European Court of Human Rights

Resolution CM/ResDH(2010)27¹

Execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

in the case of Principe and others against Italy

(Application No. 44330/98, judgment of 19 December 2000, friendly settlement)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Having regard to the judgment transmitted by the Court to the Committee once it had become final;

Recalling that the admissible complaints in this case concerned the excessive length of certain proceedings related to civil rights and obligations before the administrative courts;

Whereas in this case the Court, having taken formal note of friendly settlement reached by the government of the respondent state and the applicants, and having been satisfied that the settlement was based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention or its Protocols decided, unanimously, to strike this case out of its list and took note of the parties’ undertaking not to request a re-hearing of the case before the Grand Chamber;

Whereas under this friendly settlement it was agreed that the government of the respondent state would pay the applicants the sum of 168.000.000 ITL for non pecuniary damages, as well as 3.000.000 ITL for costs and expenses, within three months as from the notification of the judgment;

Recalling that the striking-out of a case which has been declared admissible is effected by means of a judgment which the President forwards to the Committee of Ministers once it has become final in order to allow it to supervise, in accordance with Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the execution of any undertakings which may have been attached to the discontinuance, friendly settlement or solution of the matter;

Having invited the government of the respondent state to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with its obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgment;

Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;

Having satisfied itself that on 7 November 2001 the government of the respondent state paid the applicants the sums provided for in the friendly settlement, in conditions accepted by the applicants;

Recalling that, as regard the applicants’ complaint declared admissible in this case, the Committee of Ministers is at present supervising the execution of several judgments of the Court and decisions of the Committee of Ministers, under previous Article 32 of the Convention, finding a violation of Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention on account of the excessive length of proceedings before the Italian civil courts;

Whereas, in this connection, the Italian authorities informed the Committee of Ministers that they were drafting and adopting new general measures in order to put to an end the serious problem of excessive length of proceedings, so as to prevent new violations similar to those already found in the above-mentioned case (see Resolutions DH(97)336, DH(99)437, DH(2000)135, CM/ResDH(2007)2 and CM/ResDH(2009)42),

Having examined the information supplied by the government of Italy,

DECLARES that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention with respect to the commitments subscribed to in this case and DECIDES to close its examination.