4.  The applicant was born in 1966 and is detained in Włocławek. 5.  Criminal proceedings against the applicant concerning charges of leading an organised criminal gang, assault and extortion have been pending since 29 September 2005 (case no. IV K 59/09, Łódź Regional Court). 6.  On 1 October 2009 the applicant was arrested and detained on remand. 7.  On 2 March 2010 the applicant was indicted before the Łódź Regional Court. The bill of indictment was directed against the applicant and twenty‑two co-accused charged with over 900 offences in total. The applicant was charged on thirty-eight counts with respect to various offences related to stealing cars, dealing in drugs, assaults and burglaries, in the context of an organised criminal gang. 8.  At a session on 23 November 2010 the trial court decided to sever the remainder of the case from the proceedings against the applicant, which would be dealt with at a separate trial and joined with other charges brought against him. In consequence, the proceedings against the applicant were to be transferred to another division of the Łódź Regional Court. The decision pertaining to the competence of the court was quashed on 14 December 2010. On 28 December 2010 the trial court extended the applicant’s detention on remand. On 4 February 2011 the proceedings were stayed pending the outcome of another trial, but that decision was quashed upon appeal on 16 March 2011. The case was transferred to the relevant division of the court in March 2011, and thereafter the presiding judge scheduled the beginning of the trial for 14 September 2011 and undertook other preparative actions (such as tracing the addresses of some twelve witnesses).
During the proceedings the applicant lodged multiple procedural requests which were examined by the trial court. In particular, he asked for adjournments of hearings, asked for new evidence to be admitted, and challenged a judge and a prosecutor. 9.  The Łódź Regional Court held about twenty-four hearings in total and on 13 May 2013 convicted the applicant and sentenced him to nine years’ imprisonment. 10.  The applicant appealed against the judgment. 11.  A hearing of the appellate court scheduled for 15 April 2014 was cancelled due to the absence of the applicant’s lawyer. 12.  On 12 June 2014 the Łódź Court of Appeal allowed the applicant’s appeal in part and reduced his sentence to eight years’ imprisonment. The applicant lodged a cassation appeal. 13.  On 17 December 2014 the Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal. 14.  The applicant lodged two complaints under the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints of breaches of the right to have a case examined in an investigation conducted or supervised by a prosecutor, and in judicial proceedings, without undue delay (ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu przygotowawczym prowadzonym lub nadzorowanym przez prokuratora i postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki - “the 2004 Act”). 15.  On 7 September 2011 the Łódź Court of Appeal dismissed the first complaint. The court, relying on the Convention principles, ruled that, taking into account the complexity of the case, the length of the proceedings had not been excessive. During the period under consideration the trial court had prepared diligently for trial by, for instance, securing the presence of a large number of witnesses who had been summoned from various detention facilities. 16.  On 28 November 2012 the Łódź Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s second complaint. The court examined the course of the proceedings and ruled that there had been no delays on the part of the courts. It noted that the trial court had taken many procedural decisions requested by the parties, including the applicant.