European Court of Human Rights

 

 

 

 

THIRD SECTION

 

 

 

CASE OF SOKOLOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 25102/07 and 7 others -

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

 

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

12 October 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

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




In the case of Sokolova 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 21 September 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. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions 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.  In application no. 3442/17 the Government argued that the applicant had failed to comply with the six month time-limit and refer to a decision of 24 March 2016 as the final one in his case. Having examined the case-file the Court notes that the latest domestic decision on the applicant’s detention on remand was on 17 June 2016, which is well within the six month time-limit. It follows that the Government’s argument should be rejected.

8.  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).

9.  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.

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 applicants’ pre-trial detention was excessive.

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

III.  REMAINING COMPLAINTS

12.  Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, in accordance with the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in Khodorkovskiy v. Russia, no. 5829/04, §§ 203-248, 31 May 2011.

IV.  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, 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.

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 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 of the Convention as regards the other complaints raised 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 12 October 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.	25102/07 23/05/2007	Olga Semenovna Sokolova 15/06/1958	Nasonov Sergey Aleksandrovich Moscow	10/07/2008 to 05/04/2010	1 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 27 day(s)		1,900
2.	34919/08 17/06/2008	Vladimir Konstantinovich Baranov 03/01/1957	Shukhardin Valeriy Vladimirovich Moscow	27/04/2010 to 25/04/2011	11 month(s) and 30 day(s)	Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - Cassation 10/06/2010 - 26 days after extension of pre-trial detention on 7/06/2010	1,000
3.	65065/13 20/09/2013	Andrey Anatolyevich Dmitriyev 19/03/1980	Khrunova Irina Vladimirovna Kazan	27/11/2012 to 18/07/2013	7 month(s) and 22 day(s)	Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - thirty days for examination of the applicant’s appeal against the detention order of 6/06/2013	1,300
4.	45443/15 29/12/2016	Dmitriy Aleksandrovich Dezhin 16/10/1982	Golub Olga Viktorovna Suzemka	30/01/2016 to 30/07/2016	6 month(s) and 1 day(s)	Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - the appeals against two decisions (22/01/2016 and 26/04/2016) were examined on 3/08/2016	1,300
5.	17102/16 18/03/2016	Pavel Viktorovich Landysh 27/06/1978	Kozlyuk Vladimir Aleksandrovich Ivanovo	18/08/2014 pending	More than 3 year(s) and 12 day(s)		3,100
6.	34667/16 10/06/2016	Rafail Alsafa Ogly Khalafov 05/07/1980	Shushpanov Sergey Aleksandrovich Moscow	06/06/2014 pending	More than 3 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 24 day(s)		3,300
7.	1139/17 22/12/2016	Aleksandr Yuryevich Lazarev 14/02/1967	Lazareva Olga Nikolayevna Nizhniy Novgorod	26/06/2015 to 05/12/2016	1 year(s) and 5 month(s) and 10 day(s)		1,600
8.	3442/17 15/12/2016	Sergey Vyacheslavovich Shiropatin 16/03/1979	Kopayeva Yuta Yuryevna Nizhniy Tagil	11/12/2014 to 17/06/2016	1 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 7 day(s)		1,700

 

 




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