Nisyros Mines Case

• Jurisdiction: Grecia
• Date: 01 January 1952
• Docket Number: Case No. 27
• Court: Council of State (Greece)

Greece, Council of State, First Section.

Case No. 27

Nisyros Mines Case.

International Law — Relation to Municipal Law — Interpretation of Municipal Legislation in Light of International Law.

State Succession — Respect for Acquired Private Rights — Legislation of Successor State in Violation of — Interpretation Municipal Legislation in the Light of International Law.

The Facts.—This was an appeal from a judgment of the Administrative Tribunal for Mines, rejecting a demand by the appellants for a declaration that they were entitled to exploit a sulphur mine, situated on the island of Nisyros in the Dodecanese, by right of succession to a transferee of the original concession. This concession was made in 1908 under the Ottoman Empire by an Imperial Firman. The appellants had filed an application for a renewal of the concession, under Article 22 of the Royal Decree of November 28, 1949, which dealt with the extension to the Dodecanese of Greek mining legislation. The Administrative Tribunal rejected the application on the ground that, although the appellants had lawfully succeeded to the rights of exploitation, these rights were abrogated by the Italian occupation authorities under a Law of October 1933.

Held: that the appeal must be allowed. Where municipal law confers authority to legislate for annexed territory, and there is doubt concerning the interpretation of the law, it must be construed in the light of the principles of...