THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Applications nos. 42655/16 and 27495/18
Sigurjon Þorvaldur ÁRNASON
against Iceland
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 2 February 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Georges Ravarani, President,
Darian Pavli,
Anja Seibert-Fohr, judges,
and Olga Chernishova, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on 15 July 2016 and 28 May 2018 respectively,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Sigurjón Þorvaldur Árnason, is an Icelandic national, who was born in 1966 and lives in Reykjavik. He was represented before the Court by Mr Sigurður G. Guðjónsson, a lawyer practising in Reykjavik.
The Icelandic Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr Einar Karl Hallvarðsson, State Attorney General.
The applicant complained under Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention about various aspects of criminal proceedings against him, which resulted in two conviction judgments of the Supreme Court of Iceland on 8 October 2015 and 4 February 2016.
On 18 September 2020 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties. In the declarations, the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Iceland in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications against an acknowledgement by the Government, with reference to the Court’s judgment in the case of Sigríður Elín Sigfúsdóttir v. Iceland, no. 41382/17, 25 February 2020, that the applicant’s riht to a fair trial under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention had been violated and an undertaking by the Government to pay him 12,000 euros to cover any non‑pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant. The friendly settlement declarations furthermore noted the possibility for the applicant to apply to the Court on Reopening of Judicial Proceedings for the reopening of the cases against him, pursuant to Chapter XXXV of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 88/2008, as amended by Act No. 47/2020.
The sum will be converted into Icelandic krónur at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, from the 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. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 4 March 2021.
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Olga ChernishovaGeorges Ravarani
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy