European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

THIRD SECTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASE OF KALINICHENKO AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

 

(Application no. 52256/07 and 5 others -

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

22 June 2017

 

 

 

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




In the case of Kalinichenko and Others v. Russia,

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

          Luis López Guerra, President,
          Dmitry Dedov,
          Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 1 June 2017,

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

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in applications against Russia 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 Russian 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 non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. In application no. 52256/07, the applicants also raised a complaint under Article 8 of the Convention.

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.  THE GOVERNMENT’S REQUEST TO STRIKE OUT SOME APPLICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 37 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION

6.  The Government submitted unilateral declaration in some applications which did not offer a sufficient basis for finding that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention does not require the Court to continue its examination of the case (Article 37 § 1 in fine). The Court rejects the Government’s request to strike the applications out and will accordingly pursue its examination of the cases (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, § 75, ECHR 2003-VI).

III.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 AND ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION AND OF ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL No. 1 TO THE CONVENTION

7.  The applicants complained principally of the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions given in their favour and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention and on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, which read as follows:

Article 6 § 1

“In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ... everyone is entitled to a fair ... hearing ... 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.”

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.”

8.  The Court reiterates that the execution of a judgment given by any court must be regarded as an integral part of a “hearing” for the purposes of Article 6. It also refers to its case-law concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of final domestic judgments (see Hornsby v. Greece, no. 18357/91, § 40, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-II).

9.  In the leading case of Gerasimov and Others v. Russia, nos. 29920/05 and 10 others, 1 July 2014, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

10.  Having regard to the nature of the judicial awards in the applicants’ favour (see the appended table for details of court orders), the Court considers that the applicants had, by virtue of these judgments, a “legitimate expectation” to acquire a pecuniary asset, which was sufficiently established to constitute a “possession” within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

11.  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 authorities did not deploy all necessary efforts to enforce fully and in due time the decisions in the applicants’ favour.

12.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

13.  The applicants also complained under Article 13 of the Convention about the lack of an effective domestic remedy in respect of the non- enforcement. The Court has already noted the existence of a new domestic remedy against the non-enforcement of domestic judgments imposing obligations of a pecuniary and non-pecuniary nature on the Russian authorities, introduced in the wake of the pilot judgment, which enables those concerned to seek compensation for damage sustained as a result of excessive delays in the enforcement of court judgments (see Kamneva and Others v. Russia (dec.), no. 35555/05 and 6 others, 2 May 2017). Even though the remedy was - or still is - available to the applicants, the Court reiterates that it would be unfair to request the applicants whose cases have already been pending for many years in the domestic system and who have come to seek relief at the Court, to bring again their claims before domestic tribunals (see Gerasimov and Others, cited above, § 230).

14.  However, in the light of the adoption of the new domestic remedy, the Court, as in its previous decisions, considers that it is not necessary to examine separately the admissibility and merits of the applicants’ complaint under Article 13 in the present cases (see, for a similar approach, Kamneva and Others, cited above, and, mutatis mutandis, Tkhyegepso and Others v. Russia, no. 44387/04 and 11 others, §§ 21-24, 25 October 2011). This ruling is without prejudice to the Court’s future assessment of the new remedy.

IV.  REMAINING COMPLAINT

15.  In application no. 52256/07, the applicants also raised a complaint under Article 8 of the Convention.

16.  The Court has examined the application and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matter complained of is within its competence, this complaint either does not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or does not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.

It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

V.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

17.  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.”

18.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law, the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

19.  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 concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions admissible, and the remainder of the application no. 52256/07 inadmissible;

 

3.  Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the Convention concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions;

 

4.  Decides that it is not necessary to examine the admissibility and merits of the applicants’ complaint under Article 13 of the Convention;

 

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 22 June 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

     Karen Reid                                                                    Luis López Guerra
  Registrar                                                                              President




APPENDIX

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

Article 1 of the Protocol No. 1 to the Convention

(non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant name Date of birth	Representative name and location	Relevant domestic decision	Start date of non-enforcement period	End date of non-enforcement period Length of enforcement proceedings	Domestic order	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]
1.	52256/07 09/11/2007 (3 applicants)	Natalya Vladimirovna Kalinichenko 08/12/1975 Nataliya Nikolayevna Kuzhenko 04/04/1975 Viktor Sergeyevich Derkachev 04/04/1949		Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, 29/05/2007	09/07/2007	07/08/2009 2 year(s) and 30 day(s)	entering into shared construction participation agreement	2,000
2.	2848/08 28/11/2007	Ivan Vladimirovich Konovalov 15/06/1989	Yermilova Natalya Pavlovna Yekaterinburg	Krasnogorskiy District Court of the Kamensk-Uralskiy, 15/05/2009	23/07/2009	24/08/2010 1 year(s) and 1 month(s) and 2 day(s)	monthly compensation for health harm	1,000
3.	26660/08 23/04/2008	Leonid Petrovich Karittskiy 02/03/1937		Sovetsky District Court of Voronezh, 08/12/2003	19/12/2003	17/04/2008 4 year(s) and 3 month(s) and 30 day(s)	recalculation of pension	4,000
4.	58278/08 18/10/2008	Valentin Nikolayevich Dolgov 04/04/1932		Justice of the Peace of the Court Circuit no. 116 of St Petersburg, 02/02/2006	11/04/2006	16/06/2008 2 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 6 day(s)	making correction to the employment document	2,000
5.	56814/09 24/09/2009	Ilya Nikitovich Yermakov 20/03/1953		Birsk District Court of Bashkortostan Region, 30/05/2007	13/06/2007	23/05/2012 4 year(s) and 11 month(s) and 11 day(s)	issuance of employment-related documents	3,500
6.	73139/10 02/12/2010	Oleg Pavlovich Barkalov 23/11/1938		Zvenigorod City Court of the Moscow Region, 19/11/2008	18/12/2008	05/10/2010 1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 18 day(s)	sale of land plot	1,500

 

 




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