British
and Irish Legal Information Institute
Freely Available British and Irish Public Legal Information
[
Home]
[
Databases]
[
World Law]
[
Multidatabase Search]
[
Help]
[
Feedback]
European Court of Human Rights
You are here:
BAILII >>
Databases >>
European Court of Human Rights >>
STEBNITSKIY AND KOMFORT v. UKRAINE - 10687/02 [2011] ECHR 179 (3 February 2011)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2011/179.html
Cite as:
[2011] ECHR 179
[
New search]
[
Contents list]
[
Printable RTF version]
[
Help]
FIFTH
SECTION
CASE OF STEBNITSKIY AND KOMFORT v. UKRAINE
(Application
no. 10687/02)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
3 February
2011
This
judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44
§ 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial
revision.
In the case of Stebnitskiy and
Komfort v. Ukraine,
The
European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Chamber
composed of:
Peer Lorenzen, President,
Isabelle
Berro-Lefèvre,
Mirjana Lazarova
Trajkovska,
Zdravka Kalaydjieva,
Ganna
Yudkivska,
Angelika Nußberger,
Julia
Laffranque, judges,
and Claudia
Westerdiek, Section
Registrar,
Having
deliberated in private on 11 January 2011,
Delivers
the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
The
case originated in an application (no. 10687/02) against Ukraine
lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the
Convention”) by a Ukrainian national, Mr Vladimir Gennadiyevich
Stebnitskiy (“the first applicant”), the director of
Komfort (“the applicant company”), a Ukrainian private
enterprise, on 22 February 2002.
The
Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented
by their Agent, Mr Y. Zaytsev, of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
On 29 May 2007 the Court declared the application
partly inadmissible. It decided to communicate the complaints
concerning the length of the criminal proceedings against the first
applicant and the allegedly unfair hearings in the applicant
company’s compensation and insolvency cases, and the
non-enforcement of the judgments of 13 December 1999 and 29 June
2000 in the applicant company’s favour, the refusal of the
national courts to award compensation for damage allegedly inflicted
by the Bailiffs’ Service and the insolvency proceedings
instituted against it. It also decided to examine the merits of the
application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29).
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
The
first applicant was born in 1960 and lives in Donetsk. The applicant
company also has its seat in Donetsk.
A. Enforcement of the judgments in the applicant
company’s favour
On
13 December 1999 and 29 June 2000 the Donetsk Regional Commercial
Court awarded the applicant company, 27,159.11
and 30,786.83
Ukrainian hryvnas (UAH) respectively against the Y. private open
joint-stock company. Between November 2000 and January 2001 the
Yenakiyevo Bailiffs’ Service instituted enforcement
proceedings.
In
December 2001 the applicant company instituted proceedings in the
Donetsk Regional Commercial Court against the Yenakiyevo Bailiffs’
Service, challenging its inactivity in the enforcement of the above
judgments. On 18 June 2003 the court found for the applicant company
and ordered the Bailiffs’ Service to enforce the judgments. On
17 September 2003 the Donetsk Commercial Court of Appeal upheld that
judgment.
The
judgments of 13 December 1999 and 29 June 2000 in the applicant
company’s favour were enforced by November 2003.
B. Compensation proceedings against the Bailiffs’
Service
On
an unspecified date the applicant company instituted proceedings in
the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court against the Yenakiyevo
Bailiffs’ Service, claiming UAH 11,657.42
in compensation for pecuniary damage (inflation losses) caused by the
lengthy delay in enforcing the judgments of 13 December 1999 and 29
June 2000 in its favour.
On
3 March 2004 the court found against the applicant company. On 18 May
2004 the Donetsk Commercial Court of Appeal upheld that judgment.
On
17 June 2004 the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine refused to
examine an appeal by the applicant company as it had failed to pay a
court fee. The applicant company appealed against that decision,
arguing that in accordance with section 86 of the Enforcement
Proceedings Act, the creditor was dispensed from paying court fees in
cases against a legal person, entrusted with enforcing a judgment,
for compensation for damage sustained as a result of the
non-enforcement of a judgment.
On
3 November 2004 the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed a cassation
appeal lodged by the applicant company as unsubstantiated.
C. Insolvency proceedings
During
the period from 2000 to 2002 the applicant company instituted
numerous proceedings against the Voroshylovskyy District Tax
Administration challenging tax payments, fines etc.
In
June 2003 the Voroshylovskyy District Tax Administration instituted
insolvency proceedings in the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court
against the applicant company. The Tax Administration stated that the
applicant company had failed to pay UAH 57,840.91
in tax in 2000 and had already had a tax lien imposed on it.
Moreover, the last transaction on the applicant company’s
account had taken place more than a year ago and the applicant
company’s location was unknown. Apparently, the applicant
company was not informed about these proceedings.
On
4 September 2003, in the applicant company representative’s
absence, the court declared the applicant company insolvent for
failure to pay UAH 57,840.91 in taxes to the State budget. The
Voroshylovskyy District Tax Administration was appointed its
liquidator.
According
to the applicant company, it was informed about this decision only by
letter of 10 March 2004. Subsequently, the applicant company
requested the court to fix a new time-limit for lodging an appeal
against the decision of 4 September 2003. On 22 April 2004 the
Donetsk Commercial Court of Appeal refused this request because, in
accordance with Article 93 of the Code of Commercial Procedure, the
relevant time-limit of three months from the date on which the
appealed judgment or decision had been adopted had expired. On
22
June 2004 the High Commercial Court of Ukraine dismissed an appeal by
the applicant company against the above decisions for non-compliance
with the procedural formalities prescribed by law. On 3 November
2004 the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed a cassation appeal
lodged by the applicant company.
On
19 April 2004 the applicant company requested a review of the
decision of 4 September 2003 in the light of newly established
evidence.
On
27 April 2004 the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court started its
consideration of the applicant company’s request.
On
24 May 2004 the proceedings in the case were stayed pending
consideration of the applicant company’s complaint lodged in
2004 against the tax administration regarding unlawfulness of the
latter’s decision of 30 April 2000 by which the applicant
company had been ordered to make some tax payments and to pay fines.
On
30 June 2004 the applicant company’s complaint against the
decision of 30 April 2000 was left without consideration as the
applicant company had been declared insolvent. The final decision in
this case was taken by the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 13 January
2005.
On
21 October 2005 the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court resumed the
proceedings.
On
13 December 2005 the Donetsk Regional Commercial Court quashed the
decision of 4 September 2003 because the applicant company had not
been properly informed about the insolvency proceedings against it.
The court also terminated the insolvency proceedings and obliged the
Voroshylovsky District Tax Administration to publish a refutation of
the statement that the applicant company had been declared insolvent.
In
its observations of 25 December 2007 the applicant company submitted
that no such refutation had yet been published.
D. Criminal proceedings against the first applicant
On
6 April 2000 the tax police instituted criminal proceedings against
the first applicant for tax evasion. The case was later transferred
to a prosecutor’s office for investigation.
On
5 July 2000 the Donetsk City Prosecutor’s Office instituted new
proceedings against the first applicant for forgery in public office
and joined them to the initial ones. On the same day the first
applicant was charged with those crimes.
In
September 2000 the case was transferred to the court and on 6 October
2000 the Voroshylovskyy District Court of Donetsk started its
consideration. Between October 2000 and May 2003 seven court hearings
took place and twenty-seven hearings were postponed for various
reasons (on nine occasions the first applicant and/or his lawyer
failed to appear and on one occasion the first applicant was ill).
Other reasons for postponement of hearings included prosecutor’s
and witnesses’ failure to appear, court’s decision that
additional evidence should be brought into the court hearing, judge’s
being busy with another case or judge’s vacation etc.
On
20 March 2003 the court changed the charge against the first
applicant to neglect of official duty.
On
7 May 2003 the court remitted the case for additional investigation.
On
4 July 2003 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal quashed this
decision and remitted the case to the District Court for
consideration on the merits.
Between
July 2003 and March 2004 one hearing took place and six hearings were
postponed for various reasons (on three occasions the first applicant
failed to appear).
On
13 January 2004 the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed a cassation
appeal lodged by the first applicant against the decisions of 7 May
and 4 July 2003.
On
17 March 2004 the Voroshylovskyy District Court of Donetsk again
remitted the case for additional investigation.
On
14 May 2004 the Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal upheld that
decision.
On
9 September 2004 the Kuybyshevskiy District Prosecutor’s Office
suspended criminal proceedings “[instituted] for neglect of
official duty” because “it was impossible to establish
who had committed that crime”.
On
5 May 2005 the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed a cassation appeal
lodged by the first applicant against the decision of 17 March
2004 on the ground that such decision could not be appealed in
cassation.
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW
A. The Enforcement Proceedings Act of 21 April 1999
In
accordance with section 86 (1) of the Enforcement Proceedings Act,
the creditor is entitled to institute court proceedings against a
legal person, entrusted with collecting payments from the debtor, for
inadequate or non-enforcement of a judgment due to the fault of that
legal person. In such cases the creditor is dispensed from paying
court fees.
Section
86 (2) provides that compensation for damage caused by the State
Bailiff’s Service in enforcement proceedings is to be paid in
accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
B. Information letter of the Higher Commercial Court of
Ukraine of 11 April 2005 no. 01-8/344
According
to paragraph 26 of this letter, a legal person, as referred to in
section 86 (1) of the Enforcement Proceedings Act, is a tax
authority, a bank, and so forth, but not the Bailiffs’ Service.
C. The Restoration of a Debtor’s Solvency or the
Declaration of Insolvency Act of 14 May 1992
In accordance with section 3 of this Act, after the
debtor is declared insolvent by the court, its business activity
shall be stopped. The court nominates a liquidator, who takes over
the management of the debtor’s assets. Having taken the
necessary steps to identify and recover the debtor’s debts and
search for the assets, the liquidator shall assess these assets and
carry out their sale. Having sold the assets and paid the creditors,
the liquidator shall submit a report and the liquidation balance to
the court.
THE LAW
I. SCOPE OF THE CASE
The
Court notes that, after the communication of the case to the
respondent Government, the first applicant reiterated some of his
initial complaints, in particular, his complaint under Article 6 §
3 (d) of the Convention. In its partial
decision on admissibility of 29 May 2007, the Court adjourned its
examination of a number of the applicants’ complaints
(see paragraph 3). The remainder of the
complaints were declared inadmissible. To the extent that the first
applicant now repeats those complaints, which have already been
declared inadmissible, the complaints are “substantially the
same” as those already declared inadmissible, and they must now
be rejected pursuant to Article 35 §§ 2 (b) and 4
of the Convention.
The scope of the case now before the Court is limited
to those complaints, the examination of which were adjourned on 29
May 2007.
II. COMPLAINT UNDER ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE Convention
about the LENGTH OF PROCEEDINGS
The
first applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
about the length of criminal proceedings against him. This provision
reads, in so far as relevant, as follows:
“In the determination of ... any criminal charge
against him, everyone is entitled to a ... hearing within a
reasonable time by [a] ... tribunal ...”
A. Admissibility
The
Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within
the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further
notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must
therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
The
Government submitted that the first applicant had been accused of
committing financial crimes, the investigation of which was quite
complicated, given the number of witnesses and experts to be
questioned The Government stated that on some occasions the first
applicant had failed to appear before the investigation authorities
and the court, had requested to postpone hearings in order to gather
additional evidence, had challenged the judge and the prosecutor in
his case and thus protracted the consideration of the case. According
to the Government, the State authorities had conducted an effective
investigation and court examination of the first applicant’s
criminal case. The Government finally submitted that the criminal
proceedings against the first applicant had lasted from 6 April 2000
until 9 September 2004, which it considered to be reasonable.
The
first applicant contested the Government’s statement that his
behaviour had protracted the consideration of the criminal case
against him. According to the first applicant, he had not received
any decisions terminating the criminal proceedings against him and
therefore he considered them to be still pending. He submitted that
the length of the criminal proceedings had been unreasonable and
contrary to Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
The Court reiterates that the reasonableness of the
length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the
circumstances of the case and with reference to the following
criteria: the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicant
and the relevant authorities (see, among many other authorities,
Pélissier and Sassi v. France [GC], no. 25444/94, §
67, ECHR 1999-II).
The
Court notes that in the present case the criminal proceedings against
the first applicant were instituted on 6 April 2000. Subsequently,
the applicant was charged and the case was transferred to the court.
On 17 March 2004 the court remitted the case for additional
investigation. On 9 September 2004 the prosecutor suspended the
investigation since it had been impossible to establish who had
committed the crime in question. There is no information that any
further steps were taken in the case after September 2004.
The
Court observes that as there is no decision terminating the criminal
proceedings instituted against the first applicant. The applicant has
been in a state of uncertainty for more than ten years. In such
circumstances the Court considers that the criminal proceedings
against the first applicant can still be considered as pending.
Therefore,
the length of proceedings in the first applicant’s criminal
case cannot be considered to be reasonable. There has accordingly
been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
III. COMPLAINT ABOUT THE INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS UNDER
ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL NO. 1
In
March 2004 the applicant company complained about the insolvency
proceedings instituted against it by the State Tax Administration. It
invoked Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, which
provides, in so far as relevant, as follows:
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
“Every natural or legal person is entitled to the
peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of
his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the
conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of
international law.
The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way
impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems
necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the
general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other
contributions or penalties.”
A. Admissibility
The
Government submitted that the applicant company could no longer be
considered a victim because the decision of 4 September 2003, by
which it had been declared insolvent, had been quashed.
The
applicant company disagreed.
The
Court notes that the applicant company was declared insolvent on 4
September 2003. As it did not know about this decision until 10 March
2004, it is difficult to judge to what extent the applicant company
was influenced by the decision before that date.
The
Court notes, however, that by the time the applicant company learned
of the decision of 4 September 2003 the time-limit for appealing
against it had expired and it was not even possible to request its
renewal (see paragraph 15). Thus the decision became final and the
applicant company was affected by it for a considerable period of
time, until it was quashed in December 2005 under the extraordinary
review procedure.
The
Court further notes that the decision of 4 September 2003 was quashed
on grounds of a breach of procedural rules by the first-instance
court as the decision was taken in the absence of the applicant
company’s representative. The Government did not indicate
whether there were any avenues open to the applicant company to claim
compensation for damages sustained as a result of being affected by
the insolvency decision for nearly two years. In particular, the
national law did not provide for the possibility of claiming damages
from the court in such circumstances.
The
Court finally notes that the Government did not comment on the
applicant company’s statement that the decision of 13 December
2005 had not been enforced.
Given
that the applicant company was affected by the insolvency decision
for a long period of time and that the order quashing it did not
rectify the effects of the decision, namely, the inability to carry
on business activities for nearly two years, that apparently no
possibility of claiming damages exists in such circumstances and that
no refutation has been published in enforcement of the decision of 13
December 2005, the Court is of the opinion that the applicant company
can still be considered a victim of an alleged violation of Article 1
of Protocol No.1. Therefore, it rejects the Government’s
objection.
The
Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within
the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further
notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must
therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
The
Government reiterated their observations on the admissibility of this
complaint.
The
applicant company submitted that its business activity had been
rendered impossible by the decision in question.
The
Court reiterates that the first and most important requirement of
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 is that any interference by a public
authority with the peaceful enjoyment of possessions should be lawful
(see Capital Bank AD v. Bulgaria, no. 49429/99, § 133,
ECHR 2005 XII (extracts).
The
Court notes that by a decision of 13 December 2005 the national court
recognised that the decision on the applicant company’s
insolvency of 4 September 2003 was unlawful and quashed it.
The
Court further notes that the applicant company did not specify what
particular damage it sustained as a result of the insolvency
decision. However, the Court is of the opinion that the question of
particular damages is more pertinent for substantiation of the
applicant company’s claims under Article 41 of the Convention,
if any.
The
Court observes that, according to the national law, in case of
insolvency, the business activity of the insolvent company shall be
stopped as of date of decision on its insolvency. Moreover, the
company cannot manage its assets as it becomes the obligation of a
liquidator. The Court further observes that the limitations in
question are aimed at the efficient conduct of insolvency proceedings
and cannot be considered to be disproportionate. However, the
applicant company was declared insolvent following a decision taken
in its representative’s absence and that decision was later
quashed by the national court as unlawful.
Therefore,
the limitations on the applicant company’s business activity
between 4 September 2003 and 13 December 2005, which included control
of the applicant company’s assets by the liquidator (in the
present case, the State Tax Administration – the same body
which instituted insolvency proceedings against the applicant
company), cannot be considered to be lawful.
Therefore,
there has been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
IV. OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF THE CONVENTION
A. Complaint under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
about unfairness of the compensation proceedings
The applicant company complained under Article 6 §
1 of the Convention about the alleged unfairness of the compensation
proceedings.
The
Government submitted that the applicant company had not complied with
the six-month time-limit because its complaints concerning the unfair
hearing in the compensation proceedings had been lodged only on 24
July 2005, while the final decision in the compensation proceedings
had been adopted by the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 3 November 2004.
The
applicant company stated in reply that in the compensation
proceedings the national courts had misinterpreted the relevant law
and that the information letter of the Higher Commercial Court of
Ukraine did not have the force of law.
The
Court notes at the outset that the applicant company raised its
complaints in respect of the unfairness of the compensation
proceedings in its letters of 17 March and 26 July 2004. Therefore,
the applicant company complied with the six-month rule under Article
35 § 1 of the Convention.
The
Court further notes the applicant company’s cassation appeal
against the lower courts’ refusals to allow its claim remained
unexamined because of the applicant company’s failure to pay
the required court fee. In this respect, the Court reiterates that
the domestic courts are best placed to interpret and apply rules of
substantive and procedural law (see, amongst many authorities,
Rizhamadze v. Georgia, no. 2745/03, § 21, 31 July
2007). The applicant company neither complained that the legal
provision in question was unclear and lacked foreseeabililty, nor
stated that it had lacked the funds to pay the required court fee and
had been thus precluded from lodging a cassation appeal. It simply
insisted on its own interpretation of this provision. In so far as
the relevant domestic decisions do not disclose any manifestly
arbitrary reasoning (see, by contrast, Donadze v. Georgia,
no. 74644/01, § 32, 7 March 2006), the Court considers that the
applicant company’s complaint under Article 6 § 1 of
the Convention about unfairness of the compensation proceedings is
manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with
Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
B. Complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 about
non enforcement of the judgments in the applicant company’s
favour and about failure to award it compensation
The
applicant company further complained under Article 1 of Protocol No.
1 about the lengthy delay in enforcing the judgments of 13 December
1999 and 29 June 2000 and about the failure of the national courts to
award it compensation for damage caused by the Bailiffs’
Service.
The
Government submitted that the applicant company had failed to exhaust
effective domestic remedies in respect of its complaint about the
failure to award compensation for damage allegedly caused by the
Bailiffs’ Service because it had failed to lodge a cassation
appeal in accordance with the procedural formalities required by law
(namely, the applicant company had failed to pay the required court
fee). They also reiterated their objections as for the compliance
with the six-month rule.
The
Court notes that the debtor in the present case is a private company.
The Court reiterates that the State cannot be
considered responsible for the lack of funds of a private company and
its responsibility extends no further than the involvement of State
bodies in the enforcement proceedings (see Shestakov
v. Russia (dec.), no. 48757/99,
18 June 2002).
The
Court observes that the Ukrainian legislation provides for a
possibility to challenge before the courts the lawfulness of actions
and omissions of the Bailiffs’ Service in enforcement
proceedings against private debtors and to claim damages from them
for the delays in payment of the awarded amount (see, for instance,
Kukta v. Ukraine (dec.), no. 19443/03, 22 November 2005).
Referring
to its above findings under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, the
Court finds that the applicant company’s complaints under
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, even assuming that the applicant company
had a legitimate expectation in respect of its compensation claim,
must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4
of the Convention for the failure to exhaust domestic remedies.
C. Complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the
Convention related to the insolvency proceedings
The
Government submitted that the applicant company had lost its victim
status in respect to its complaint concerning the insolvency
proceedings because the decision of 4 September 2003 had been
quashed.
In
reply, the applicant company stated that it had not received the
decision terminating the insolvency proceedings and that such a
decision had not been enforced. In particular, the tax authorities
had failed to publish the refutation required by the decision of 13
December 2005. Moreover, the applicant company believed that the tax
authority could re-institute insolvency proceedings without informing
the applicant company.
The
Court notes that, by the decision of 13 December 2005, the decision
of 4 September 2003 complained of was quashed. Accordingly, the
applicant company cannot claim to be a victim of a violation under
Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. Its complaint under Article 6 §
1 of the Convention related to the insolvency proceedings is
manifestly ill founded and must be rejected in accordance with
Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
V. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a
violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the
internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only
partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford
just satisfaction to the injured party.”
A. Damage
The
first applicant claimed UAH 1,036,440.06
and the applicant company claimed UAH 1,851,687.12
in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
The
Government considered the applicants’ claims exorbitant and
unsubstantiated.
The
Court does not discern any causal link between the violation found
and the pecuniary damage alleged; it therefore rejects this claim.
As
for the applicants’ claims in respect of non-pecuniary damage,
the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes in
itself sufficient just satisfaction in respect of the applicant
company’s claim. On the other hand, it awards the first
applicant EUR 4,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
B. Costs and expenses
The
applicants also claimed UAH 806.29
for the costs and expenses incurred before the domestic courts and
the Court.
The
Government submitted that they would like to leave this question at
the Court’s discretion.
According
to the Court’s case-law, an applicant is entitled to the
reimbursement of costs and expenses only in so far as it has been
shown that these have been actually and necessarily incurred and were
reasonable as to quantum. In the present case, regard being had to
the documents in its possession and the above criteria, the Court
rejects the claim for costs and expenses in the domestic proceedings
and considers it reasonable to award the first applicant the sum of
EUR 33 for the proceedings before the Court.
C. Default interest
The
Court considers it appropriate that the default interest should be
based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to
which should be added three percentage points.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY
Declares the complaints under Article 6 § 1
of the Convention concerning the length of the criminal proceedings
against the first applicant and under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
concerning the insolvency proceedings against the applicant company
admissible and the remainder of the application inadmissible;
Holds that there has been a violation of Article
6 § 1 of the Convention;
Holds that there has been a violation of Article
1 of Protocol No. 1;
Holds
(a) that
the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just
satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant
company;
(b) that
the respondent State is to pay the first applicant, within three
months from the date on which the judgment becomes final in
accordance with Article 44 § 2 of the Convention, EUR 4,000
(four thousand euros) in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 33
(thirty three euros) in costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be
chargeable, to be converted into Ukrainian hryvnas at the rate
applicable at the date of settlement;
(c) that
from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement
simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal
to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the
default period plus three percentage points;
Dismisses the remainder of the applicants’
claim for just satisfaction.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 3 February 2011, pursuant
to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Claudia Westerdiek Peer Lorenzen
Registrar President