The European Court of Justice has started dealing with a Czech complaint against a new European Union directive restricting possession of firearms.

The Czech Republic was vehemently against the directive saying it would damage responsible gun-holders, hunters associations and result in a large number of firearms being sold on the black market.

The Czech government would like to see the directive abolished. The Czech delegation at the hearings is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Smolek.

There are more than 800,000 firearms of all categories registered among 300,000 gun permit holders in the Czech Republic, which has a population of 10.6 million.