CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 16 décembre 1998

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s9EE41C78 { width:396.9pt; display:inline-block } .s94C36C9A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s23A41E03 { width:36pt; display:inline-block } .s3CA22BA { font-family:Arial; text-transform:uppercase } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sD35C6159 { width:1.54pt; display:inline-block } .sF9A986A5 { width:12.2pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     812 16 12.1998   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF CHASSAGNOU AND OTHERS v. FRANCE   Wednesday 16 December at 3 p.m.   The applicants     The case concerns three applications lodged by ten French nationals, Mrs Marie-Jeanne Chassagnou , Mr René PETIT, Mrs Simone LASGREZAS, Mr Léon DUMONT, Mr Pierre GALLAND, Mr André GALLAND, Mr Edouard PETIT (deceased), Mr   Michel PETIT, Mr Michel PINON and Mrs Josephine MONTION, who were born in 1924, 1936, 1927, 1924, 1926, 1936, 1910, 1947, 1947 and 1940 respectively. Mrs Chassagnou, Mr René Petit and Mrs Lasgrezas live in the municipalities of Tourtoirac and Chourgnac d’Ans, in the département of Dordogne, and are farmers. Mr Dumont, Mr Pierre Galland, Mr André Galland, Mr Michel Petit and Mr Pinon, who are also farmers, live in the municipalities of La Cellette and Genouillac, in the département of Creuse. Mrs Montion lives in Salleboeuf, in the département of Gironde, where she works as a secretary.   Summary of the facts     All the applicants are owners of landholdings smaller than 20 hectares in area in the case of those who live in Dordogne and Gironde or 60 hectares in the case of those who live in Creuse. Pursuant to the Law of 10 July 1964, known as the “Loi Verdeille”, on the organisation of approved municipal or inter-municipality hunters’ associations (ACCAs and AICAs), all the applicants, who are opposed to hunting, had to become members of the ACCAs set up in their municipalities and to transfer hunting rights over their land to these associations so that all hunters living in the relevant municipality could hunt there. They cannot evade the obligation to join the association and to transfer their hunting rights to it unless the area of their land exceeds a given threshold, which varies from one département to another (20   hectares in Dordogne and Gironde and 60 hectares in Creuse). This is not the case.   Complaints     The applicants complain that the compulsory inclusion of their land in the hunting grounds of the ACCAs in question and the obligation to join an association of whose objects they disapprove violate their right of property, their right to freedom of association and their right to freedom of thought and conscience, set forth in Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Articles 11 and 9 of the Convention. They also complain of discrimination contrary to Article 14 of the Convention. Procedure     The applications were lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 20   April 1994 by Mrs Chassagnou, Mr R. Petit and Mrs Lasgrezas, on 29 April 1995 by Mr   Dumont, Mr P. Galland, Mr A. Galland, Mr E. Petit, Mr M. Petit and Mr Pinon and on 30   June 1995 by Mrs Montion. Having found the applications admissible, the Commission adopted three reports on 30 October 1997 and 4 December 1997 in which it expressed the opinion, by a majority, that there been violations of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 and Article 11 taken separately and of Article 14 taken together with the same provisions. It also expressed the opinion, by a majority, that no separate issue arose under Article 9 of the Convention. It referred the Chassagnou and Others case to the Court’s predecessor on 15 December 1997 and the cases of Dumont and Others v. France and Montion v. France on 16 March 1998.   Composition of the Court     Under the transitional provisions of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, the case was transmitted to the Grand Chamber of the new European Court of Human Rights on the entry into force of the Protocol, on 1 November 1998. It will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber   (Swiss), President , Elisabeth Palm   (Swedish), Vice-President , Luigi Ferrari Bravo   (Italian), Lucius Caflisch   (Swiss), Jerzy Makarczyk   (Polish), Jean-Paul Costa   (French), Willi Fuhrmann   (Austrian), Karel Jungwiert   (Czech), Marc Fischbach   (Luxemburger), Boštjan Zupančič   (Slovenian), Nina Vajić   (Croatian), John Hedigan   (Irish), Wilhelmina Thomassen   (Dutch), Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska   (FYROMacedonia), Tudor Pantiru   (Moldovan), Egils Levits   (Latvian), Kristaq Traja   (Albanian), Judges , Giovanni Bonello   (Maltese), Pranas Kūris   (Lithuanian), András Baka   (Hungarian), Substitute judges ,   and also Michele de Salvia , Registrar and Maud de   Boer-Buquicchio , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Jean-François Dobelle , Agent ,   Bruno Nedelec , Counsel , and   Gilbert Bitti , Adviser .   Applicants:   Mr Gérard Charollois , Counsel .     The European Commission of Human Rights will be represented by Jean-Claude Geus , assisted by Marie-Thérèse Schoepfer .     After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.     Subject to his duty of discretion, the Registrar is responsible under the Rules of Court for replying to requests for information concerning the work of the Court, and in particular to enquiries from the press.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contact: Roderick Liddell Telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92; fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91