FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 12323/05
Ivan Yukhymovych BASOV and Others against Ukraine
and 17 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 13 December 2011 as a Committee composed of:
Mark Villiger, President,
Karel Jungwiert,
André Potocki, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the dates specified in the attached table,
Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure taken in the case of Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov v. Ukraine (no. 40450/04, ECHR 2009‑... (extracts)),
Having regard to the unilateral declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicants’ replies thereon,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants are Ukrainian nationals whose names and dates of birth are specified in the table attached below. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agents, Mr Yuriy Zaytsev, Ms Valeria Lutkovska and Mr Nazar Kulchytskyy, of the Ministry of Justice.
In the application no. 8083/09 the applicant died in November 2009, his widow Mrs Bezugla having expressed the wish to pursue the application.
On various dates (see the table below) the national courts ordered the domestic authorities to pay various amounts to the applicants. Those judgments became final, but the authorities delayed their enforcement.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complained about the delayed enforcement of the judgments given in their favour.
THE LAW
1. The Court considers that the applications should be joined, given their common factual and legal background.
2. On various dates (see the table below) the Government submitted several unilateral declarations with a view to settling the applicants’ cases. By these declarations, the Government acknowledged the excessive duration of the enforcement of the applicants’ judgments and undertook to enforce the judgments that were still subject to enforcement and to pay the applicants various compensation sums (see the table below).
The Government invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases. They suggest that the declarations might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the case of the Court’s list of cases, as referred to in Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
The compensation sums were to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, would be free of any taxes that might be applicable and would be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of settlement[1]. They would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them from 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. This payment would constitute the final resolution of the cases.
In reply, the applicants agreed with the declarations, even though some of them doubted that the Government would comply with them.
The Court reiterates that Article 37 of the Convention provides that it may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to one of the conclusions specified in paragraph 1 (a)-(c) of that Article. Article 37 § 1 in fine states:
“However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto so requires”.
The Court further recalls that in its pilot judgment (Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov, cited above) it required Ukraine to:
“grant adequate and sufficient redress [...] to all applicants [...] whose complaints about the prolonged non-enforcement of domestic decisions [had] been communicated to the respondent Government”.
In the light of the applicants’ consent with the Government’s declarations, the Court considers that Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention is relevant in the present case. The Court takes note that the parties have agreed terms for settling the cases. This is also in line with the pilot judgment (Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov, cited above, § 99 and point 6 of the operative part) and the Court finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the cases. Accordingly, they should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s unilateral declarations and the applicants’ replies thereon;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention.
Stephen PhillipsMark Villiger
Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
No.
Application number,
applicant’s name
and date of birth
Date of introduction
Domestic judgments about the lengthy non-enforcement of which the applicants complain (date of the judgment and name of the court)
Date of the declaration;
sums offered by the Government
(in euros)
1.
12323/05
1). BASOV,
Ivan Yukhymovych, 1941,
2). BEZVERKHYY,
Oleksandr Mykhaylovych, 1950,
3). GONCHAROV,
Mykola Vasylyovych, 1950,
4). LANTUSHENKO,
Yuriy Fedorovych, 1948,
5). OLIYNYK,
Valeriy Borysovych, 1963,
6). PARKHOMENKO,
Olga Mykhaylivna, 1960,
7). PROKOPENKO,
Oleksandr Borysovych, 1966,
8). SINASHENKO,
Viktor Grygorovych, 1953,
9). YASHCHENKO,
Vladyslav Andriyovych, 1952,
10). KHVOSTYK,
Sergiy Grygorovych, 1965,
11). SAKHNYUK,
Valentyn Grygorovych, 1948,
12). RUNOV,
Volodymyr Yuriyovych, 1969,
13). DEMCHENKO,
Mykola Oleksandrovych, 1964,
14). MATUS,
Valeriy Vyacheslavovych, 1968,
15). ILCHENKO,
Olena Yukhymivna, 1953,
16). LUZAN,
Larysa Viktorivna, 1962,
17). RYBALKA,
Volodymyr Grygorovych, 1961,
18). SHEVCHENKO,
Volodymyr Albertovych, 1965,
19). SYBILYOVA,
Lyubov Oleksiyivna, 1956,
20). BILETSKYY,
Oleksandr Mykhaylovych, 1965,
21). DUBROVNA,
Valentyna Volodymyrivna, 1966,
22). POPRUGA,
Sergiy Volodymyrovych, 1964,
23). KALINICHENKO,
Petro Mykhaylovych, 1939,
24). CHERNOMAZ,
Anatoliy Maksymovych, 1937
25). DANYLCHENKO, Lyudmyla Oleksandrivna, 1945
15 March 2005
21 May 2003, Pecherskyy District Court of Kyiv
30 July 2010;
525 (to each applicant)
2.
8083/09
PLYEVAK,
Ivan Dmytrovych, 1935
27 January 2009
29 January 2008, Tetiyiv Court
13 September 2010;
465
3.
9371/09
MAYSTRUK,
Vasyl Oleksandrovych, 1953
27 January 2009
30 November 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011;
675
4.
65582/09
MATLASH,
Viktor Stepanovych, 1955
3 December 2009
11 February and 17 June 2008, Oleksandriya Court
(as amended, respectively, on 26 August 2008 and 31 March 2009 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
540
5.
11986/10
ALYEKSYEYCHUK,
Illya Pylypovych, 1946
17 February 2010
25 April 2008, Oleksandriya Court
30 September 2011;
510
6.
16575/10
PASHKOV,
Anatoliy Yegorovych, 1939
12 March 2010
29 January 2008, Oleksandriya Court (as amended on 25 September 2008 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
525
7.
35949/10
KOVAL,
Viktor Mykolayovych, 1954
8 June 2010
17 November 2008, Oleksandriya Court
30 September 2011;
405
8.
38809/10
SICHKARUK,
Andriy Fedorovych, 1943
28 June 2010
13 December 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011,
675
9.
39638/10
ONOPA,
Oleksandr Mykolayovych, 1960
22 June 2010
11 December 2008, Oleksandriya Court
30 September 2011;
450
10.
39777/10
BAZARKULOV,
Kylychbek, 1954
6 July 2010
8 November 2007, Oleksandriya Court (as amended on 7 October 2008 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
525
11.
51102/10
CHECHELNYTSKYY,
Volodymyr Ivanovych, 1958
21 July 2010
11 February and 22 July 2008, Oleksandriya Court (as amended, respectively, on 5 August 2008 and 17 February 2009 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
555
12.
64722/10
FAYER,
Ganna Adamivna, 1948
27 October 2010
26 November 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011;
690
13.
68455/10
YURCHENKO,
Ganna Tarasivna, 1942
20 October 2010
26 November 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011;
690
14.
68457/10
KRYVORUCHENKO,
Vira Tsezarivna, 1949
21 October 2010
21 November 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011;
690
15.
70918/10
KOSHELENKO,
Mykola Vasylyovych, 1955
19 November 2010
11 April 2008, Oleksandriya Court (as amended on 10 December 2008 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
495
16.
73249/10
VERESKUN,
Sergiy Anatoliyovych, 1962
17 November 2010
15 May 2008, Oleksandriya Court (as amended on 20 January 2009 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
480
17.
74040/10
ZAKHARCHUK,
Nila Dmytrivna, 1946
2 December 2010
27 November 2007, Tetiyiv Court
3 October 2011;
675
18.
3172/11
FEOKTISTOV,
Grygoriy Fedorovych, 1961
3 January 2011
29 January 2008, Oleksandriya Court (as amended on 25 September 2008 by the Dnipropetrovsk Administrative Court of Appeal)
30 September 2011;
540
[1]. Some declarations did not initially contain the currency conversion clause. Subsequently the Government amended them accordingly.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy