FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 30778/06
Alla Georgiyevna ANTONYUK against Ukraine
and 7 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 15 November 2011 as a Committee composed of:
Mark Villiger, President,
Karel Jungwiert,
André Potocki, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the dates specified in the attached table,
Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure taken in the case of Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov v. Ukraine (no. 40450/04, ECHR 2009‑... (extracts)),
Having regard to the unilateral declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicants’ replies thereon,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants are Ukrainian nationals whose names and dates of birth are specified in the attached table. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms Valeria Lutkovska, of the Ministry of Justice.
On the dates set out in the attached table the national courts ordered the domestic authorities to take certain actions or to pay various pecuniary amounts to the applicants. The judgments in the applicants’ favour became final, but the authorities delayed their enforcement.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complained about the delayed enforcement of the judgments given in their favour.
THE LAW
1. The Court considers that in accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the applications should be joined, given their common factual and legal background.
2. By letters dated 21 April, 25 June and 14 July 2011, the Government informed the Court of their unilateral declarations, signed on the same dates, with a view to settling the applicants’ complaints. The declarations read as follows:
“The Government of Ukraine acknowledge the excessive duration of the enforcement of the applicants’ judgments.
The Government are ready to pay the applicants the outstanding debts according to the judgments of the national authorities, as well as to pay the applicants [ex gratia] the sums in accordance with [annexes to the declarations][1].
The Government therefore invite the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases. They suggest that the present declaration[s] might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the case of the Court’s list of cases, as referred to in Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
The sums ... [ex gratia] are to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, to be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of settlement. They will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
This payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases”.
In reply, the applicants agreed with the terms of the declarations.
The Court reiterates that Article 37 of the Convention provides that it may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to one of the conclusions specified in paragraph 1 (a), (b) or (c) of that Article. Article 37 § 1 in fine states:
“However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto so requires”.
The Court further recalls that in its pilot judgment (Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov, cited above) it required Ukraine to
“grant adequate and sufficient redress within one year[2] from the date on which the present judgment [became] final, to all applicants [...] whose complaints about the prolonged non-enforcement of domestic decisions [had] been communicated to the respondent Government”.
In the light of the applicants’ agreement with the Government’s declarations, the Court considers that Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention is relevant in the present case. The Court takes note that the parties have agreed terms for settling the cases. This is also in line with the pilot judgment (Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov, cited above, § 99 and point 6 of the operative part) and the Court finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the cases. Accordingly, they should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and the applicants’ replies thereon;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention.
Stephen PhillipsMark Villiger
Deputy RegistrarPresident
ANNEX
No.
Application number,
applicant’s name
and date of birth
Date of introduction
Domestic judgments about the lengthy non-enforcement
of which the applicants complain
(date of the judgment and name of the court)
Sums offered by the Government
(in euros)
1.
30778/06
ANTONYUK,
Alla Georgiyevna, not specified
4 July 2006
2 July 2004, Komsomolskyy District Court of Kherson
345
2.
26132/07
KYRYCHENKO,
Tetyana Vitalyivna, 1964
11 June 2007
5 December 2002, Kyiv Garrison Military Court
1,530
3.
39203/07
BUNTOV,
Andriy Mykolayovych, 1962
31 August 2007
21 March 2003, Ivano-Frankivsk Garrison Military Court
1,470
4.
39213/07
KUSHNIR,
Volodymyr Ivanovych, 1960
31 August 2007
10 August 2004, Kolomyya Court
1,215
5.
42743/07
KRETOV,
Aleksandr Ivanovich, 1951
17 December 2007
8 December 2006, Krasnyy Luch Court
780
6.
39519/07
TROFIMYUK,
Mariya Yevgenyevna, 1952
27 August 2007
18 August 2003 and 30 March 2005, Nova Kakhovka Court
1,335
7.
39508/07
POLEGENKO,
Zhanna Grigoryevna, 1950
27 August 2007
18 August 2003 and 30 March 2005, Nova Kakhovka Court
1,335
8.
28351/07
DAVIDENKO,
Anatoliy Grigoryevich, 1939
19 July 2007
18 August 2003 and 15 April 2005, Nova Kakhovka Court
1,335
[1]. For the sums, see the attached table
[2]. This term was further extended for another six months
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