Communicated on 26 May 2014
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 23444/12
Adriana ARPS
against Croatia
lodged on 28 March 2012
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicant, Ms Adriana Arps, is a Croatian national, who was born in 1958 and lives in Hamburg. She is represented before the Court by Mr S. Babić, a lawyer practising in Zagreb.
The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.
On 25 August 2004 the applicant and another person were indicted in the Zagreb Municipal Criminal Court (Općinski kazneni sud u Zagrebu) on charges of fraud.
On 11 February 2009 the Zagreb Municipal Criminal Court found the applicant and the other accused guilty as charged and sentenced the applicant to one year’s imprisonment, suspended for four years. She was also ordered, jointly with the other accused, to pay damages to the victims in the total amount of 230,335.22 Croatian kunas.
The applicant appealed against her conviction and sentence, challenging all legal and factual aspects of the case and asking that her conviction be quashed and a retrial ordered. She also asked that she and her defence lawyer be allowed to appear at the appeal hearing.
On 20 January 2011 the Bjelovar County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu) held a closed session, without informing the applicant or her lawyer. After examining all of the factual and legal issues raised by the case it dismissed the appeal and upheld the applicant’s conviction and sentence.
The applicant then lodged a constitutional complaint before the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske), complaining, inter alia, that she had not been allowed to appear at the appeal hearing.
On 29 September 2011 the Constitutional Court declared the applicant’s constitutional complaint inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complains, under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention, of her absence from the appeal hearing.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Was the applicant’s absence from the hearing held before the Supreme Court in compliance with the requirements of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention?
The Government are requested to submit copies of all relevant documents in the applicant’s case.
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