9.  The applicant was born in 1970 and lives in St. Peter am Hart. 10.  On 9 July 1995 the applicant was involved in a road traffic accident in which his passenger was slightly injured. 11.  On 25 September 1995 the Braunau District Administrative Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) ordered the applicant to pay a fine of 10,000 Austrian schillings (ATS), with nine days’ imprisonment in default, for driving under the influence of drink, contrary to sections 5 (1) and 99 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Act 1960 (Straßenverkehrsordnung). The applicant did not appeal. 12.  Meanwhile, on 8 August 1995, a criminal information was laid against him. 13.  On 7 January 1997 the Grieskirchen District Court (Bezirksgericht) convicted the applicant under Article 88 §§ 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) of causing injury by negligence, with the additional element of Article 81 § 2, and sentenced him to pay a fine of ATS 8,000 with twenty days’ imprisonment in default. 14.  On 18 June 1997 the Wels Regional Court (Landesgericht) dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The Regional Court noted that the European Court of Human Rights had meanwhile found that the Austrian reservation in respect of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 was invalid (see the Gradinger v. Austria judgment of 23 October 1995, Series A no. 328-C, pp. 64-65, §§ 49-51). However, the judgment was not directly applicable and, therefore, it had to be assumed that double punishment was still lawful under domestic law, if the courts decided after the administrative authorities. In addition it noted that, following a judgment of the Constitutional Court changing the subsidiarity provisions in section 99 (6) (c) of the Road Traffic Act, the administrative offence of drunken driving was subsidiary to an offence under the Criminal Code committed with the additional element of Article 81 § 2. This change of law was however not applicable to the case in issue.