Communicated on 4 September 2017
THIRD SECTION
Applications no. 11776/14 and no. 49027/16
Fakhri Alish Ogly ALIYEV against Russia
and Valeriy Petrovich KLIMENKO against Russia
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicants are Russian nationals.
The application numbers, the dates of lodging the applications, the applicants’ names and their personal details are set out in the appendix.
The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
The applicants were parties to civil proceedings initiated against them by various State authorities.
1. Application no. 11776/14 Aliyev v. Russia
In 2007 the applicant rented a room and was registered in the apartment occupied by a long-term tenant under the social tenancy agreement. In 2009 the long-term tenant died.
On 6 August 2012 the Nevskiy District office of the St Petersburg administration initiated proceedings against the applicant, claiming that the apartment was owned by the State and that the applicant and his minor children would be evicted from the apartment and removed from the relevant register.
On 27 September 2012 the applicant brought a counterclaim, acting, inter alia, on behalf of his children. He sought acknowledgement of the fact that he had been a member of the former tenant’s family and the conclusion of a social tenancy agreement in respect of the apartment in issue.
On 22 April 2013 the Nevskiy District Court of St Petersburg (Невский районный суд г. Санкт-Петербурга) heard arguments from the plaintiff’s representative, the applicant and his representative, and the prosecutor. The court granted the action and dismissed the applicant’s counterclaim.
On 10 September 2013 the St Petersburg City Court (Санкт‑Петербургский городской суд) heard arguments from the plaintiff’s representative, the applicant and his representative, and the public prosecutor. The latter argued that the first-instance judgment should be upheld. The court then upheld the first-instance judgment.
On 12 December 2013 the City Court dismissed an appeal on points of law lodged by the applicant.
2. Application no. 49027/16 Klimenko v. Russia
On 16 April 2014 criminal proceedings were brought against the applicant for negligence in the performance of his duties that had caused damage to the State budget.
On 16 July 2014 the prosecution of the applicant was discontinued as a result of an amnesty.
On 22 April 2015 the Abinsk District, Krasnodar Region prosecutor’s office brought an action against the applicant claiming compensation for the damage inflicted on the State budget.
On 28 July 2015 the Seversk District Court of the Krasnodar Region (Северский районный суд Краснодарского края) heard the applicant and his representative, and the public prosecutor, and then dismissed the action.
The public prosecutor appealed and on 8 October 2015 the Krasnodar Regional Court (Краснодарский краевой суд) heard the applicant and the prosecutor, who maintained the arguments given in the appeal statement and asked the court to overturn the first-instance judgment. The appellate court overturned the first-instance judgment and delivered a new decision in the case by which it fully granted the action.
The applicant lodged an appeal on points of law, which was dismissed on 22 December 2015 by the Regional Court.
The applicant lodged a second appeal on points of law, claiming, inter alia, that a public prosecutor did not have the authority to deal with the flow of funds to the State budget and was therefore not eligible to act as a plaintiff.
On 22 March 2016 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Верховный суд Российской Федерации) dismissed the applicant’s claims.
COMPLAINT
The applicants complain that the participation of a prosecutor in the civil proceedings was contrary to Article 6 § 1 of the Convention as it undermined the principle of equality of arms.
QUESTIONS to the parties
1. Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of their civil rights and obligations, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, was the principle of equality of arms respected as regards the involvement of a prosecutor in these proceedings?
2. Did the applicants exhaust the available and effective domestic remedies in respect of the prosecutor’s participation in the relevant proceedings? If not, what were the remedies they had at their disposal?
3. What were the grounds in the domestic law and/or practice allowing for the prosecutor’s participation in the sets of proceedings in question?
4. What were the reasons justifying the prosecutor’s participation in the proceedings?
5. Did the domestic courts duly review the above-mentioned reasons having regard to the individual situation of each party to the proceedings? Did they consider the impact that any such individual situation might have on the equality of arms in the proceedings?
APPENDIX
No.
Application
no.
Lodged on
Applicant’s name
date of birth
place of residence
Represented by
Final judgment
11776/14
30/01/2014
Fakhri
Alish Ogly
ALIYEV
27/08/1977
St Petersburg
Fedor Samuilovich LEMESHEV
St Petersburg City Court,
12 December 2013
49027/16
11/08/2016
Valeriy
Petrovich
KLIMENKO
22/12/1949
Severskaya, Krasnodar Region
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation,
22 March 2016
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy