Sinclair Collis Ltd. v. Lord Advocate for Scotland
A tobacco vending machine company challenged the legality of a section of a tobacco control law prohibiting tobacco vending machines. The petitioner argued that the law violates the right to free movement of goods between EU member states and infringes their right to property. The court upheld the law, concluding that the law is valid because of its legitimate public interest in preventing young people from having access to cigarettes from vending machines.
Sinclair Collis Limited v. Lord Advocate for Scotland, et al., [2011] CSOH 80, Outer House, Court of Session (2011).
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"It is common ground that A1P1 is engaged by section 9. The contentious matter is whether the interference with the Petitioners' possessions is justified in the public interest. There is a legitimate public interest in preventing under eighteens from having access to cigarettes from vending machines. The issue is whether section 9 is an appropriate and proportionate means of achieving that aim. For largely the same reasons as led me to reject the Community law challenge I am satisfied that the interference with the Petitioners' right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions is justifiable in the public interest and is proportionate. It is not necessary to repeat those reasons. There was material at the Parliament's disposal which provided a sufficient basis to justify section 9's enactment. On the basis of that material the Parliament was entitled to "strike the balance in favour of the public interest. Neither the means employed, nor the disadvantages caused by the interference with the Petitioners' right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions, are disproportionate to the aim pursued. The Parliament's judgement to enact section 9 was not manifestly without reasonable foundation (JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v United Kingdom, supra, at paragraph 75)."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
A tobacco vending machine company challenged the legality of a section of a tobacco control law prohibiting tobacco vending machines. The petitioner argued that the law violates the right to free movement of goods between EU member states and infringes their right to property. The court upheld the law, concluding that the law is valid because of its legitimate public interest in preventing young people from having access to cigarettes from vending machines.