European Court of Human Rights
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Cite as: [2009] ECHR 1990
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FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no.
6394/05
by Viktor Mikhaylovich USKOV
and 17 other applications
(nos. 7144/05, 9464/05, 10542/05, 30006/06, 39119/06, 50742/06,
2229/07, 5951/07, 31624/07, 31698/07, 51340/07, 51342/07, 9463/08,
13132/08, 16251/08, 16849/08 and 39590/08)
against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 12 November 2009 as a Chamber composed of:
Christos
Rozakis,
President,
Nina
Vajić,
Anatoly
Kovler,
Khanlar
Hajiyev,
Dean
Spielmann,
Giorgio
Malinverni,
George
Nicolaou,
judges,
and
Søren Nielsen, Section
Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications,
Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure taken in the case of Burdov (no. 2) v. Russia (no. 33509/04, ECHR 2009 ...),
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicants’ replies to those declarations,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants are 100 Russian nationals whose names and dates of birth are tabulated below. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
Under domestic law the applicants were entitled to social benefits. Because the State failed to pay these benefits in full or in time, the applicants sought relief in the courts. The courts held for the applicants and ordered the authorities to pay arrears and to upgrade periodic payments. These judgments became binding but the authorities delayed their enforcement.
COMPLAINT
The applicants complained about the delayed enforcement of the judgments and assorted faults that allegedly accompanied the proceedings.
THE LAW
In July 2009 the Government submitted to the Court unilateral declarations aimed at resolving the issue raised by the applications. The Government requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention. The declarations read as follows:
“[T]he Russian authorities acknowledge the excessive duration of the enforcement of [the applicants’ judgments].
The authorities are ready to pay [the applicants] ex gratia [the sums tabulated below].
The authorities therefore invite the Court to strike [the applications] out of the list of cases. They suggest that the present declaration might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the case of the Court’s list of cases, as referred to in Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
The [sums tabulated below], which [are] to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable. [They] will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay [these sums] within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on [them] from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”
Some applicants objected to these declarations in principle and requested the Court to continue the adversarial proceedings. Some applicants agreed with the sums offered but insisted that their applications may be struck out only after the payment. They also noted that the Government had not acknowledged a breach of the Convention. Some applicants disagreed with the sums offered, but accepted the declarations for want of better options. Some applicants asked the Court to stop the proceedings having lost belief in their favourable outcome. Some applicants accepted the declarations entirely.
The Court reiterates that under Article 37 of the Convention it may at any stage of the proceedings strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusions specified under (a), (b), or (c) of that Article.
Article 37 § 1 (c) enables the Court in particular to strike a case out of its list if:
“for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.”
Article 37 § 1 in fine states:
“However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto so requires.”
The Court recalls that in its pilot judgment (Burdov v. Russia (no. 2), cited above) it recently ordered the Russian Federation to
“grant [adequate and sufficient] redress, within one year from the date on which the judgment [became] final, to all victims of non-payment or unreasonably delayed payment by State authorities of a judgment debt in their favour who [had] lodged their applications with the Court before the delivery of the present judgment and whose applications [had been] communicated to the Government under Rule 54 § 2 (b) of the Rules of the Court.”
In the same judgment the Court also held that
“pending the adoption of the above measures, the Court [would] adjourn, for one year from the date on which the judgment [became] final, the proceedings in all cases concerning solely the non-enforcement and/or delayed enforcement of domestic judgments ordering monetary payments by the State authorities, without prejudice to the Court’s power at any moment to declare inadmissible any such case or to strike it out of its list following a friendly settlement between the parties or the resolution of the matter by other means in accordance with Articles 37 or 39 of the Convention.”
Having examined the terms of the Government’s declarations, the Court understands them as intending to give the applicants redress in line with the pilot judgment (see Burdov (no. 2), cited above, §§ 127 and 145 and point 7 of the operative part).
Having regard to the acknowledgement contained in the declarations together with the amounts of compensation proposed, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications. Moreover, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications.
Accordingly, the applications should be struck out of the list.
As regards the question of implementation of the Government’s undertakings raised by certain applicants, the Committee of Ministers remains competent to supervise this matter in accordance with Article 46 of the Convention (see the Committee’s decisions of 14-15 September 2009 concerning the implementation of the Burdov (no. 2) judgment, CM/Del/Dec(2009)1065). In any event the Court’s present ruling is without prejudice to any decision it might take to restore, pursuant to Article 37 § 2 of the Convention, the present applications to the list of cases (see E.G. v. Poland (dec.), no. 50425/99, § 29, ECHR 2008 ... (extracts)).
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.
Søren Nielsen Christos Rozakis
Registrar President
ANNEX
|
Application no. |
Applicant |
Born |
Sum |
|
6394/05 |
Uskov Viktor Mikhaylovich |
1939 |
2 050 € |
|
7144/05 |
Paramonov Viktor Vasilyevich |
1941 |
3 350 € |
|
9464/05 |
Shniolis Stanislavas Alfonso |
1942 |
2 050 € |
|
10542/06 |
Kirillov Yevgeniy Sergeyevich |
1958 |
2 050 € |
|
30006/06 |
Gorokhov Dmitriy Ivanovich |
1952 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Rusyayev Rostislav Vladimirovich |
1961 |
2 050 € |
|
39119/06 |
Stankevich Yuriy Aleksandrovich |
1955 |
1 400 € |
|
50742/06 |
Sergeyenko Georgiy Andreyevich |
1937 |
2 050 € |
|
2229/07 |
Ignatyev Yuriy Ivanovich |
1951 |
2 700 € |
|
5951/07 |
Khaliullin Rakip Gabdulkhayevich |
1949 |
2 700 € |
|
31624/07 |
Nasilnikov Ivan Ivanovich |
1950 |
2 700 € |
|
31698/07 |
Neznanov Anatoliy Aleksandrovich |
1957 |
2 050 € |
|
51340/07 |
Minasyan Samvel Sarkisovich |
1951 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Pavlov Nikolay Georgiyevich |
1946 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Sazykin Aleksandr Stepanovich |
1952 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Denisenko Ivan Pavlovich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Pavlov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich |
1955 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Dydar Valeriy Vladimirovich |
1967 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Kruglov Vladimir Mikhaylovich |
1945 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Snezhko Valentin Dmitriyevich |
1943 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Mayorov Nikolay Ivanovich |
1943 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Tretyakov Igor Aleksandrovich |
1954 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Makagonov Grigoriy Nikolayevich |
1949 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Reznikov Viktor Stepanovich |
1955 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Merzlikin Yuriy Petrovich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Vanzha Grigoriy Nikolayevich |
1953 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Terekhov Anatoliy Nikolayevich |
1949 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Kuznetsov Pyotr Ivanovich |
1951 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Martynov Vladimir Iliych |
1954 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Nechayev Vasiliy Markovich |
1950 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Borzov Vladimir Mikhaylovich |
1951 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Nazarenko Grigoriy Romanovich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Yakovenko Nikolay Fyodorovich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Drozdov Viktor Alekseyevich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Seletskiy Vladimir Nikolayevich |
1950 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Koda Anatoliy Vasilyevich |
1954 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Achagov Aleksandr Anatolyevich |
1959 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Borovikov Vasiliy Vasiliyevich |
1947 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Kozub Vladimir Andreyevich |
1945 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Ilyenko Vladimir Nikolayevich |
1943 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Khodakovskiy Grigoriy Iosifovich |
1950 |
2 050 € |
|
|
Frolov Gennadiy Alekseyevich |
1945 |
2 050 € |
|
51342/07 |
Belov Vladimir Vladimirovich |
1946 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Berezhnoy Yuriy Mikaylovich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Beloverbenko Anatoliy Valentinovich |
1954 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Burtan Yuriy Anatolyevich |
1961 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Bykovskiy Pyotr Pavlovich |
1944 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Varlamov Fyodor Alekseyevich |
1965 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Vikhtevskiy Anatoliy Nikolayevich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Volchenko Vladimir Petrovich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Gavrilov Yevgeniy Vladimirovich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Gonchar Nikolay Petrovich |
1950 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Gres Dmitriy Alekseyevich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Davydenko Yuriy Sergeyevich |
1966 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Denisenko Aleksey Grigoryevich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Dobrovolskiy Vladimir Alekseyevich |
1955 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Yevdokimenko Nikolay Mikaylovich |
1946 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Ivanitskiy Vasiliy Romanovich |
1954 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Ignatenko Anatoliy Nikolayevich |
1953 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Ishekov Anatoliy Alekseyevich |
1948 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Kazakov Leonid Yegorovich |
1945 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Kovyazov Andrey Georgiyevich |
1965 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Kozhurin Yevgeniy Vladimirovich |
1958 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Kornienko Leonid Grigoryevich |
1956 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Koroshchenko Aleksandr Vladimirovich |
1960 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Koshel Dmitriy Ivanovich |
1949 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Kushnarenko Pavel Vasilyevich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Lavrov Aleksandr Valentinovich |
1953 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Lebed Georgiy Kupriyanovich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Litvinenko Pyotr Nikolayevich |
1947 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Luyenko Nikolay Ivanovich |
1949 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Makarenko Nikolay Grigoryevich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Marukhno Nikolay Aleksandrovich |
1957 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Migel Yuriy Vasilyevich |
1966 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Mosin Aleksandr Vasilyevich |
1965 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Nehrist Vladimir Grigoryevich |
1947 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Novakov Viktor Georgiyevich |
1956 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Pozhidayev Vladimir Nikolayevich |
1950 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Orda Aleksandr Ivanovich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Reznik Vasiliy Stepanovich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Semko Aleksandr Grigoryevich |
1964 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Singayevskiy Ivan Stanislavovich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Sirota Aleksandr Alekseyevich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Sokolov Vitaliy Leonidovich |
1955 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Stratiy Viktor Mikhaylovich |
1953 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Stupak Nikolay Ivanovich |
1950 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Sukmanov Vladimir Ivanovich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Tkachenko Nikolay Ivanovich |
1943 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Troyanov Georgiy Vasilyevich |
1950 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Fomenko Vladimir Sergeyevich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Cherednichenko Ivan Ivanovich |
1954 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Chernomordov Valeriy Ivanovich |
1950 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Shabelnikov Aleksandr Ivanovich |
1951 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Shayturov Mikhail Pavlovich |
1955 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Shapovalov Vladimir Yakovlevich |
1952 |
1 400 € |
|
|
Shulga Aleksandr Petrovich |
1965 |
1 400 € |
|
9463/08 |
Gribanenkov Sergey Vasilyevich |
1949 |
2 050 € |
|
13132/08 |
Alekseyeva Valentina Nikolayevna |
1948 |
2 050 € |
|
16251/08 |
Boytsov Vladimir Vitaliyevich |
1954 |
2 050 € |
|
16849/08 |
Zhilinskiy Anatoliy Mikhaylovich |
1929 |
1 400 € |
|
39590/08 |
Bogach Igor Ivanovich |
1959 |
4 000 € |