the appeal of the Bulgarian Hristo Spasov against Romania, according to which Spasov's right to a fair trial and his right to property were violated by a decision of the Court of Appeal in Romania, according to a press release of ECHR.

The court ruled that Romania must pay the applicant 6,500 euros for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and 4,574 euros for costs of the case.

The case refers to a 2013 decision of the Court of Appeal in Constanta, convicting Hristo Spasov, the owner and captain of a ship flying the Bulgarian flag, for illegal fishing in Romania's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.

In the proceedings before the Romanian authorities, Spasov claims that the quantity of fish caught is part of the Bulgarian turbot catch quota under the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union (EU).

However, the Romanian court held that EU law was inapplicable and convicted the applicant under national law.

Bulgaria has paid over BGN 22 million in cases in Strasbourg

The European Court pointed out that under the principle of primacy of EU law, a European regulation with direct effect takes precedence over any conflicting domestic law.

The Court notes in the present case that the European Commission has clearly indicated to the Romanian authorities that the proceedings against the applicant are contrary to EU law.

The ECtHR ruled that in sentencing Spasov, the Romanian court had committed a clear error of law and that the applicant had been the victim of a "denial of justice".

European Court of Human Rights