ABSTRACT

The applicant company, Gasus Dosier-und Fördertechnik GmbH (hereinafter ‘Gasus’), were a limited liability company. In 1980, they sold a concrete mixer and ancillary equipment to a Dutch company, Atlas, on condition that title would not pass until the full price had been paid. The machine was seized by the Tax Bailiff to cover Atlas’ tax debts. On 22 May 1981, Gasus brought proceedings against Atlas’s trustee in bankruptcy before the Utrecht Regional Court to obtain an order for the concrete mixer to be returned. They were unsuccessful. Their appeals to the Hague Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court were rejected. They complained that they had been deprived of their possessions in violation of P1A1. Comm found by majority (6-6 with the casting vote of its President) NV P1A1.