European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

 

THIRD SECTION

 

 

 

CASE OF SHIROKIKH AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 30532/07 and 6 others - see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

6 July 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

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




In the case of Shirokikh 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 Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 15 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 excessive length of their pre-trial detention. In application no. 30532/07 the applicant also raised a complaint under Article 6 § 1 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.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 3 OF THE CONVENTION

6.  The applicants complained principally that their pre-trial detention had been unreasonably long. They relied on Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, which read as follows:

Article 5 § 3

“3.  Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be ... entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release may be conditioned by guarantees to appear for trial.”

7.  The Court observes that the general principles regarding the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, as guaranteed by Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, have been stated in a number of its previous judgments (see, among many other authorities, Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 110, ECHR 2000-XI, and McKay v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 543/03, §§ 41-44, ECHR 2006-X, with further references).

8.  In the leading case of Dirdizov v. Russia, no. 41461/10, 27 November 2012, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

9.  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 applicants’ pre-trial detention was excessive.

10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.

III.  REMAINING COMPLAINT

11.  In application no. 30532/07 the applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the excessive length of the criminal proceedings in his case, in accordance with the relevant well-established case-law of the Court. This complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor is it inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, it must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that it also discloses a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in the light of its findings in Nakhmanovich v. Russia, no. 55669/00, 2 March 2006.

IV.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

12.  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.”

13.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law (see, in particular, Pastukhov and Yelagin v. Russia, no. 55299/07, 19 December 2013), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

14.  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 applications admissible;

 

3.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention;

 

4.  Holds that there has been a violation as regards the complaint raised under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in application no. 30532/07 under well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);

 

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 6 July 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

        Liv Tigerstedt                                                             Luis López Guerra
Acting Deputy Registrar                                                            President




APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention
(excessive length of pre-trial detention)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant name Date of birth	Representative name and location	Period of detention	Length of detention	Other complaints under well-established case-law	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]
1.	30532/07 27/06/2007	Dmitriy Sergeyevich Shirokikh 13/05/1983		13/03/2003 to 27/03/2006   03/05/2007 to 03/10/2008	3 year(s) and 15 day(s)     1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 1 day(s)	Art. 6 (1) - excessive length of criminal proceedings - 12/03/2003-19/04/2009, two levels of jurisdiction; two rounds of proceedings (Judgment of 27/03/2006 reversed on cassation appeal on 03/05/2007; new judgment of 03/10/2008 upheld on cassation appeal on 19/04/2009)	6,000
2.	36187/10 05/06/2010	Maksim Borisovich Olendarev 28/04/1975		10/04/2009 to 17/01/2011	1 year(s) and 9 month(s) and 8 day(s)		2,000
3.	11743/16 16/02/2016	Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Kamenev 21/04/1975		28/02/2014 pending	More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 25 day(s)		3,300
4.	28308/16 06/05/2016	Vladimir Aleksandrovich Muchkov 30/04/1987		27/09/2013 to 05/06/2014   13/11/2014 pending	8 month(s) and 10 day(s)     More than 2 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 10 day(s)		3,300
5.	50480/16 12/08/2016	Igor Yevgenyevich Pukhachev 07/06/1980	Kovaleva Yana Viktorovna Kazan	04/12/2012 to 09/06/2016	3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s)		3,700
6.	50682/16 15/08/2016	Gennadiy Vladimirovich Chernov 10/07/1976	Kovaleva Yana Viktorovna Kazan	04/12/2012 to 09/06/2016	3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s)		3,700
7.	50777/16 15/08/2016	Aleksey Anatolyevich Fedorov 22/10/1979	Kovaleva Yana Viktorovna Kazan	04/12/2012 to 09/06/2016	3 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 6 day(s)		3,700

 




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