FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 44295/05
by Bogdan BRUDZIŃSKI
against Poland
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 12 June 2007 as a Chamber composed of:
SirNicolas Bratza, President,
MrJ. Casadevall,
MrG. Bonello,
MrK. Traja,
MrS. Pavlovschi,
MrL. Garlicki,
MsL. Mijović, judges,
and Mr T.L. Early, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 21 November 2005,
Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Bogdan Brudziński, is a Polish national who was born in 1964 and lives in Łódź. The respondent Government are represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 28 February 1997 a bill of indictment against the applicant and three other co-accused was lodged with the Zgierz District Court.
The first hearing in the case was scheduled for 7 July 1997, but it was adjourned because one of the defendants failed to appear.
The proceedings are pending before the first-instance court.
On 5 August 2005 the applicant lodged a complaint under the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki) (“the 2004 Act”).
On 29 September 2005 the Łódź Regional Court acknowledged that the proceedings had been excessively long. In particular, they had been stayed three times because an arrest warrant had been issued for one of the co-accused, and the District Court should have considered examining the applicant’s case in a separate set of proceedings. The court noted that the proceedings had been stayed again on 24 May 2005 and the whereabouts of the co-accused had not yet been established. Moreover, the Regional Court considered that the trial court had failed to discipline the parties, in particular the applicant’s legal-aid lawyer who had failed to attend the hearings on several occasions. The Regional Court further observed that the applicant had not requested to have his case examined separately and that he had lodged the length complaint solely out of pecuniary motives. Consequently, the court found that the applicant had not been entitled to just satisfaction under the provisions of the 2004 Act.
COMPLAINTS
1. The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the excessive length of the criminal proceedings.
2. He also alleged, invoking Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, that the proceedings in his case had been unfair, in particular in that he had not been adequately represented by his legal-aid lawyer.
THE LAW
On 30 November 2006 the Court decided to communicate the complaint concerning the length of the proceedings to the Government.
On 27 April 2007 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:
“I, Bogdan Brudziński, note that the Government of Poland are prepared to pay me the sum of 6,000 PLN with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable and 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. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Poland in respect of the facts of this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case.”
On 14 May 2007 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“I, Jakub Wołąsiewicz, Agent of the Government, declare that the Government of Poland offer to pay 6,000 PLN to Mr Bogdan Brudziński with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable and 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 this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, 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. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”
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 application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). Accordingly, Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
T.L. EarlyNicolas Bratza
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy