FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 9069/08
Ivan Oleksiyovych BABENKO against Ukraine
and 4 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 27 April 2017 as a Committee composed of:
Vincent A. De Gaetano, President,
Egidijus Kūris,
Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law were communicated to the Ukrainian Government (“the Government”). In application no. 32425/10 the applicant also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
A. Joinder of the applications
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
B. Complaints under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention (excessive length of civil proceedings and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
The Court, having examined all the materials submitted to it and having regard to its case-law on the subject, considers that the applicants’ complaints under this head are inadmissible since the length of the proceedings was not excessive or unreasonable (see, Yuryeva and Yuryev v. Ukraine, no. 3431/03, § 43, 31 July 2012).
In particular, in application no. 49128/08 it follows from case-file materials that the applicant herself greatly contributed to the overall duration of the proceedings by supplementing and amending her claims, failing to appear before the courts, changing her representatives etc., causing rescheduling of the hearing more than 70 times. Although a party to civil proceedings cannot be blamed for using the avenues available to her under domestic law in order to protect her interests, she must accept that such actions necessarily prolong the proceedings concerned (see Timotiyevich v. Ukraine (dec.), 63158/00, 18 May 2004).
In view of the above, the Court finds that these complaints are manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
C. Remaining complaints
The applicant in application no. 32425/10 also raised other complaints under various articles of the Convention.
The Court has examined the application and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 18 May 2017.
Karen ReidVincent A. De Gaetano
RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention
(excessive length of civil proceedings and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant name
Date of birth
Start of proceedings
End of proceedings
Total length
Level of jurisdiction
9069/08
26/12/2007
Ivan Oleksiyovych Babenko
13/05/1937
02/12/2002
21/11/2007
4 years, 11 months and 20 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
49128/08
24/09/2008
Galina Grigoryevna Girko
21/10/1937
21/08/2000
14/04/2008
7 years, 7 months and 25 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
32425/10
18/05/2010
Oleksandr Ivanovych Miroshnyk
17/06/1959
18/09/2002
16/07/2003
28/03/2005
26/06/2006
21/04/2009
07/11/2002
01/12/2003
14/06/2005
02/07/2008
12/02/2010
1 month and 21 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
4 months and 16 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
2 months and 18 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
2 years and 7 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
9 months and 23 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
10330/13
14/01/2013
Ivan Ivanovych Sytnyk
04/11/1941
02/04/2007
01/11/2008
10/02/2009
01/04/2009
01/09/2010
14/09/2010
31/12/2010
14/01/2011
06/08/2012
01/08/2007
08/12/2010
30/11/2010
22/03/2010
08/09/2011
08/09/2011
12/07/2012
20/12/2011
20/05/2013
4 months
1 level of jurisdiction
2 years, 1 month and 8 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
1 year, 9 months and 21 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
11 months and 22 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
1 year and 8 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
11 months and 26 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
1 year, 6 months and 13 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
11 months and 7 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
9 months and 15 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
76305/13
25/11/2013
Lyudmyla Mykhaylivna Lisovska
20/03/1951
09/06/2006
22/02/2010
26/11/2007
10/06/2013
1 year, 5 months and 18 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
3 years, 3 months and 20 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy