Letter to Federal Ministry of Justice

Bundesministerin
Mag. Claudia Bandion-Ortner
Bundesministerium für Justiz
Museumstraße 7
1070 Wien

Re: Violation of the obligation to make a timely decision on the part of the regulatory authorities, art. 132 Austrian Federal Constitutional Law, infringement of §8 clauses 2 and 3 of the Medical Specialities Order 1947, §12 (currently §8) Medicines Act, §91 para. 2 Medicines Act (BGBl. No. 185/1983), article 7 (1) Federal Constitutional Principle, art. 2 right to life – Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms.

Vienna, 31.5.2010

Dear Minister,

The matter I am writing to you about concerns many Austrian cancer patients because my application from December 1976 for the approval of Ukrain for the treatment of patients who have exhausted all other modes of therapy, as well as my supplementary application from 27 July 1981 for the treatment of cancer patients without the above-mentioned limitation, have not been dealt with until today.

I am now putting all my hope in you as a newly motivated and dynamic minister who is not afraid to stand up for justice and fairness.

The fact that the preparation Ukrain has not been granted approval has put Austrian cancer patients at a great disadvantage because the health insurance institutions refuse to cover the cost of treatment (please see enclosed explanations, pages 2–4). As a result patients are refused the opportunity to improve their quality of life and prolong or even save their lives with the help of a powerful medicine with very few side-effects (please see the case history of Stefan Dan, pages 9–10, enclosure 39, and the book “Krebsmittel Ukrain – Kriminalgeschichte einer Verhinderung” by Dr. Eleonore Thun-Hohenstein, Wien, Molden Verlag, pages 7–9 and 185–188, enclosure 38).

In order to enable all affected patients to benefit from this treatment, I kindly ask you to issue an appropriate instruction to the authorities so that the applications for approval of the preparation Ukrain from December 1976 and July 1981 are finally dealt with and concluded in accordance with the legislation in force at the time.

The enclosed explanations provide detailed documentation of the unlawful methods used by the authorities to refuse approval, despite the fact that, on the basis of their positive experience, numerous doctors and scientists who have worked with Ukrain have called for the preparation to be granted approval (please see pages 2–5 of the enclosed explanations). In addition, numerous experts have advocated and recommended approval on the basis of the existing data.

I have exhausted all legal possibilities, including complaints of delay to the Higher Administrative Court in accordance with §27 of the Higher Administrative Court Act and a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights, where I won the case. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Republic of Austria had infringed article 6, paragraph 1 of the European Human Rights Convention insofar as the approval process had not been concluded within an appropriate period of time (enclosure 16). Despite this, my applications from December 1976 and July 1981 have still not been dealt with until now. I have so far received no answer to my question, “What should I now do in order to obtain my right in a constitutional state like Austria?” – neither from the well-known Schönherr lawyers office (enclosure 64), who represented me, nor from the Rechtsanwaltskammer Wien (Vienna Bar Association) (enclosure 65).

In this situation I turn to you with the same question: what should I do so that my applications for approval from December 1976 and July 1981 will be dealt with in accordance with the legislation in force at the time of the applications? I am an Austrian citizen and taxpayer. Austria is a constitutional state and there must be a way for me to obtain my right. I would be very grateful for your explanation.

Since this is a matter of public interest I take the liberty of publishing this letter and your much-appreciated answer on the internet.

Best regards,
Dr. Wassil Nowicky