The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 54
(art. 54) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"),
Having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human
Rights in the Abdoella case delivered on 25 November 1995 and
transmitted the same day to the Committee of Ministers;
Recalling that the case originated in an application
(No. 12728/87) against the Netherlands lodged with the European
Commission of Human Rights on 9 February 1987 under Article 25
(art. 25) of the Convention by Mr Abdoel Aliem Khan Abdoella, a
Netherlands national, and that the Commission declared admissible
the complaint that the criminal proceedings against him had not
been conducted within a reasonable time;
Recalling that the case was brought before the Court by the
Government of the Netherlands on 2 January 1992;
Whereas in its judgment of 25 November 1992 the Court
unanimously:
- rejected the government's preliminary objection;
- held that there had been a violation of Article 6,
paragraph 1 (art. 6-1);
- held that the judgment constituted in itself, as regards any
non-pecuniary damage, sufficient just satisfaction for the purposes
of Article 50 (art. 50);
- held that the Kingdom of the Netherlands was to pay to the
applicant, within three months, 10 901 Dutch guilders and 88 cents,
less 8 825 French francs in respect of costs and expenses;
Having regard to the Rules adopted by the Committee of
Ministers concerning the application of Article 54 (art. 54) of the
Convention;
Having invited the Government of the Netherlands to inform it
of the measures which had been taken in consequence of the judgment
of 25 November 1992, having regard to the Netherlands' obligation
under Article 53 (art. 53) of the Convention to abide by it;
Whereas, during the examination of the case by the Committee
of Ministers, the Government of the Netherlands gave the Committee
information about the measures taken in consequence of the
judgment, which information appears in the appendix to this
resolution;
Having satisfied itself that the Government of the Netherlands
paid the applicant, within the time limit set, the sum provided for
in the judgment of 25 November 1992,
Declares, after having taken note of the information supplied
by the Government of the Netherlands, that it has exercised its
functions under Article 54 (art. 54) of the Convention in this
case.
Appendix to Resolution DH (95) 91
Information provided by the Government of the Netherlands
during the examination of the Abdoellla case
by the Committee of Ministers
The Supreme Court and the courts of appeal have seriously
studied the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the
Abdoella and Bunkate cases. As a result of this examination, the
presidents of the courts of appeal have henceforth instituted
regular meetings to examine the organisation of the appeal
procedure in order to avoid the kind of problem which arose in
these two cases. Considering the small number of cases pending
before the Convention organs with regard to the length of criminal
proceedings in the Netherlands, the government finds that these
measures have been sufficient to remedy the problems pinpointed by
the Court.
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