AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF
Application No. 22997/93
by Dimitrios BUZUNIS
against Greece
The European Commission of Human Rights (First Chamber) sitting
in private on 2 December 1994, the following members being present:
MM. A. WEITZEL, President
C.L. ROZAKIS
F. ERMACORA
E. BUSUTTIL
Mrs. J. LIDDY
MM. M.P. PELLONPÄÄ
B. MARXER
G.B. REFFI
B. CONFORTI
N. BRATZA
I. BÉKÉS
E. KONSTANTINOV
Mrs. M.F. BUQUICCHIO, Secretary to the Chamber
Having regard to Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Having regard to the application introduced on 4 August 1993 by
Dimitrios BUZUNIS against Greece and registered on 23 November 1993
under file No. 22997/93;
Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 47 of the Rules
of Procedure of the Commission;
Having deliberated;
Decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant is a Greek citizen, born in 22 August 1938 in
Argolida.
The facts of the case, as they have been submitted by the
applicant, may be summarised as follows:
A. The particular circumstances of the case
On 16 July 1986 the applicant was arrested by the Italian police
in international waters aboard the ship P for drug trafficking. He was
placed in detention on remand. On 4 December 1987 he was found guilty
by the First Instance Criminal Court of Bari and sentenced to 5 years
imprisonment and a fine of 5,000,000 lire. The court further ordered
the suspension of the execution of the sentence and the applicant's
immediate expulsion from Italy. The applicant was duly expelled from
the country. He lodged, however, an appeal which was heard on 30
November 1990. The court of appeal reduced his sentence to three years
and four months.
On 12 February 1992 the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal
of Piraias charged the applicant with drug-trafficking in connection
with the same set of facts. The applicant was arrested on 2 September
1992. On 3 June 1993 he was tried by the three-member Court of Appeal
of Piraias, which was competent to hear the case at first instance due
to the nature of the offences. He was found guilty and sentenced to 17
years imprisonment. The court decided to deduct from the applicant's
sentence the period he had spent in detention on remand in Italy and
Greece.
The applicant lodged an appeal, the hearing of which had been
scheduled for 3 June 1994. On that date, however, the court adjourned
the hearing of the applicant's appeal for 25 January 1995 due to a
strike by the lawyers.
When the applicant last contacted the Commission, by letter of
24 June 1994, he was still in detention. A letter, however, addressed
by the Commission's Secretariat to the applicant on 5 July 1994 at the
address of the prison where he was being detained has been returned.
B. Relevant domestic law
Article 10 of the Criminal Code provides the following:
"If a court finds a person guilty of an offence of which he
has been already convicted abroad, it must deduct from the
sentence it imposes on him the sentence or part of sentence
this person has served abroad".
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complains of the fact that he was tried and
convicted in Greece of an offence in respect of which he had already
received a penalty in another State Party to the Convention.
He also complains about the length of the proceedings instituted
against him in Greece.
He does not invoke any specific provisions of the Convention or
its Protocols.
THE LAW
1. The applicant claims that he was tried and convicted in Greece
of an offence in respect of which he had already been convicted in
Italy. He does not invoke any specific provisions of the Convention.
The Commission recalls that neither the Convention nor any of the
additional Protocols does, either expressly or implicitly, guarantee
the principle of ne bis in idem in respect of convictions in different
States (No. 1519/62, 27.3.63, Collection 10 p. 59; No. 7680/76,
16.5.77, D.R. 9 p. 190; No. 8945/80, 13.12.83, D.R. 39 p. 43; 11069/84,
7.9.89, D.R. 62 p. 5).
This part of the application is therefore incompatible ratione
materiae with the provisions of the Convention within the meaning of
Article 27 para. 2 (Art. 27-2).
2. The applicant complains of the length of the criminal proceedings
against him. He does not invoke any specific provision of the
Convention.
The Commission recalls that Article 6 (Art. 6) of the Convention
guarantees the right to a hearing within a reasonable time in the
determination of criminal charges.
The Commission considers that it cannot, on the basis of the
file, determine the admissibility of this complaint and that it is
therefore necessary in accordance with Rule 48 para. 2(b) of the Rules
of Procedure, to give notice of this part of the application to the
respondent Government.
For these reasons, the Commission, unanimously,
DECIDES TO ADJOURN its examination of the complaints under
Article 6 (Art. 6) of the Convention regarding the length
of the criminal proceedings;
DECLARES THE REMAINDER OF THE APPLICATION INADMISSIBLE
Secretary to the First Chamber President of the First Chamber
(M.F. BUQUICCHIO) (A. WEITZEL)
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy