European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

FIFTH SECTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASE OF YANTSEV AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE

 

(Application no. 47247/09 and 2 others -

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

2 March 2017

 

 

 

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.




In the case of Yantsev and Others v. Ukraine,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Erik Møse, President,
          Yonko Grozev,
          Mārtiņš Mits, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 9 February 2017,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2.  The applications were communicated to the Ukrainian Government (“the Government”).

THE FACTS

3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4.  The applicants complained of the excessive length of civil proceedings and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law.

THE LAW

I.  JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS

5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

II.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 AND ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION

6.  The applicants complained that the length of the civil proceedings in question had been incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention, which read as follows:

Article 6 § 1

“In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ... everyone is entitled to a ... hearing within a reasonable time by [a] ... tribunal ...”

Article 13

“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in [the] Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.”

7.  After examining all the material submitted to it, the Court considers that the complaints raised by the applicant in application no. 47247/09 concerning the proceedings between 1 October 2004 and 8 February 2011 and the complaints raised by the applicants in application no. 4764/13 concerning the proceedings between 21 May 2001 and 6 September 2012 (suspended from 12 February 2003 to 29 January 2006 and from 3 August 2007 to 1 February 2011) must be dismissed as they do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.

8.  As regards the other complaints raised under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 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 applicants and the relevant authorities and what was at stake for the applicants in the dispute (see Frydlender v. France [GC], no. 30979/96, § 43, ECHR 2000-VII).

9.  In the leading cases of Svetlana Naumenko v. Ukraine, no. 41984/98, 9 November 2004 and Efimenko v. Ukraine, no. 55870/00, 18 July 2006, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

10.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the length of the proceedings was excessive and failed to meet the “reasonable time” requirement.

11.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.

12.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and of Article 13 of the Convention.

III.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

13.  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.”

14.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law (see, in particular, Svetlana Naumenko v. Ukraine, no. 41984/98, §§ 109 and 112, 9 November 2004), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

15.  The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate 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,

1.  Decides to join the applications;

 

2.  Declares the complaints raised by the applicant in application no. 47247/09 concerning the proceedings between 1 October 2004 and 8 February 2011 and the complaints raised by the applicants in application no. 4764/13 concerning the proceedings between 21 May 2001 and 6 September 2012, inadmissible;

 

3.  Declares the complaints concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law admissible;

 

4.  Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings;

 

5.  Holds

(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b)  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.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 2 March 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

          Karen Reid                                                                      Erik Møse
            Registrar                                                                         President




APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention

(excessive length of civil proceedings and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant name Date of birth	Start of proceedings	End of proceedings	Total length Levels of jurisdiction	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant / household (in euros)[1]
1.	47247/09 20/08/2009	Nikolay Abramovich Yantsev 23/06/1946	20/06/2003	21/04/2009	5 years, 10 months and 2 days 3 levels of jurisdiction	500
2.	4764/13 24/12/2012	Household Lyudmyla Vadymivna Salivon 07/08/1963   Nataliya Sergiyivna Salivon 17/04/1983	Set 1 04/07/2000     30/01/2006     01/02/2011     Set 2 27/01/2000     30/01/2006     10/02/2011	11/02/2003     21/12/2007     06/09/2012       11/02/2003     03/03/2008     25/06/2012	2 years, 7 months and 8 days 3 levels of jurisdiction   1 year, 10 months and 22 days 3 levels of jurisdiction   1 year, 7 months and 6 days 3 levels of jurisdiction     3 years and 16 days 3 levels of jurisdiction   2 years, 1 month and 4 days 3 levels of jurisdiction   1 year, 4 months and 16 days 3 levels of jurisdiction	900
3.	73560/14 12/11/2014	Valeriy Mykhaylovych Osovskyy 27/01/1961	27/04/2006	22/05/2014	8 years and 26 days 3 levels of jurisdiction	1,120

 




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[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.