ITEMID: 001-69670
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: ROU
BRANCH: CHAMBER
DATE: 2005
DOCNAME: CASE OF MOLDOVAN AND OTHERS  v. ROMANIA (No. 2)
IMPORTANCE: 1
CONCLUSION: Violation of Art. 8;Violation of Art. 3;No violation of Art. 6-1 (access to court);Violation of Art. 6-1 (length of proceedings);Violation of Art. 14+6;Violation of Art. 14+8;Pecuniary damage - financial award;Non-pecuniary damage - financial award
TEXT: 15. The applicants are Romanian nationals of Roma origin. They used to live in the village of Hădăreni, in the Mureş district, and are agricultural workers. After the events described below, some applicants returned to live in Hădăreni, while others, who are homeless, live in various parts of the country. Mr Iulius Moldovan is currently living in Spain and Mrs Maria Floarea Zoltan is living in the United Kingdom.
16. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows:
17. On the evening of 20 September 1993 a row broke out in a bar in the centre of the village of Hădăreni (Mureş district). Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş and Aurel Pardalian Lăcătuş, two Roma brothers, along with another Rom, Mircea Zoltan, began to argue with a non-Rom, Cheţan Gligor. The verbal confrontation developed into a physical one which ended with the death of Cheţan Crăciun, who had come to the aid of his father. The three Roma then fled the scene and sought refuge in a neighbour's house.
18. Soon afterwards, news of the incident spread and a large number of villagers learned of Cheţan Crăciun's death. Enraged, they gathered together to find the Roma. The angry mob arrived at the house where the three were hiding and demanded that they come out. Among the crowd were members of the local police force in Hădăreni, including the Chief of Police Ioan Moga, and Sergeant Alexandru Şuşcă, who had heard of the incident. When the brothers refused to come out, the crowd set fire to the house. As the fire engulfed the house, the brothers tried to flee but were caught by the mob who beat and kicked them with vineyard stakes and clubs. The two brothers died later that evening. Mircea Zoltan remained in the house, where he died in the fire. It appears that the police officers present did nothing to stop these attacks. The applicants alleged that, on the contrary, the police also called for and allowed the destruction of all Roma property in Hădăreni.
19. Later that evening the villagers decided to vent their anger on all the Roma living in the village and proceeded to burn the Roma homes and property in Hădăreni, including stables, cars and goods. The riots continued until the following day. In all, thirteen Roma houses belonging to the applicants were destroyed.
The individual applicants made the following allegations:
20. The applicant alleged that it was on his property that the three Roma were killed on 20 September 1993. His home and other property were set on fire and destroyed.
21. The applicant alleged that her house and various personal possessions were destroyed by the fire.
22. The applicant alleged that, on the evening of 20 September 1993, an angry mob had appeared at her door, entered the house and destroyed all her belongings. The mob had then proceeded to set fire to her home and she had watched as the flames destroyed it. The next day, when she had returned home with her husband and daughter, she had been met by an enraged mob of villagers who had prevented her from entering the house. Police officers Ioan Moga, Alexandru Şuşcă and Florin Nicu Drăghici had taken hold of her, sprayed pepper in her face and then proceeded to beat her badly. Costică Moldovan had witnessed these events. Colonel Drăghici had also fired at Costică Moldovan and his family as they tried to return home to fetch their pigs. The applicant declared that her house had been damaged and that she had lost valuables and other possessions.
23. The applicant alleged that on the evening of 20 September 1993 she had learned from her eleven-year-old daughter what was happening in Hădăreni. Her daughter had told her that a neighbour had said that the non-Roma villagers wanted to kill all the Gypsies in retaliation for the death of Cheţan Crăciun.
24. Fearing for the safety of her children, the applicant had taken them to her mother's house. Later that evening, when she returned, she witnessed several people gathered in front of the courtyard throwing stones and pieces of wood and eventually setting her house on fire. As she ran back to her mother's house, she saw three people armed with clubs, urging the mob to set fire to it. Within minutes, her mother's home was in flames.
25. The following day the applicant had attempted to return to what was left of her home to assess the damage. As she approached her property, she had been threatened verbally and physically by an angry mob of non-Roma villagers and police officers. One villager had threatened her with a shovel and others had violently thrown rocks at her. The villagers, including the police officers present, had prevented her from entering what remained of her home. Fearing for her safety, the applicant and her children had left Hădăreni.
26. Later that day she had once again attempted to return to her home along with other Roma villagers. This time the applicant had found the road to her house entirely blocked by an even larger crowd of villagers, all of whom had been carrying clubs. Police officers had also been among the crowd. Among the enraged mob of villagers, the applicant had recognised Officer Nicu Drăghici, who was holding a truncheon. A police car had even pursued the applicant and other Roma trying to return to their homes, firing shots at them and shouting at them to leave the village. The applicant alleged that her house had been destroyed and that she had lost valuable goods.
27. Petru (Gruia) Lăcătuş alleged that his house had been destroyed, as had the three cars he had had in the courtyard.
28. The applicant stated that, on the night of 20 September 1993, her husband, Mircea Zoltan, and her two brothers, Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş and Aurel Pardalian Lăcătuş, had been brutally murdered in the Hădăreni pogrom. She alleged that one of the thirteen Roma houses set on fire that evening had belonged to her late mother, Cătălina Lăcătuş.
29. The applicant alleged that his house had been destroyed and that he had lost valuable goods. His wife had been pregnant at the time of the incident and, because she had been beaten and had experienced severe fear, the baby had been born with brain damage.
30. In the aftermath of the incident the Roma residents of Hădăreni lodged a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutors' Office. The complainants identified a number of individuals responsible for what had occurred on 20 September 1993. Among those identified were several police officers: Chief of Police Ioan Moga, his assistant Sergeant Alexandru Şuşcă, Colonel Florentin Nicu Draghici, a certain Panzaru from Luduş, and Lieutenant Colonel Constantin Palade, the Mureş County Chief of Police.
31. Thereafter, an investigation was initiated which identified the offenders who had actively participated in the killing of the Lăcătuş brothers and Mircea Zoltan, and the destruction of Roma houses and other property.
32. On 21 July 1994 three civilians – P.B., I.B. and N.G. - were remanded in custody. They were charged with extremely serious murder (under Articles 174 and 176 of the Criminal Code) and arson (under Article 217 § 4 of the Criminal Code). However, a few hours later they were released and all warrants for their arrest were set aside by order of the General Prosecutor.
33. By an order of 31 October 1994, on the basis of ample evidence that suggested police involvement in the incident, the case was sent to the Târgu-Mureş Military Prosecutors' Office, which had jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed by police officers. According to the order of the Public Prosecutors' Office of the Târgu-Mureş Court of Appeal, Lieutenant Colonel Palade had organised a small meeting with non-Roma villagers after the incident, advising them “not to tell anyone what the police had done if they wanted the incident to be forgotten and not have any consequences for themselves.”
34. By a resolution dated 15 November 1994, the Târgu-Mureş Military Prosecutors' Office ordered an extension of the investigation and the initiation of a criminal investigation in respect of Chief of Police Moga and Sergeant Şuşcă. According to the military prosecutor, the evidence produced so far indicated that these persons had incited the villagers to commit acts of violence against the Lăcătuş brothers and had even directly participated in setting fire to certain houses. On the basis of oral evidence, the prosecutor found that officers Moga and Şuşcă had participated in the events and “repeatedly” incited the villagers to take action against the men barricaded in the house, telling them to “set them on fire, because we cannot do anything to them”. Moreover, he found that Lieutenant Colonel Palade had required the inhabitants of Hădăreni “not to tell anyone anything about the actions of the police officers, and everything will be forgotten and you shall bear no consequences.”
35. On 10 January 1995, having regard to the involvement of Colonel Palade, the Târgu-Mureş Military Prosecutor declined jurisdiction to investigate the case and referred it to the Bucharest Territorial Military Prosecutors' Office.
36. On 22 August 1995 Colonel Magistrate M.S., the military prosecutor at the Bucharest Military Court, decided not to open a criminal investigation, stating that the evidence produced in the case had not confirmed the participation of Chief of Police Moga, Lieutenant Colonel Palade or Sergeant Şuşcă in the crimes committed during the riots. As to the statements made by various witnesses confirming the involvement of these police officers, the prosecutor found that one of them had been made by the sister of two of the victims and, given the fact that the officers had punished the victims several times, her evidence was obviously tendentious. The prosecutor found the other oral evidence confused. He concluded that the police officers could not be accused of having committed crimes, “even though one should accept that during the events they had used words such as 'do what you want, I have a family to take care of' or 'they will come out immediately if you set the house on fire'. Moreover, we cannot consider the lack of initiative and the inability of the two policemen to influence the behaviour of the furious villagers as a form of participation – either in the form of instigation or as possible moral complicity.”
37. In September 1995, the Head of the Bucharest Territorial Military Prosecutors' Office upheld the decision, refusing to open an investigation, and all charges against the police officers were dropped. An appeal lodged by the injured parties was dismissed by the Military Prosecutors' Office of the Supreme Court of Justice.
38. On 12 August 1997, the Public Prosecutor of the Târgu-Mureş Court of Appeal issued an indictment charging eleven civilians suspected of having committed crimes on 20 September 1993.
39. Certain testimonies confirmed that the police had promised the villagers involved in the riot that they would help to cover up the entire incident. Several defendants testified that two police cars driving to the scene of the incident that night had ordered, over their loudspeakers, that the house where the three Roma victims were hiding be set on fire.
40. On 11 November 1997 a criminal trial, in conjunction with a civil case for damages, began against the civilian defendants in the Târgu-Mureş County Court. During these proceedings, the applicants learned of the overwhelming extent of the evidence against the police. Various witnesses testified that police officers had not only been present that evening but had actually instigated the incident and then stood idly by as the two Lăcătuş brothers and Mircea Zoltan were killed and Roma houses destroyed. In this connection, witnesses cited the names of Chief of Police Moga, Colonel Drăghici and Sergeant Şuşcă.
41. In the light of numerous testimonies implicating additional individuals – both civilians and police officers – the applicants' lawyer asked the court to extend the indictment of 12 August 1997. As a result, the civilian prosecutor sent the relevant military prosecutor the information on which to base proceedings before a military court against the officers concerned.
42. The applicants Iulius Moldovan and Floarea Zoltan asked the court in writing to extend the criminal charges. According to them, the prosecutor refused to do so.
43. On 23 June 1998 the Târgu-Mureş County Court severed the civil and the criminal case because the criminal investigation had already lasted four years and the determination of the civil aspect would take even longer.
44. On 17 July 1998 the Târgu-Mureş County Court delivered its judgment in the criminal case. It noted the following:
“The village of Hădăreni, belonging to the commune of Cheţani, is situated in the south-west Mureş district on the main road between Târgu-Mureş and Cluj and has a population of 882 inhabitants, of which 641 are Romanians, 145 Hungarians and 123 Roma.
The Roma community represents 14% of the total population and the marginal lifestyle of some categories of Roma, especially the ones who settled in the village after 1989, has often generated serious conflicts with the majority of the population.
Due to their lifestyle and their rejection of the moral values accepted by the rest of the population, the Roma community has marginalised itself, shown aggressive behaviour and deliberately denied and violated the legal norms acknowledged by society.
Most of the Roma have no occupation and earn their living by doing odd jobs, stealing and engaging in all kinds of illicit activities. As the old form of common property that gave them equal rights with the other members of the community was terminated, the Roma population were allocated plots of land. However, they did not work the land and continued to steal, to commit acts of violence and to carry out attacks, mainly against private property, which has generated even more rejection than before.
Groups of Roma have started arguments with the young people in the village, attacked them or stolen their goods and money.
Moreover, they ostentatiously use insults, profanities and vulgar words in public places. ...
The records of the criminal-investigation authorities and of the courts of law in Mureş County disclose that seven criminal cases were registered between 1991 and 1993, having as their object acts of violence ranging from simple blows to murder.
In fact, the real number of the crimes committed by the Roma was much higher, but many of them were not judged in court because the injured parties did not file complaints, withdrew them or made peace with the perpetrators, for fear of vindictive threats by the Roma.
The community feels that most of the disputes were solved in an unfair, unsatisfactory manner in favour of Roma and this has caused an increase in the number of personal or collective vindictive actions.”
45. The court went on to establish that, on the evening of 20 September 1993, the Lăcătuş brothers and Mircea Zoltan had been waiting at the village bus station and had quarrelled with Cheţan Gligor about the attempts made by the three Roma to attract the attention of a girl. Answering the Roma's mockery and insults addressed to him and to his cow, Cheţan Gligor started to threaten the Roma with his whip and even hit Pardalian Lăcătuş. A fight followed, during which Cheţan Crăciun, who had intervened to defend his father, was stabbed in the chest by Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş. The Roma ran away, while Cheţan Crăciun was brought to the hospital, where he died about half an hour later. During that time the Roma took refuge in the house of the applicants Lucreţia and Iulius Moldovan, while villagers gathered around the yard of the house. Two police officers, Chief of Police Moga and Sergeant Şuşcă, arrived at the scene of the incident minutes later, having been called by some villagers. The policemen were allegedly under the influence of alcohol. Before and after the arrival of the police, the villagers threw stones, pieces of wood and clods of earth at the house and shouted things like “Set fire to the house! Let them burn like rats!” A villager started to throw flammable materials at the house and was soon followed by others, including children. When the fire spread, two of the Roma men came out of the house. Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş was immediately immobilised by Mr Moga, while Pardalian Lăcătuş managed to run away. Mircea Zoltan was stopped from coming out of the house by a villager and was hit by another's fist and a shovel, which finally led to his dying in the fire. His carbonized body was found the following day in the burned-down house. The autopsy report established that he had died from respiratory failure, 100% carbonized.
46. To escape the fury of the villagers, Chief of Police Moga took Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş to the cemetery, after trying in vain to enter several courtyards in the village, which were all locked. The court noted that “the policeman [Moga], realising his presence was useless, abandoned his prisoner to the infuriated crowd”. According to the autopsy report, Rapa Lupian Lăcătuş died a violent death from shock and internal bleeding, with multiple traumatic injuries affecting his liver, a hemiperitoneum and peripheral haematoma on 70% of his body.
47. Pardalian Lăcătuş was caught by the crowd near the cultural centre, where he was beaten to death. The autopsy report found that he had died as a result of direct blows from blunt objects causing eighty-nine lesions on his body (multiple fractures of his arms, ribs and thorax, and multiple traumatic injuries and contusions).
48. During the trial, all the civilian defendants stated that, in addition to officers Moga and Şuşcă, two other policemen had arrived from the city of Luduş and encouraged the crowd to set fire to the houses. Two police cars had also arrived at Hădăreni, from which it was announced over loudspeakers that only the detached houses of the Gypsies should be set on fire in order not to cause accidents. At a meeting held the next day in the village square, Lieutenant Colonel Palade stated that the case would be covered up and a scapegoat found.
49. All the accused stated that they had been arrested for the first time in 1994, but only for a few hours or days, after which they had been released in order to allow them to harvest the crops, a reason they found strange, since most of them were not farmers. They also stated that very few questions were put to them and that the prosecutor even tried to put pressure on them. They were not questioned further until 1997, when they were arrested again.
50. The court further established that the villagers had declared that, on the night in question, the village was to be “purged of the Gypsies”, an intention clearly put into action, and found that,
“The majority of the population of Hădăreni was directly or indirectly supported by the representatives of the authorities who came to the village and not only did nothing to stop the houses being set on fire, but also surrounded the area with groups of gendarmes.”
51. The court found that the action was not premeditated, but that all those present had acted jointly, in different ways (assault, murder, fire, destruction, etc.), to reach their declared goal of eliminating the Roma community from the village.
52. The court held that the preliminary investigation had been inadequate:
“We deem that the inadequate manner in which the acts and ... procedures related to the investigation were performed reflect a negative attitude ... The same can be noted regarding the delayed submission of the autopsy reports on the victims (Cheţan Crăciun, Lăcătuş Rapa Lupian and Zoltan Mircea died on 21 September 1993 and the forensic reports were drafted in November 1993; mention should be made of the fact that none of the four forensic reports gave specific dates, but only an indication of the month when they were drafted) ... [Moreover,] the electoral meeting organised at the village stadium, attended by politicians, representatives of the police and the law, ... asked the population not to tell the truth and to delay the resolution of the case.”
53. The court also noted that the prosecution had not agreed to an extension of the criminal investigation or to the initiation of criminal proceedings against “other persons”. Therefore, the court could only rule in respect of those perpetrators prosecuted in accordance with Article 317 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
54. The court convicted five civilians of extremely serious murder under Articles 174 and 176 of the Criminal Code and twelve civilians, including the former five, of destroying property, outraging public decency and disturbing public order. Among those convicted of destruction of property and disturbance was V.B., the Deputy Mayor of Hădăreni. The court pronounced prison sentences ranging from one to seven years, and noted that those given terms of less than five years had half the sentence pardoned under Law no. 137/1997. The court justified the sentences as follows:
“Taking into consideration the characteristics of this particular case, the punishments applied to the defendants might seem too mild compared to the gravity of the crimes. We consider that, as long as persons who contributed to a greater extent to the criminal actions were not prosecuted and were not even the subject of an investigation, although there was enough evidence to prove their guilt, the defendants who were prosecuted should not be held responsible for all the crimes committed, but only for that part for which they are liable.”
55. On 17 July 1998, the Public Prosecutors' Office appealed against this judgment, asking, inter alia, for heavier sentences. On 15 January 1999, the Târgu-Mureş Court of Appeal convicted a sixth civilian, P.B., of extremely serious murder under Articles 174 and 176 of the Criminal Code, sentencing him to six years' imprisonment. It also increased the sentence under Article 174 in respect of N.G. to six years' imprisonment. However, it reduced the other sentences under Articles 174 and 176: in respect of V.B. and S.I.P. from seven to six years' imprisonment, in respect of V.B.N. and S.F. from five to two years' imprisonment, and in respect of N.B., I.B. and O.V. from three to two years' imprisonment. Finally, it discontinued the criminal proceedings against the Deputy Mayor V.B.
56. The Court of Appeal also reduced the sentences of those convicted of destruction of property under Article 217 of the Criminal Code.
57. On 22 November 1999, the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the lower courts' convictions for destruction, but reduced the charges of extremely serious murder to a lesser charge of serious murder with extenuating circumstances for V.B., P.B. and S.I.P., sentencing them to five years' imprisonment. It acquitted P.B. and N.G.
58. By a decree of 7 June 2000, the President of Romania issued individual pardons to S.I.P. and P.B., convicted of serious murder, whereupon they were released.
59. On 22 August 1999, following new evidence brought to light in the criminal trial, the applicants lodged an appeal with the Military Prosecutors' Office of the Supreme Court of Justice against the decision of 22 August 1995 not to open an investigation against the police officers involved in the incidents of 20 September 1993.
60. On 14 March 2000 the Chief Military Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the military prosecutor at Bucharest Military Court's decision of 22 August 1995.
61. By decision no. 636 of 19 November 1993, the Romanian Government allocated 25,000,000 Romanian lei (ROL) for the reconstruction of the eighteen houses destroyed by fire on 20 September 1993. The Government decided, moreover, that this amount could also be used as financial assistance for the families affected in order to help them replace items of strict necessity destroyed during the fire. However, only four houses were rebuilt with this money and none of the families received financial assistance.
62. By a Government decision of 30 November 1993, a commission for the co-ordination of the reconstruction of the houses was created. Members of this commission included the mayor of Cheţani, G.G., and his Deputy, V.B.
63. In a letter of 30 June 1994 addressed to the Government, the Prefect of Mureş indicated that an additional amount of ROL 53,000,000 was needed to rebuild the remaining ten houses.
64. By decision no. 773 of 25 November 1994, the Government granted an additional sum of ROL 32,000,000 in funds, which had been earmarked for natural disasters occurring between March and September 1994. Four other houses were rebuilt. As shown in photographs submitted by the applicants, these constructions were defective, as there appear to be huge gaps between the window frames and the walls, and the roofs only partially cover the houses.
65. In a letter dated 30 November 1994 addressed to the Prefect of Mureş, Petru Rostaş, the father-in-law of the applicant Otilia Rostaş, requested that her house be rebuilt as a priority because, since the events, she had been living with her four children in a hen-house.
66. In a letter dated 8 November 1995, Liga Pro Europa, a human-rights association based in Târgu-Mureş, informed the Prefect that six houses had still not been rebuilt, which meant that six families had to spend another winter without a dwelling. Moreover, according to the association, most of the victims had complained about the bad quality of the rebuilt houses and alleged that the money allocated for this purpose had been improperly used.
In a letter addressed to the Prefect in 1995, the mayor of Cheţani (of which Hădăreni is a part), G.G., a member of the reconstruction commission, reported that, of the fourteen houses destroyed by the fire, eight had been rebuilt or almost rebuilt. Concerning the remaining six houses, he reported that three of them posed “special problems” based in part on “the behaviour of the three families”, “the seriousness of the acts committed and the attitude of the population of Hădăreni towards these families”. In particular, one of the houses to be rebuilt was on land near the non-Rom victim's family (Cheţan Crăciun), who refused to have Gypsy families living close by. Another problem mentioned by the mayor was the house of the late mother of two of the Roma “criminals” who had died during the 1993 events. It appeared that, after the events, the Lăcătuş family had started living in the city of Luduş, so the mayor had proposed that a house be built for them at a place of their choice.
67. To date, six houses have not been rebuilt, of which two belonged to the applicants Petru (Dîgăla) Lăcătuş and Maria Floarea Zoltan. According to an expert report submitted by the Government, the damage caused to the houses of Petru (Gruia) Lăcătuş and Moldovan Maria had not been repaired, whereas the houses of Iulius Moldovan and Otilia Rostaş had been rebuilt but required finishing work.
68. On 2 September 1997 the applicant Iulius Moldovan wrote a letter to the President of Romania, informing him that six houses, including his, had still not been rebuilt. He urged the President to grant the necessary funds for the reconstruction of the houses, since he and his family were living in very difficult conditions in the home of the Rostaş family: fifteen people, including nine children, were living in two rooms and sleeping on the floor, which resulted in the children being continually ill.
69. The applicants submitted that, in general, following the events of September 1993, they had been forced to live in hen-houses, pigsties, windowless cellars, or in extremely cold and deplorable conditions: sixteen people in one room with no heating; seven people in one room with a mud floor; families sleeping on mud or concrete floors without adequate clothing, heat or blankets; fifteen people in a summer kitchen with a concrete floor (Melenuţa Moldovan), etc. These conditions had lasted for several years and, in some cases, continued to the present day.
70. As a result, the applicants and their families fell ill. In particular, the applicant Petru (Gruia) Lăcătuş had developed diabetes and begun to lose his eyesight.
71. Following the decision of 23 June 1998 to sever the civil and criminal proceedings, on 12 January 2001 the Mureş Regional Court delivered its judgment in the civil case. The court noted that the victims had requested pecuniary damages for the destruction of the houses and their contents (furniture, etc.), as well as non-pecuniary damages. The court further noted that, during the events of 20 September 1993, eighteen houses belonging to the Roma population in Hădăreni had been totally or partially destroyed and three Roma had been killed, a criminal court having found twelve villagers guilty of these acts. Basing its decision on an expert report, the court awarded pecuniary damages for those houses which had not been rebuilt in the meantime, and maintenance allowances for the children of the Roma killed during the riots. On the basis of an expert report, the court awarded pecuniary damages in respect of the partial or total destruction of the houses of six Roma, including those of the third and fifth applicants. The court rejected the other applicants' request for pecuniary damages in respect of the rebuilt houses, finding, on the basis of the same expert report, that their value was either the same or even higher than the original buildings. It further refused all applicants damages in respect of belongings and furniture, on the ground that they had not submitted documents to confirm the value of their assets and were not registered as taxpayers capable of acquiring such valuable assets. The court stated, inter alia:
“Mr Iulius Moldovan did not submit documents proving with certainty that he had any belongings. He claimed in particular that he was in the sheep business, from which he drew a substantial income, for instance, that he had a ton of wool in the attic of his house. However, from the information obtained by the court from the local tax office in Cheţani, it appears that the civil party was not registered as having any income. ...
The damage suffered because of the destruction of the chattels and furniture has not been substantiated. The civil parties consider that their own statements, the lists of the belongings destroyed submitted to the court and the statements of the other witnesses who are also civil parties should be enough to substantiate their claims. Having regard to the context in which the destruction occurred and to the fact that all civil parties suffered losses, the court will dismiss as obviously insincere the statements made by each civil party in relation to the losses suffered by the other civil parties.
Last but not least, the type of belongings allegedly destroyed and the quantity of goods allegedly in the possession of each civil party show a much more prosperous situation than that which a family of average income could have. Neither civil party adduced proof of having an income such as to allow them to acquire so many goods. As noted previously, the parties had no income at all. Moreover, the shape of the houses, the materials used for their construction and the number of rooms show an evident lack of financial resources. It should be stressed in this context that only work can be the source of revenue, and not events such as the present one...”
72. The court finally rejected all the applicants' requests for non-pecuniary damages on the ground that they had not substantiated their claim, and that the crimes committed were not of a nature to produce moral damage.
73. The court ordered the villagers convicted in the criminal trial to pay the damages awarded.
74. Having regard to some procedural errors in the Mureş Regional Court's judgment, the applicants lodged an appeal with the Mureş Court of Appeal.
75. On 17 October 2001 the Mureş Court of Appeal found that a number of procedural errors had occurred during the public hearings on the merits before the Mureş Regional Court: the hearings had been held in the absence of the accused and their lawyers; one of the original applicants, Adrian Moldovan, had not been summoned; the public prosecutor had not been given leave to address the court; a number of expert reports ordered by the court had not been completed, and confusion had been created as to the number and names of the victims and their children. The Court of Appeal concluded that these errors rendered the proceedings null and void. It therefore quashed the judgment of 12 January 2001 and ordered a new trial of the case.
76. The Mureş Regional Court delivered its judgment in the civil case on 12 May 2003. The court noted that the victims had requested pecuniary damages for the destruction of houses and their contents (furniture, etc.), as well as non-pecuniary damages. The court further noted that, during the events of 20 September 1993, eighteen houses belonging to the Roma population in Hădăreni had been totally or partially destroyed and three Roma had been killed. As a result of these events, the State had granted some money for the reconstruction of the houses.
Basing its decision on an expert report drafted in 1999 and updated in 2003, the court ordered the following damages to be paid by the civilians found guilty by the criminal court:
(a) Iulius Moldovan was awarded ROL 130,000,000 in pecuniary damages in respect of the destroyed house, to be revised to take account of any devaluation in the national currency. The court further heard evidence from witnesses confirming that various assets belonging to the applicant, including furniture, belongings and the proceeds from the sale of more than 260 sheep, had been destroyed during the fire. However, the court refused to award damages on the ground that it was impossible to assess the loss.
(b) As regards Otilia Rostaş, the court noted that her house did not appear on the list of the houses (totally or partially) destroyed drawn up by Cheţani Town Hall. The court heard testimony confirming the destruction of part of the roof and of the wooden structure of her house, but noted that there was no evidence to evaluate the damage. Therefore, it rejected the request for pecuniary damages.
(c) Petru (Gruia) Lăcătuş was awarded ROL 16,000,000 in pecuniary damages in respect of the destroyed house. The court noted the applicant's claim that various assets he had owned had been destroyed during the fire – furniture, three cars, jewellery and money – but rejected it as unsubstantiated.
(d) As regards Melenuţa Moldovan, the court awarded ROL 28,000,000 for the destroyed house. The court heard evidence from two witnesses confirming that the applicant had had various belongings which had been destroyed by the fire, but refused to award damages in that respect, as there was no evidence as to their value.
(e) Maria Moldovan was awarded ROL 600,000 for the destroyed house. The court rejected her claim in respect of the destroyed belongings as there was no evidence as to their value.
(f) Petru (Dîgăla) Lăcătuş was awarded, together with Floarea Maria Zoltan and Monica Simona Lăcătuş, as the brother and sisters of the deceased victims, ROL 60,000,000 for the destroyed house, to be revised to take account of any devaluation in the national currency. The court rejected their claim in respect of their destroyed belongings on the ground that the losses had not been substantiated. It also rejected as unsubstantiated the claim for the reimbursement of the money spent on the burial of the victims.
(g) Floarea Maria Zoltan, the widow of one of the victims who had died burned alive during the riots, also requested a maintenance allowance for her minor child. The court noted that although the applicant claimed that her husband used to be a manufacturer of woollen coats, she had not submitted any evidence as to his income, and therefore decided to take the statutory minimum wage as the basis for the calculation of the allowance, namely, ROL 2,500,000. Moreover, it found that it was impossible to establish how much the applicant's husband used to spend on his child's maintenance, and applied the minimum granted by the Family Code, that is one quarter of the minimum wage, which amounted to ROL 625,000. Finally, the court took into account that the deceased victims had provoked the crimes committed and decided to halve the above-mentioned amount. It therefore awarded ROL 312,500 per month in maintenance allowance for the applicant's minor child.
Finally, the court rejected all the applicants' requests for non-pecuniary damages on the ground that they had not substantiated their claim, and that the crimes committed were not of a nature to produce moral damage.
77. On appeal by the persons convicted and the applicants, the Târgu-Mureş Court of Appeal gave judgment on 24 February 2004. The court recalled that, under the combined provisions of the Civil Code and the Codes of Criminal and Civil Procedure, it was bound by the ruling of the criminal court. Referring to recent publications by Romanian authors in the field of civil law and the Court's case of Akdivar v. Turkey (judgment of 16 September 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-IV), the court found that,
“By their behaviour, the accused infringed the property rights of the complainants, for which pecuniary damages had already been awarded; however, some of the civil parties should also be awarded damages from a moral point of view. Some of the civil parties were deprived emotionally, as a result of the damage sustained, of the security which they had felt in the destroyed houses, of the comfort they had enjoyed as a result of the facilities of the houses, all these movable and immovable goods being the result of their work, which guaranteed them a normal standard of living, having regard to their personalities ...
As shown above, the accused committed the crimes in a state of provocation, which led the court to apply the provisions of Article 73 of the Criminal Code [regarding extenuating circumstances]. For this precise reason, the civil parties enumerated below are entitled to a certain amount of damages, but not the amount requested...”
The court awarded the following amounts: ROL 100,000,000 to Floarea Maria Zoltan as it found that she had had to leave the village and wander homeless in the country and abroad; ROL 50,000,000 to Iulius Moldovan as he had been profoundly affected by the events, had lost his fortune and his health had deteriorated substantially; ROL 30,000,000 to Otilia Rostaş as she had suffered psychological and emotional trauma for the same reasons; ROL 20,000,000 to Melenuţa Moldovan for the same reasons as Otilia Rostaş; ROL 15,000,000 to Maria Moldovan for the psychological trauma suffered as a result of the partial destruction of her house; and ROL 70,000,000 to Petru (Dîgăla) Lăcătuş since he had sustained deep emotional damage and felt insecure as a result of the burning of his parents' house. No award was made in respect of Petru (Gruia) Lăcătuş.
78. The civil parties filed an appeal against this judgment, which was rejected by a final decision of the Court of Cassation, on 25 February 2005.
79. Article 244 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by Government Order no. 59/2001, provides that a court examining a civil action can suspend the proceedings:
“...2. if criminal proceedings have been instituted in relation to a crime, the determination of which is decisive for the outcome of the civil dispute.”
“Criminal proceedings cannot be instituted and, if instituted, cannot be continued if ...
c) the act was not committed by the defendant; ... ”
“The person who has suffered civil damage can join the criminal proceedings...
He or she can do so either during the criminal investigation... or before the court...”
“The findings contained in a final judgment of the criminal court concerning the issue whether the act in question has been committed, and the identification of the perpetrator and his guilt, are binding on the civil court when it examines the civil consequences of the criminal act.”
“In case of a conviction or an acquittal, or the termination of the criminal trial, the court shall deliver a judgment in which it also decides on the civil action.
Civil damages cannot be awarded if an acquittal was decided on the ground that the impugned act did not exist or was not committed by the accused.”
80. Articles 999 and 1000 of the Civil Code provide that any person who has suffered damage can seek redress by bringing a civil action against the person who has negligently caused it.
81. Article 1003 of the Civil Code provides that, where more than one person has committed an intentional tort, they shall be jointly and severally liable.
82. The Government submitted a number of cases in which domestic courts had decided that the prosecutor's decision, based on Article 10 (b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, not to open a criminal investigation on account of the absence of intention – as an element of the offence – did not prevent the civil courts from examining a civil claim arising out of the commission of the act by the person in question.
83. The Government submitted only one case, dating back to 1972, in which the Supreme Court had decided that the prosecutor's decision, based on Article 10 (a) and (c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, not to open a criminal investigation having regard to the fact that the acts were not committed at all or were not committed by the defendant, should not prevent civil courts from examining a civil claim arising out of the commission of the same act by the person in question. The Supreme Court's decision dealt solely with the competence issue and did not specify whether there was a legal provision offering a chance of success for such an action.
84. The common view of the criminal-procedure specialists is that a civil court cannot examine a civil action filed against a person against whom the prosecutor has refused to open a criminal investigation on the grounds provided for in Article 10 (a) and (c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure that the acts were not committed at all or were not committed by the defendant (see Criminal Procedural Law – General Part, Gheorghe Nistoreanu and Others, p. 72, Bucharest 1994, and A Treaty on Criminal Procedural Law – General Part, Nicolae Volonciu, pp. 238-39, Bucharest 1996).
85. The common view of the civil-procedure specialists and of some criminal-procedure specialists is that the prosecutor's decision refusing to open a criminal investigation on the grounds mentioned in the previous paragraph, does not prevent a civil court from examining a civil action brought against the defendant. In such a case, civil courts are entitled to decide whether the acts were committed and by whom, but have to rely on the findings of the prosecutor set out in the decision refusing to open a criminal investigation (see The Civil Action and the Criminal Trial, Anastasiu Crişu, RRD no. 4/1997, and Criminal Procedural Law, Ion Neagu, p. 209, Bucharest 1988).
VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 14
3
6
8
VIOLATED_PARAGRAPHS: 6-1
NON_VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 6
NON_VIOLATED_PARAGRAPHS: 6-1


ITEMID: 001-23033
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: FIN
BRANCH: ADMISSIBILITY
DATE: 2003
DOCNAME: SAARINEN v. FINLAND
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Inadmissible
JUDGES: Nicolas Bratza
TEXT: The applicant, Mr Juhani Saarinen, is a Finnish national, who was born in 1930 and lives in Kotka.
Until 31 December 1995, at the time of retirement a person was granted, inter alia, (a) an employment pension which was counted on the basis of his or her salary earned prior to the retirement, amounting to a maximum of 66 per cent of that salary, and (b) a national pension’s basic amount (kansaneläkkeen pohjaosa, folkpensionens basdel), if the person was entitled thereto on the basis of his age and/or number of years of employment.
From 1955 to 1957, employees were obliged by law to deposit part of their salaries in individual accounts kept by the Social Insurance Institution for the purpose of accumulating employment pensions for their retirement. From 1957 onwards these contributions were no longer deposited on accounts earmarked for the employees themselves but went into the general pension fund.
The two parts of the pension (the above-mentioned (a) and (b)) were combined together with the result that a pensioner’s employment pension was reduced by the amount of the national pension’s basic amount so that the total amount of the pensions did not exceed the maximum limit of 66 per cent of his salary. The national pension’s basic amount was granted to all persons entitled to it without their requesting it (although it was apparently possible to refuse it), reducing automatically the amount of the employment pension.
In 1995 the National Pension Act was amended as a budgetary savings measure to the effect that, as from 1 January 1996 onwards, the national pension such as the old-age pension was to be replaced by a pension calculated with reference to new criteria. Those whose total income in the form of other pensions and various entitlements exceeded certain ceilings would no longer be entitled to a national pension. In such a case the so-called basic amount of their national pension would be reduced by 20 per cent annually between 1996 and 2001, when payment thereof would cease (Act no. 1491/1995).
Following a public debate on the matter the Finnish Parliament passed a Compensation Act (635/2002) on 18 June 2002, according to which pensioners whose employment pension has been twice reduced on the basis of their national pension’s basic amount, are entitled to receive a compensation for their loss as from 1 October 2003 onwards. The compensatory amount will be between 5 and 50 euros per month, depending on the amount of the pension at issue.
On 13 March 1990 the applicant was granted an employment pension as from 1 April 1990 onwards. The same day he was also granted, without requesting it, a national pension’s basic amount which was FIM 365 (approximately 61 euros) per month. The two parts of his pension were considered together with the result that his employment pension was reduced by FIM 365 per month, since the total amount of the pensions was not to exceed the maximum limit (66 per cent of the salary on which the pension was based ).
In 1993 the applicant’s pension was changed into an old-age pension.
In 1996, after some index-linked increases had been granted to the applicant’s pension, his national pension’s basic amount was FIM 445 (approximately 75 euros per month). As a result of the entry into force of the Act 1491/1995, the applicant’s national pension’s basic amount was again reduced until it ceased to exist in 2001. The applicant now receives only a pension which is about 60 per cent of the salary on which his pension was originally based.
The applicant has used all domestic remedies (three appeal instances decisions submitted, the final ones given by the Insurance Court in October 2000). According to the decisions of the domestic courts, it is impossible to revoke the reduction of the pensions which is based on the amendment to the National Pension Act as the courts cannot override a law.
As a result of the Compensation Act of 2002, the applicant in the present case will be awarded the full 50 euros per month in compensation for his loss as from 1 October 2003 onwards.


ITEMID: 001-111132
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: ROU
BRANCH: COMMITTEE
DATE: 2012
DOCNAME: CASE OF JARNEA AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Protection of property (Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Peaceful enjoyment of possessions)
JUDGES: Egbert Myjer;Kristina Pardalos;Luis López Guerra
TEXT: 5. The applicants are Romanian nationals. They are all owners of immovable property which was occupied by tenants by virtue of lease agreements concluded with the State. After the fall of the Communist regime, the applicants’ ownership was confirmed by the courts. The applicants therefore attempted, unsuccessfully though, to evict the tenants or to cash in the rent due to them. The relevant court decisions are set out in the table appended hereto.
VIOLATED_ARTICLES: P1
VIOLATED_PARAGRAPHS: P1-1
VIOLATED_BULLETPOINTS: P1-1-1


ITEMID: 001-61610
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: ITA
BRANCH: CHAMBER
DATE: 2004
DOCNAME: CASE OF SORRENTINO PROTA v. ITALY
IMPORTANCE: 3
CONCLUSION: No violation of P1-1 with regard to one set of proceedings;No violation of Art. 6-1 with regard to one set of proceedings;Violation of P1-1 with regard to other proceedings;Violation of Art. 6-1 with regard to other proceedings;Pecuniary damage - financial award;Non-pecuniary damage - financial award;Costs and expenses partial award - domestic proceedings
JUDGES: Christos Rozakis
TEXT: 5. The applicant was born in 1953 and lives in Positano.
6. She is the owner of five flats in Castellammare di Stabia (Naples), that she had let to different tenants.
7. In a registered letter of 24 May 1991, the applicant informed the tenant that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1991 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date.
8. In a writ served on the tenant on 14 May 1992, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Naples Magistrate.
9. By a decision of 20 May 1992, which was made enforceable on 27 May 1992, the Naples Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 20 May 1993.
10. On 11 September 1995, the applicant served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises.
11. On 23 October 1995, she informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 4 November 1995.
12. Between 4 November 1995 and 3 December 1998, the bailiff made seven attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicant was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession.
13. On an unspecified date in 1999, the applicant recovered possession of the flat.
14. In a registered letter of 24 June 1991, the applicant informed the tenant that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1991 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date.
15. In a writ served on the tenant on 17 April 1992, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Naples Magistrate.
16. By a decision of 22 June 1992, which was made enforceable on 17 July 1992, the Naples Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 22 June 1993.
17. On 11 September 1995, the applicant served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises.
18. On 23 October 1995, she informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 4 November 1995.
19. Between 4 November 1995 and 28 October 1997, the bailiff made five attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicant the applicant was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession.
20. Following the entry into force of Law 431/98, the enforcement of the evictions proceedings was suspended until 31 January 2000.
21. In March 2000, the tenant entered into a new lease.
22. In a writ served on the tenant on 11 May 1992, the applicant informed the tenant of her intention to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 8 December 1992 and summoned him to appear before the Naples Magistrate.
23. By a decision of 20 May 1992, which was made enforceable on 25 September 1992, the Naples Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 20 May 1993.
24. On 11 September 1995, the applicant served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises.
25. On 23 October 1995, she informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 4 November 1995.
26. Between 4 November 1995 and 25 November 1999, the bailiff made twelve attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful as the applicant was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession.
27. On 24 March 2000, the applicant recovered possession of the flat.
28. In a registered letter of 24 May 1991, the applicant informed the tenant that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1991 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date.
29. In a writ served on the tenant on 7 May 1992, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Naples Magistrate.
30. By a decision of 20 May 1992, which was made enforceable on 27 May 1992, the Naples Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 20 May 1993.
31. On 1 October 1992, I.R. died, F.E. succeeded in the lease.
32. On 23 October 1995, the applicant served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises.
33. On 10 October 1995, she informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 2 December 1995.
34. Between 2 December 1995 and 27 October 1997, the bailiff made five attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicant was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession.
35. Following the entry into force of Law 431/98, the enforcement of the evictions proceedings was suspended until 31 January 2000.
36. On 24 March 2000, the applicant recovered possession of the flat.
37. In a registered letter of 24 May 1991, the applicant informed the tenants that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 8 February 1992 and asked them to vacate the premises by that date.
38. In a writ served on the tenants on 8 May 1992, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenants to appear before the Naples Magistrate.
39. By a decision of 20 May 1992, which was made enforceable on 27 May 1992, the Naples Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 20 March 1993.
On 23 October 1995, the applicant served notice on the tenants requiring them to vacate the premises.
40. On 10 November 1995, she informed the tenants that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 2 December 1995.
41. Between 2 December 1995 and 28 October 1997, the bailiff made five attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful as, the applicant was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession. Following the entry into force of Law 431/98, the enforcement of the evictions proceedings was suspended until 31 January 2000.
42. On 17 March 2000, the applicant recovered possession of the flat.
43. Since 1947 the public authorities in Italy have frequently intervened in residential tenancy legislation with the aim of controlling rents. This has been achieved by rent freezes (occasionally relaxed when the Government decreed statutory increases), by the statutory extension of all current leases and by the postponement, suspension or staggering of the enforcement of orders for possession. The relevant domestic law concerning the extension of tenancies, the suspension of enforcement and the staggering of evictions is described in the Court's judgment in the case of Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy [GC], no. 22774/93, §§ 18-35, ECHR 1999-V. Lastly, for some cases, a suspension of the enforcement of the orders for possession until 30 June 2004 was introduced by Legislative Decree no. 147 of 24 June 2003, which became Law no. 200 of 1 August 2003.
44. As regards the control of the rents, the evolution of the Italian legislation may be summarised as follows.
45. The first relevant measure was the Law no. 392 of 27 July 1978 which provided machinery for “fair rents” (the so-called equo canone) on the basis of a number of criteria such as the surface of the flat and its costs of realisation.
46. The second step of the Italian authorities dated August 1992. It was taken in the view of progressive liberalisation of the market of tenancies. Accordingly, a legislation relaxing on rent levels restrictions (the so-called patti in deroga) entered into force. Owners and tenants were in principle given the opportunity to derogate from the rent imposed by law and to agree on a different price.
47. Lastly, Law no. 431 of 9 December 1998 reformed the tenancies and liberalised the rents.
48. The tenant is under a general obligation to refund the owner any damages caused in the case of late restitution of the flat. In this regard, Article 1591 of the Italian Civil Code provides:
“The tenant who fails to vacate the immovable property is under an obligation to pay the owner the agreed amount until the date when he leaves, together with other remaining damages”.
49. However, Law no. 61 of 1989 set out, inter alia, a limit to the compensation claimable by the owner entitling him to a sum equal to the rent paid by the tenant at the time of the expiration of the lease, proportionally increased according to the cost of living (Article 24 of Law n. 392 of 27 July 1978) plus 20%, along the period of inability to dispose of the possession of the flat.
50. In the judgment no. 482 of 2000, the Constitutional Court was called upon to decide whether such a limitation complied with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court held that it was compatible with the Constitution with regard to periods of time during which the suspension of the evictions was determined by law. The Constitutional Court explained that the introduction of that limitation was intended to settle the tenancies of the time of the emergency legislation, when the housing shortage made the suspension of the enforcement necessary. While evictions were suspended ex lege, the law predetermined the quantum of the reimbursement chargeable to the tenant, both measures being temporary and exceptional. Besides, the interests of the owner were counterbalanced by the exemption for him from the burden to prove the damages.
51. The Constitutional Court declared the limitation to the compensation claimable by the owner unconstitutional with regard to cases where the impossibility for the owner to repossess the flat depended on the conduct of the tenant and was not due to a legislative intervention. Accordingly, it opened the way to owners for the institution of civil proceedings in order to obtain full reparation of the damages caused by the tenant.
VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 6
VIOLATED_PARAGRAPHS: 6-1
NON_VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 6
NON_VIOLATED_PARAGRAPHS: 6-1


ITEMID: 001-95057
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: UKR
BRANCH: CHAMBER
DATE: 2009
DOCNAME: CASE OF POLISHCHUK v. UKRAINE
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Violation of Article 6 - Right to a fair trial
JUDGES: Karel Jungwiert;Mark Villiger;Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska;Mykhaylo Buromenskiy;Peer Lorenzen;Rait Maruste;Zdravka Kalaydjieva
TEXT: 4. The applicant was born in 1959 and lives in the city of Kharkiv.
A. Criminal proceedings instituted in 1997
5. On 24 December 1997 criminal proceedings were instituted against the applicant. He was charged with extortion of money from Mr Sh. and Mrs Shi.
6. On an unspecified date Mr Sh. and Mrs Shi. lodged their civil claims. They claimed payment of compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage caused by the applicant.
7. On 16 February 1998 the applicant gave a written undertaking not to abscond.
8. On 2 September 1998 the applicant was also charged with causing damage to official documents while studying his case file.
9. On 5 November 1998 the pre-trial investigation was completed and the case was transferred to the Kyivsky District Court of Kharkiv.
10. On 28 May 2001 the court convicted the applicant of extortion and damaging official documents and sentenced him to a suspended term of five years' imprisonment. By the same judgment the court partly allowed the civil claims.
11. On 21 January 2002 the Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal quashed the part of the judgment concerning the applicant's conviction for damaging official documents and ruled that the proceedings in that respect should be terminated since there was insufficient evidence against the applicant.
12. By the same ruling the Court of Appeal quashed the remainder of the judgment and remitted it for fresh consideration to the firstinstance court on the ground that the latter had failed to examine all the
13. On 4 February 2003 the Kyivsky District Court of Kharkiv convicted the applicant of extortion and sentenced him to four years' imprisonment, suspended. By the same judgment the court partly allowed the civil claims lodged by Mr Sh. and Mrs Shi.
14. On 22 May 2003 the Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal upheld that judgment.
15. On 2 December 2003 the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in cassation by the applicant.
16. The hearings in the case were scheduled at intervals ranging between several days and two months. In the course of the proceedings two expert reports were obtained. This took about six months. On one occasion the applicant challenged a judge who was considering his case.
B. Other proceedings
17. On 18 April 1997 the Krasnokutsky Court awarded the applicant 23,943 Ukrainian hryvnas (UAH) in compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage caused to the applicant due to Mr Sh.'s failure to repay a debt he owed to the applicant. On an unspecified date the judgment was quashed by a higher court.
18. In 2008 new criminal proceedings were instituted against the applicant. On 1 October 2008 he was arrested. He was remanded in custody.
VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 6


ITEMID: 001-92268
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: POL
BRANCH: CHAMBER
DATE: 2009
DOCNAME: CASE OF SERAFIN AND OTHERS v. POLAND
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Violation of Article 6 - Right to a fair trial
JUDGES: David Thór Björgvinsson;Ján Šikuta;Lech Garlicki;Mihai Poalelungi;Nicolas Bratza;Päivi Hirvelä
TEXT: 4. The applicants live in Warszawa, Łódź, Świdnica and Sochaczew.
5. The applicant Joanna Aleksowicz-Zawistowska died in 2005. The applicant Piotr Zawistowski is her sole heir.
6. The applicant Andrzej Zawistowski died in 2008. His heirs Monika, Rafał and Marcin Zawistowscy declared their intention to pursue the claim.
7. The applicants are heirs to a property (a plot of land with a creamery) situated in central Warsaw on Towarowa Street (previously Krochmalna Steet).
8. The property belonged to Julian Charaziński and after his death on 15 May 1939 it was inherited by his daughters: Władysława Zawistowska (legal predecessor of the applicants Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik, Elżbieta Zawistowska, Andrzej and Piotr Zawistowski), Stefania Onichimowska (mother of the applicant Jolanta Serafin), Krystyna Gumułka (mother of the applicant Marta Plamenac), Czesława Paszkowska (grandmother of the applicant Ms Katarzyna Okoniewska), Julia Urbanek (mother of the applicant Teresa Urbanek). They all worked in the creamery until 1954.
9. By virtue of the Decree of 26 October 1945 on the Ownership and Use of Land in Warsaw (“the 1945 Decree”) the ownership of all private land was transferred to the City of Warsaw. The applicants’ creamery was also nationalised.
10. On 13 October 1948 the applicants and/or their legal predecessors requested to be granted the right of temporary ownership (własność czasowa) of the property pursuant to section 7 of the 1945 Decree.
11. On 16 December 1952 the Board of the Warsaw National Council (Prezydium Rady Narodowej) refused the request.
12. On 19 April 1993 the applicants requested annulment of the decision of 16 December 1952.
13. On 22 September 1994 the Minister of Planning and Construction (Minister Gospodarki Przestrzennej i Budownictwa) declared the decision null and void, finding that it had been issued in breach of law.
14. On 20 November 1990 the applicants lodged a request to have their property returned under Article 7 of the 1945 Decree.
15. On 31 January 1992 the Warsaw Deputy Mayor transferred the applicants’ request to the WarszawaWola Mayor.
16. In letters dated 10 April 1992 and 10 September 1992, Stefania Onichimowska requested the speedy examination of her application.
17. On 3 November 1992 Aniela Gładysz (the niece of Stefania Onichimowska and mother of Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik), one of the legal heirs to the property, complained to the Warsaw Deputy Mayor about the lack of response on the part of the Warszawa-Wola Mayor.
18. On 30 December 1992 the Warsaw Deputy Mayor requested the Warszawa-Wola Mayor to deal with the applicants’ request by 30 January 1993.
19. Apparently, on 14 September 1995, the applicants were requested to submit relevant documents confirming their rights to the property.
20. On 5 December 1995 and on 15 April 1997, in letters to the Warsaw municipality, Aniela Gładysz demanded that the applicants’ request for the return of the property or for compensation be examined.
21. On 28 May 1997 she was informed that, due to the need to confirm the inheritance rights of the alleged heirs to the property and due to Stefania Onichimowska’s death in August 1995 and the resulting need to establish the identity of her heirs, the examination of their application could not be undertaken before 15 April 1997 – the date on which Aniela Gładysz had submitted all required documents.
22. On 17 March 1999, Aniela Gładysz complained to the WarsawCentre Municipal Council against the Office for Housing and Urban Development about the inactivity of the body and lack of any decision concerning the title to the property.
23. On 18 March 1999, the municipal council informed Ms Gładysz that her complaint had been transferred to the Audit Committee and that, due to the complex nature of her case, it would not be possible to examine her complaint within 14 days.
24. On 24 June 1999 Ms Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik, on behalf of Aniela Gładysz, lodged a complaint with the Minister of Internal Affairs against the Warsaw-Centre Municipal Council and the Office for Housing and Urban Development.
25. On 25 June 1999 the Minister transferred the complaint to the Local Government Board of Appeal (Samorządowe Kolegium Odwoławcze).
26. On 15 September 1999 the Local Government Board of Appeal, finding that it had lacked competence to deal with the complaint, transferred it to the Mazowiecki Governor.
27. On 15 November 2004 Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik and Marta Palmenac complained to the Warsaw Local Government Board of Appeal about the inactivity of the administrative authorities and their failure to issue an administrative decision.
28. On 19 January 2005 the Warsaw Local Government Board of Appeal ordered the Mayor of Warsaw to issue a decision concerning the grant of the right of perpetual use of the property within a period of 2 months.
29. On 11 April 2005 Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik and Marta Plamenac lodged a complaint with the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court against the Mayor of Warsaw for failure to issue an administrative decision.
30. On 26 October 2005 the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court informed Ms Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik that the court could not rule on the complaint of 11 April 2005 because the administrative authority in question had not yet submitted their observations on the applicants’ complaint.
31. On 14 March 2006 the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court fined the Mayor of Warsaw PLN 2,500.
32. On 14 June 2006 the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court ordered the Mayor of Warsaw to issue within 2 months a decision concerning the perpetual use of the property.
33. On 2 August 2006 the Mayor of Warsaw stayed the proceedings concerning the right of perpetual use pending the outcome of civil proceedings before the Warsaw District Court for acquisition by prescription, instituted by a “Wola” co-operative.
34. On 14 August 2006 the applicants appealed against the decision of 2 August 2006 to the Local Government Board of Appeal.
35. On 17 January 2007 the Local Government Board of Appeal quashed the decision of 2 August 2006 finding that there had been no reason to stay the proceedings and to delay the delivery of the decision on the merits. The Board noted that the co-operative’s request to re-open the proceedings terminated by the decision of 22 September 1994 of the Minister of Planning and Construction had been refused on 5 December 2006.
36. On 17 April 2007 Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik and Marta Plamenac instituted enforcement proceedings against the Mayor of Warsaw.
37. On 5 July 2007 the Mayor of Warsaw issued a decision granting the perpetual use of the property to the applicants for a period of 99 years, with the exception of a part of the property which had been intended for the building of a road.
38. The “Wola” co-operative appealed to the Warsaw Local Government Board of Appeal. On 5 September 2007 the Board of Appeal discontinued the appeal proceedings due to lack of legal standing on the part of the “Wola” co-operative. The decision of 5 July 2007 issued by the Mayor of Warsaw became final.
39. On 18 September 1997, Aniela Gładysz and the other heirs lodged with the Office for Housing and Urban Development (Urząd Mieszkalnictwa i Rozwoju Miast) an action for damages resulting from the administrative decision of 16 December 1952. At the same time, they demanded from the Warsaw municipality compensation for unlawful use of their property.
40. On 30 September 1998 Aniela Gładysz complained to the Office about their failure to examine her claim of 18 September 1997. On 27 October 1998 the Office for Housing and Urban Development rejected the claim.
41. On 25 November 1998 Aniela Gładysz and the other applicants (“the plaintiffs”) lodged with the Warsaw Regional Court a claim against the State Treasury for compensation under Article 160 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. The amount of compensation claimed (PLN 1,000,000) was later modified.
42. The first hearing in the case was scheduled for 31 January 2002. Nine hearings were held up until 10 November 2005.
43. On 15 February 2006 the proceedings were stayed upon the plaintiffs’ request and resumed on 23 May 2006.
44. On 29 June 2007 the court delivered a judgment and awarded compensation to the plaintiffs.
45. On 21 August 2007 the Mazowiecki Governor appealed. The appeal hearing was scheduled for 27 March 2008. On 27 March 2008 the proceedings were stayed due to the death of one of the plaintiffs – Andrzej Zawistowski.
46. The Warsaw Court of Appeal rejected the appeal on 10 June 2008.
47. On 6 December 1999 the applicants lodged with the Warsaw Regional Court requested the court to order the Warsaw municipality to issue a statement confirming the applicants’ right of perpetual use of the property at Towarowa Street, and to pay compensation for lost profits (lucrum cessans).
48. Certain delays in the preliminary phase of the proceedings were due to the fact that one of the plaintiffs, Aleksadra Czudowska, who lived in the Netherlands, had not signed the claim properly and had not established an address for correspondence in Poland; the court had to obtain assistance of the Polish Consul in the Hague to contact the plaintiff and to remedy the shortcomings of the pleadings.
49. The first hearing in the case was held on 9 April 2002.
50. On 12 December 2002 the proceedings were stayed upon request of Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik (in relation to her mother’s death). The proceedings were resumed on 22 May 2003.
51. On 31 October 2003 the Warsaw Regional Court rejected the plaintiffs’ claim in part and stayed the proceedings concerning the remainder of the claim pending the outcome of the administrative proceedings. The plaintiffs appealed.
52. On 18 November 2005 the Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Regional Court.
53. On 21 December 2006 the Warsaw Regional Court dismissed the claims. The plaintiffs appealed.
54. On 20 February 2009 the Warsaw Court of Appeal quashed the judgment of the Regional Court and remitted the case for re-examination.
55. The case is pending.
56. On 7 December 2004 Małgorzata Gładysz-Wójcik, Marta Plamenac, Jolanta Serafin and Teresa Urbanek lodged with the Warsaw Court of Appeals a complaint under 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”). They complained about the excessive length of the first and second sets of civil proceedings.
57. On 21 January 2005 the Warsaw Court of Appeal issued two decisions.
58. In a decision concerning the first set of proceedings the court acknowledged that the impugned proceedings had been excessively lengthy. The court observed that the applicants’ right to a trial within a reasonable time had been breached. However, in the court’s view, the plaintiffs had partly contributed to the length of the proceedings and their overall length resulted from objective circumstances which could not be attributable to the Regional Court. The court ordered the Regional Court to accelerate the proceedings and awarded each applicant PLN 1,000 as just satisfaction.
59. In a decision concerning the second set of proceedings the court acknowledged that the impugned proceedings had been excessively lengthy. In particular, the applicants’ appeal against the decision of 31 October 2003 had not yet been transferred to the Court of Appeal. However, the Court of Appeal took into account the complexity of the case resulting from the large number of plaintiffs. The court ordered the Regional Court to accelerate the proceedings and awarded each applicant PLN 1,000 as just satisfaction.
60. For a presentation of the domestic law concerning inactivity of administrative authorities, see: Kaniewski v. Poland, no. 38049/02, 8 February 2006, and Koss v. Poland, no. 52495/99, 28 March 2006.
61. The relevant domestic law and practice concerning remedies for the excessive length of judicial proceedings, in particular the applicable provisions of the 2004 Act, are stated in the Court’s decisions in the cases of Charzyński v. Poland no. 15212/03 (dec.), §§ 12-23, ECHR 2005-V and Ratajczyk v. Poland no. 11215/02 (dec.), ECHR 2005-VIII and the judgment in the case of Krasuski v. Poland, no. 61444/00, §§ 34-46, ECHR 2005-V.
The relevant domestic law and practice relating to administrative proceedings concerning the grant of the right of perpetual use of land can be found in the Court’s decisions in the cases Potocka and Others v. Poland (dec.), no. 33776/96, 6 April 2000 and Szenk v. Poland (dec.), no. 67979/01, 1 June 2004 and the judgment in the case Koss v. Poland, no. 52495/99, § 29, 28 March 2006.
VIOLATED_ARTICLES: 6


ITEMID: 001-84646
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: CZE
BRANCH: ADMISSIBILITY
DATE: 2008
DOCNAME: MEIER AND GRAFOVA v. THE CZECH REPUBLIC
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Inadmissible
JUDGES: Javier Borrego Borrego;Karel Jungwiert;Mark Villiger;Peer Lorenzen;Rait Maruste;Renate Jaeger;Snejana Botoucharova
TEXT: The applicants, Mr Petr Meier and Gerte Gráfová, are Czech nationals who were born in 1945 and 1913 respectively and live in Prague and Vienna respectively. They were represented before the Court by Mr J. Kalista, a lawyer practising in Prague. The Czech Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr V.A. Schorm, from the Ministry of Justice.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
In 1949 a Prague company having belonged to the applicants’ family was nationalised.
On 24 September 1991 the first applicant made a request to the company and the Ministry of Administration of National Property and its Privatisation (Ministerstvo pro správu národního majetku a jeho privatizaci) under the Extra-Judicial Rehabilitation Act for restitution of the company which, according to him, had been nationalised contrary to the law then in force. He claimed restitution on his behalf and on behalf of the second applicant, who had originally owned one fourth of the property, and three successors in title to the other original co-owners.
As the company apparently refused to restore the property, the first applicant brought an action in the Prague 8 District Court (okresní soud) for its recovery.
On 16 September 1992, the District Court granted the restitution action.
On 29 January 1993 the Prague Municipal Court (městský soud) quashed the judgment and remitted the case to the District Court which, on 26 January 1995, dismissed the restitution action, finding that the first applicant had not proved that the property had been unlawfully nationalised.
On 22 May 1995 the Municipal Court upheld this judgment.
On 15 May 1996 the Supreme Court (Nejvyšší soud) rejected the first applicant’s appeal on points of law (dovolání).
On 19 December 1996 the Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) quashed the Supreme Court’s judgment, finding that the company had been nationalised contrary to Presidential Decree no. 115/1948 and, therefore, should be restored under section 6(1)(k) of the Extra-Judicial Rehabilitation Act.
On 18 September 1998, the District Court, being bound by the legal opinion of the Constitutional Court, granted the restitution action, ordering the company to conclude a restitution agreement with the first applicant. On 8 October 1999 the Municipal Court upheld this judgment in respect of the three fourths of the property, modifying it in respect of the remaining fourth which had belonged to the second applicant.
The Supreme Court quashed the Municipal Court’s judgment in respect of the above fourth of the property and, at the same time, quashed the relevant part of the District Court’s judgment of 18 September 1998.
On 18 May 2001 the District Court dismissed the remainder of the restitution action, holding that the second applicant was the only person who was entitled to seek restitution of the outstanding fourth of the property and, therefore, could not validly assign her restitution entitlement to the first applicant.
On 11 October 2002 the Municipal Court, upheld the operative part of this judgment with certain modifications to the reasoning.
On 3 March 2004 the Constitutional Court dismissed the first applicant’s constitutional appeal.
The relevant domestic law and practice concerning remedies for the excessive length of judicial proceedings are stated in the Court’s decision in the case of Vokurka v. Czech Republic, no. 40552/02 (dec.), §§ 11-24, 16 October 2007).


ITEMID: 001-83183
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: UKR
BRANCH: ADMISSIBILITY
DATE: 2007
DOCNAME: BURAK v. UKRAINE
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Inadmissible
JUDGES: Peer Lorenzen
TEXT: The applicant, Mr Vyacheslav Ivanovich Burak, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1961 and lives in Novogrodivka. The respondent Government were represented by their Agents, Mrs V. Lutkovska and Mr Y. Zaytsev.
On 26 March 2001 the Novogrodivka Court (Новогродівський міський суд Донецької області) awarded the applicant 4,575.79 hryvnyas (UAH) in salary arrears against the private company СJSC “Vuglevydobutok” (“the Company,” Закрите акціонерне товариство “Вуглевидобуток”). This judgment was not appealed against and became final in April 2001.
On 28 March 2001 the Novogrodivka Bailiffs’ Service (“the Novogrodivka Bailiffs,” Відділ державної виконавчої служби Новогродівського міського управління юстиції Донецької області) refused to initiate the enforcement proceedings owing to the lack of territorial jurisdiction and instructed the applicant to apply to the Selidovo Bailiffs’ Service (“the Selidovo Bailiffs,” Відділ державної виконавчої служби Селідівського міського управління юстиції Донецької області).
Having never submitted the enforcement writ to the Selidovo Bailiffs, the applicant appealed to court, alleging that the institution of the enforcement proceedings in Selidovo would have been futile, as the Company’s major assets were located in Novogrodivka.
On 27 June 2001 the Novogrodivka Court rejected these claims, having noted that that the Company’s headquarters were located in Selidovo and that contrary to the applicant’s assertions it had no assets in Novogrodivka.
On 1 November 2001 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal (the “Regional Court”, Апеляційний суд Донецької області) upheld this judgment.
On 4 March 2002 the Supreme Court rejected the applicant’s request for leave to appeal in cassation.
On 5 March 2002 the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court (Господарський суд Донецької області) initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the Company and on 25 September 2003 declared it bankrupt, having appointed Mr L. as a trustee to run the liquidation program.
On 1 March 2004 the applicant re-submitted the enforcement writ to the Novogrodivka Bailiffs, who returned it instantly, having instructed the applicant to submit it to the trustee in bankruptcy.
On an unspecified date the applicant requested the trustee to facilitate the enforcement of the judgment given in his favour.
On 26 May 2004 the applicant challenged the trustee’s alleged omissions in enforcing the judgment before the Novogrodivka Court. On 29 November 2004 the court rejected his complaints. It found that the trustee had acted in good faith, but the enforcement was impeded by the Company’s lack of funds, caused, inter alia, by the failure of the Novogrodivska and the Kurakhivska State-owned mining companies (ДВАТ шахта “Новогродівська 1/3” and ДВАТ шахта “Курахівська”) to pay off their debts.
On 13 June 2005 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal quashed this judgment and remitted the case for a fresh consideration, having found that the first-instance court’s analysis was superficial and unsupported by documentary evidence.
The Court has no further information about the proceedings.
As of January 2006 the judgment of 26 March 2001 remained unenforced.
The relevant domestic law is summarised in the judgments of Romashov v. Ukraine no. 67534/01, §§ 16-19, 27 July 2004 and Katsyuk v. Ukraine, no. 58928/00, §§ 29-32, 5 April 2005).


ITEMID: 001-57722
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: GBR
BRANCH: CHAMBER
DATE: 1991
DOCNAME: CASE OF FOX, CAMPBELL AND HARTLEY v. THE UNITED KINGDOM (ARTICLE 50)
IMPORTANCE: 2
CONCLUSION: Costs and expenses award - Convention proceedings;Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed;Non-pecuniary damage - finding of violation sufficient
TEXT: 1. The case was brought before the Court by the European Commission of Human Rights ("the Commission") on 13 July 1989. It originated in three applications (nos. 12244/86, 12245/86 and 12383/86) against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland lodged with the Commission on 16 June 1986 by Mr Bernard Fox and Ms Maire Campbell and on 2 September 1986 by Mr Samuel Hartley, who are all three Irish citizens.
As regards the facts of the case, reference is made to paragraphs 8 to 23 of the Court’s judgment of 30 August 1990 ("the principal judgment" - Series A no. 182, pp. 8-14). The applicants’ complaints were directed against their arrest and detention under criminal legislation enacted to deal with acts of terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland.
2. In the principal judgment the Court arrived at the following conclusions as regards all three applicants:
(a) there had been a breach of Article 5 para. 1 (art. 5-1) of the Convention, in that although the applicants’ arrest and detention had been based on a bona fide suspicion that they were terrorists, the explanations furnished by the United Kingdom Government were insufficient to support the conclusion that there was "reasonable suspicion"; that being so, it was not necessary to go into the applicants’ further allegation that the purpose of their arrest was not to bring them before the "competent legal authority" but rather to gather information (paragraphs 29-36 of the reasons and point 1 of the operative provisions, pp. 15-18 and 22);
(b) there had been no breach of Article 5 para. 2 (art. 5-2) since the reasons for the applicants’ detention had been brought to their attention with sufficient promptness after their arrest (paragraphs 37-43 of the reasons and point 2 of the operative provisions, pp. 18-20 and 22);
(c) it was unnecessary to examine the complaint under Article 5 para. 4 (art. 5-4) as the applicants had been released speedily before any judicial control of their detention had taken place and it was not for the Court to rule in abstracto on the scope of the remedies available (paragraphs 44-45 of the reasons and point 4 of the operative provisions, pp. 20-21 and 22);
(d) there had been a breach of Article 5 para. 5 (art. 5-5), in that the applicants had no enforceable claim for compensation before the domestic courts for the breach of Article 5 para. 1 (art. 5-1) (paragraph 46 of the reasons and point 3 of the operative provisions, pp. 21 and 22);
(e) it was unnecessary to examine the complaint under Article 13 (art. 13) having regard to the findings on Article 5 paras. 2 and 4 (art. 5-2, art. 5-4) (paragraph 47 of the reasons and point 4 of the operative provisions, pp. 21 and 22).
3. In written observations of 9 March, 18 May and 21 June 1990, the applicants had claimed compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and reimbursement of their costs and expenses referable to the proceedings before the Convention institutions. The Government had commented on the costs claim on 23 May and 27 July but had considered it more appropriate to reserve their submissions as to the compensation claim until the delivery of the judgment on the substantive issues.
As the question of the application of Article 50 (art. 50) was therefore not ready for decision, the Court in the principal judgment reserved the whole of the said question and invited the Government and the applicants to submit their written comments within the next three months and, in particular, to notify the Court of any agreement reached between them (paragraph 48 of the reasons and point 5 of the operative provisions, pp. 21-22).
4. In accordance with the foregoing invitation and the President’s directions, there were filed at the registry, on 23 November 1990, a memorial of the Government and, on 28 January 1991, further observations of the applicants, in which they requested an oral hearing. These documents revealed that no agreement as aforesaid had been reached.
On 14 February 1991 the Delegate of the Commission lodged observations on the question of the application of Article 50 (art. 50) in the present case.
5. The Court decided on 20 February 1991 that there was no need to hold a hearing.


ITEMID: 001-22622
LANGUAGEISOCODE: ENG
RESPONDENT: ITA
BRANCH: ADMISSIBILITY
DATE: 2002
DOCNAME: MILONE v. ITALY
IMPORTANCE: 4
CONCLUSION: Inadmissible
JUDGES: Christos Rozakis
TEXT: The applicant is an Italian national, born in 1959 and currently residing in Naples.
In an order of 15 March 1992, served on the applicant on 16 March 1992, the Naples Public Prosecutor informed the applicant that criminal proceedings were instituted against him for kidnapping and rape and that his Office had requested the investigating judge to prolong the maximum period for the completion of the investigations.
In an order of 3 March 1993, filed with the registry on 5 March 1993, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that the applicant be committed for trial. In an order of 6 March 1993, the investigating judge scheduled the preliminary hearing for 12 May 1993, on which date the case was adjourned by reason that the committal for trial had not been duly served on the accused. In an order of 19 October 1993 the investigating judge committed the applicant for trial, commencing on 8 February 1994 before the Naples District Court. The case-file was subsequently forwarded to the investigating judge because the committal for trial had not been duly served on the accused.
In an order of 3 May 1994, the investigating judge committed the applicant for trial, commencing on 27 January 1995 before the Naples District Court.
The first hearing did not take place because of a lawyers’ strike. On 10 April 1995 and 5 February 1996 the case was adjourned at the applicant’s request.
On 12 March 1996 the case was postponed by reason that the witnesses summoned to appear were absent. On 15 May 1996 the case was adjourned until 11 February 1997 because some witnesses were absent and by reason of the fact that the bench of the court was composed of judges other than those who participated in previous hearings.
A hearing scheduled for 7 May 1997 did not take place because the lawyers of the Naples Bar Association were on strike. On 12 November 1997, the case was adjourned because the witnesses were absent. In a judgement of 20 March 1998, filed with the registry on 24 March 1998, the District Court acquitted the applicant. The decision became final on 8 May 1998.
In the meanwhile, on an unspecified date the applicant requested to be enrolled in the list of experts of the Naples District Court. However, this request was refused by reason that criminal proceedings were pending against him.