A European court let stand its January ruling that Hungary violated private property rights by failing to allow a merchant to continue selling cigarettes when the state tobacco monopoly was created in 2013, the Budapest Business Journal said.

Store owner László Vékony won his complaint filed with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, when the court rejected appeals of the January ruling, according to BBJ. Vékony, who sold tobacco products for more than 16 years in his store, applied for a state license when the monopoly was introduced, but was rejected.
Disallowing appeals means the ruling requiring Hungary to pay Vékony EUR 21,000 in damages and costs is binding, BBJ said on its website. Prior to creation of the state monopoly, roughly 42,000 stores sold tobacco products. However only about 6,800 state-store licenses were granted nationwide.