Resolution CM/ResDH(2007)163[1]
Execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
Niederböster against Germany and four other cases concerning the excessive length of proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court
(see Appendix for details)
The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”),
Having regard to the judgments transmitted by the Court to the Committee once they had become final;
Recalling that the violations of Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention found by the Court in these cases concern the excessive length of certain proceedings concerning civil rights and obligations before the Federal Constitutional Court (see details in Appendix);
Having invited the government of the respondent state to inform the Committee of the measures taken in order to comply with Germany’s obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgments;
Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;
Having satisfied itself that, within the time-limit set, the respondent state paid the applicants the just satisfaction provided in the judgments (see details in Appendix),
Recalling that a finding of violations by the Court requires, over and above the payment of just satisfaction awarded by the Court in its judgments, the adoption by the respondent state, where appropriate:
- of individual measures to put an end to the violations and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and
- of general measures, preventing similar violations;
DECLARES, having examined the measures taken by the respondent state (see Appendix) and considering the decisions taken at the 854th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (20 October 2003) in the Niederböster case, at the 906th meeting (22 December 2004) in the Trippel and Voggenreiter cases, at the 940th meeting (26 October 2005) in the Wimmer case and at the 992nd meeting (20 April 2007) in the Klasen case, that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases and
DECIDES to close the examination of these cases.
Appendix to Resolution CM/ResDH(2007)163
Information about the measures to comply with the judgments in the case of
Niederböster against Germany and four other cases concerning the length of proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court
Introductory case summary
These cases relate to the excessive length of proceedings concerning civil rights and obligations before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). In particular, in the cases of Niederböster and Wimmer, the European Court took into account the fact that the proceedings at issue, concerning requests of visiting and custody rights, required a special diligence (violations of Article 6, paragraph 1).
Case Name
Application
Number
Judgment of
Final on
Total Length of Proceedings
From
To
Total Length
Niederböster
39547/98
27/02/2003
27/05/2003
23/06/1993
01/12/1998
5 years,
5 months, including more than 4 years before the FCC
Trippel
68103/01
04/12/2003
04/03/2004
12/01/1995
13/09/2000
5 years,
8 months
Voggenreiter
47169/99
08/01/2004
08/04/2004
18/12/1993
29/11/2000
6 years,
11 months
Wimmer
60534/00
24/02/2005
24/05/2005
09/08/1993
20/01/2000
6 years,
5 months
Klasen
75204/01
05/10/2006
05/01/2007
05/09/1991
28/03/2001
9 years,
6 months, including 4 years and 9 months before the FCC
I.Payment of just satisfaction and individual measures
a) Details of just satisfaction
Case Name
Pecuniary damage
Non-pecuniary damage
Cost and expenses
Total
Date of payment
Niederböster
-
-
1 800 EUR
1 800 EUR
14/07/2003
Trippel
-
3 000 EUR
1 800 EUR
4 800 EUR
27/04/2004
Voggenreiter
-
2 000 EUR
3 900 EUR
5 900 EUR
15/06/2004
Wimmer
-
-
1 580.49 EUR
1 580.49 EUR
18/08/2005
Klasen
-
1 000 EUR
500 EUR
1 500 EUR
02/03/2007
b) Individual measures
In all these cases, the domestic proceedings before the FCC had already ended when the European Court rendered its judgments and the damages suffered by the applicants on account of the violation of the Convention have been remedied through the award of a compensation for non pecuniary damage or, in the cases of Niederböster and Wimmer, the finding of the violation.
II.General measures
The government recalls that, following the findings of violations of Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention on account of the excessive length of proceedings before the FCC in the cases of Pammel and Probstmeier (judgments of 1/07/1997), measures have been taken to improve the efficiency of the FCC and avoid new similar violations (see Resolutions ResDH(2001)6 and ResDH(2001)7 adopted on 26 February 2001 in the Pammel and Probstemeier cases).
In particular, administrative measures have been taken to enable the FCC to manage its increasing workload: the resources of the FCC have been increased, which has allowed the hiring of additional staff with a view to conclude pending cases in a timely manner. Statistical data concerning the period between 1997 and 2002 confirm that, as a consequence, the backlog was gradually decreasing.
Furthermore, the judgments have been disseminated to the FCC. The Voggenreiter judgment has also been published in Europäische Grundrechte Zeitschrift vol. 31, no. 5 (2004), pp. 150-156, and in Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (2005), pp. 41-44 and the Wimmer judgment has been published in Familie und Recht (2005), pp. 380-382 and in Das Jugendamt (2006), pp. 97-100. All judgments of the European Court against Germany are also publicly available via the website of the Federal Ministry of Justice ( , Themen, Menschenrechte, EGMR) which provides a direct link to the Court’s website for judgments in German.
III.Conclusions of the respondent state
The government considers that the measures adopted have fully remedied the consequences for the applicants of the violations of the Convention found by the European Court in these cases, that these measures will prevent new, similar violations and that Germany has thus complied with its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
[1] Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 19 December 2007 at the 1013th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies
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