The ECJ Decision in Italmoda in the Light of the Settled Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

In the Italmoda case, the ECJ ruled that measures such as rejecting the right to deduct or denying the application of a zero rate in response to (suspected) fraud or abuse do not have the nature of a “sanction” within the meaning of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The author challenges this finding of the ECJ on the basis of an analysis of relevant decisions of the ECHR. According to the author, the measures in question should, as a consequence, have a clear and unambiguous legal basis in accordance with article 7 of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.