PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no.16535/02) against the Republic of Poland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Polish national, Mr Andrzej Kubicz (“the applicant”), on 8 April 2002.

The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 4 May 2004 the Court decided to communicate the application to the Government. Under the provisions of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility.

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1959 and lives in Chrzanów, Poland. He is represented before the Court by Mr T. Marek, a lawyer practising in Oświęcim, Poland.

On 16 March 2001 the Chrzanów District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) ordered that the applicant be detained on remand in view of the reasonable suspicion that he had committed armed robbery. The court considered that the applicant’s detention was justified in view of the gravity of the charges against him. There was also a risk that he could go into hiding.

On 21 May 2001 the applicant asked for release from detention. The Chrzanów District Prosecutor (Prokurator Rejonowy) refused on 29 May 2001. He considered that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence in question and a risk that he might obstruct the proper conduct of the proceedings. He found also that there were no grounds on which to release the applicant, as defined in Article 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Furthermore, he underlined the gravity of the charges brought against him.

On 30 May 2001 the applicant was indicted on 3 counts of armed robbery committed together with 2 accomplices before the Katowice Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy).

On 11 July 2001 the Katowice Regional Court ordered that the applicant be held in custody until 30 October 2001. The court repeated the reasons previously given for his detention.

On 23 July 2001 the Katowice Regional Court referred the case to the Cracow Regional Court, considering that that court had jurisdiction over the matter. The Cracow Regional Court disagreed and, on 24 September 2001, referred the case to the Cracow Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) for a ruling determining which court was to deal with it. On 17 October 2001 the Court of Appeal ordered that the case be tried before the Katowice Regional Court.

The applicant’s detention was further extended on 25 October and 10 December 2001, despite the applicant’s requests for release.

The first hearing was to be held on 19 April 2002 but the trial was adjourned for procedural reasons.

During the proceedings the applicant’s detention was prolonged on several occasions. The last decision was taken on 11 October 2002, when the Katowice Regional Court ordered that he be held in custody until 15 March 2003.

The applicant made many unsuccessful applications for release and appealed, likewise unsuccessfully, against the decisions prolonging his detention. He maintained that his detention was excessive and that other measures, such as bail or police supervision could secure the proper conduct of the trial. All decisions dismissing his applications repeated the same grounds for the applicant’s detention: the reasonable suspicion against him and the severity of the anticipated sentence and the fear that he might tamper with evidence.

On 10 March 2003 the Katowice Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to 3 years’ imprisonment.

The Katowice Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance judgment on 6 November 2003.

On 17 September 2004 the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki) (“the 2004 Act”) entered into force.

The applicant did not lodge a complaint under the 2004 Act.