FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 29483/16
Iryna Oleksandrivna ARBUZOVA
against Ukraine
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 16 May 2024 as a Committee composed of:
Carlo Ranzoni, President,
Mārtiņš Mits,
María Elósegui, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 13 May 2016,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Ms Iryna Oleksandrivna Arbuzova, was born in 1970. She was represented by Ms N. But, a lawyer practising in Kyiv.
The applicant raised complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, as well as Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention, in respect of the seizure of her bank accounts in the context of the criminal proceedings against her husband, a former Vice-Prime Minister of Ukraine and a former Head of the National Bank of Ukraine. She has not contacted the Court since 20 December 2019, which is the date when the last letter was received from her.
On 28 April 2023 the Registry sent a letter to the applicant’s lawyer through the Court’s Electronic Communications Service (eComms) inviting her to inform the Court whether the applicant maintained her application and, if so, to provide an update on any developments in her case. Her attention was drawn to the fact that failure to reply may lead to a conclusion that the applicant did not intend to pursue the application. The applicant’s lawyer downloaded that letter but failed to respond to it by the time‑limit set – 29 May 2023. The Registry’s numerous attempts to reach the applicant or her lawyer by the telephone numbers indicated in the case file were unsuccessful.
On 29 January 2024 the Registry sent a letter by registered post both to the applicant and to her lawyer inviting the applicant once again to confirm her interest in the case by 26 February 2024 and informing her that otherwise the Court might strike her application out of its list of cases. According to the postal tracking information, the applicant’s lawyer received the letter on 14 March 2024. No reply, however, followed. The letter sent to the applicant’s address returned as undelivered.
THE LAW
In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.
Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 6 June 2024.
Viktoriya Maradudina Carlo Ranzoni
Acting Deputy Registrar President