Communicated on 20 March 2019
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 49419/18
Vytautas BABKAITIS
against Lithuania
lodged on 9 October 2018
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the length of the pre-trial investigation which in respect of the applicant lasted for nearly eight years and was terminated because the criminal proceedings became time-barred. The applicant lodged a civil claim for damages. The first-instance court awarded the applicant EUR 1,800 in respect of non-pecuniary damage. However, the appellate court reversed the decision, finding that the complexity of the case had justified its length. By a ruling of 18 July 2018 the Supreme Court refused to examine the applicant’s appeal on points of law, in which he argued a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
QUESTION tO THE PARTIES
Was the length of the pre-trial investigation in the present case in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see Pélissier and Sassi v. France [GC], no. 25444/94, § 67, ECHR 1999‑II, Kalēja v. Latvia, no. 22059/08, §§ 36-48, 5 October 2017 and, most recently, Garbuz v. Ukraine, no. 72681/10, § 52, 19 February 2019)?
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