European Court of Human Rights

FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 32002/10
by Anna LAKATOSH and Others
against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 7 June 2011 as a Chamber composed of:

Nina Vajić, President,
Anatoly Kovler,
Peer Lorenzen,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
George Nicolaou,
Julia Laffranque,
Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos
and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 26 May 2010,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

PROCEDURE

The applicants, Ms Anna Stepanovna Lakatosh, Mr Pavel Iosipovich Gabor and Mr Aladar Mikhaylovich Forkosh, are stateless persons of Roma origin who were born in Ukraine in 1979, 1983 and 1977 respectively and live in St Petersbourg. They were represented before the Court by Ms O. Tseytlina, a lawyer practising in St Petersburg. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.

The applicants complained under Articles 3, 5 §§ 1 (f) and 4 and 13 of the Convention about their detention pending administrative removal from Russia.

On 27 August 2010 the President of the First Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. He decided to give the application priority treatment (Rule 41 of the Rules of Court).

On 22 March and 29 April 2011 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Russia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay each of them 30,000 euros to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, which would be converted into Russian roubles at the rate applicable on the date of payment, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable, and 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. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

The Court also received a request from the applicants that the sums payable to them be transferred to their representative’s bank account in view of their inability to open a bank account in their own name because of the lack of identity documents. They provided details of Ms O. Tseytlina’s account.

THE LAW

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). It further considers that the applicants’ request to have the sums indicated in the friendly settlement declarations transferred to the account of Ms O. Tseytlina be granted.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Søren Nielsen Nina Vajić
Registrar President