Resolution ResDH(2005)64
concerning cases concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings in Greece
(Academy Trading Ltd and others against Greece and other cases – see Appendix)
(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 18 July 2005
at the 933rd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)
The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol No. 11 (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”);
Having regard to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, in the case of Academy Trading Ltd and others and in 3 other cases details of which appear in the appendix to this Resolution, transmitted to the Committee of Ministers once they had become final under Articles 44 and 46 of the Convention;
Recalling that all these cases originated in applications lodged against Greece with either the European Commission of Human Rights under Article 25 or the European Court of Human Rights under Article 34 and that the European Commission or the European Court declared admissible the applicants' complaints relating to the excessive length of civil proceedings;
Recalling that the European Court subsequently held, unanimously, in all these cases that there had been a violation of Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention on account of the excessive length of civil proceedings and awarded the applicants different sums in just satisfaction (see Appendix);
Having regard to the Rules adopted by the Committee of Ministers concerning the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention as amended by Protocol No. 11;
Having invited the Greek government to inform it of the measures which had been taken in consequence of the European Court's judgments, having regard to Greece's obligation and under Article 46 of the Convention to abide by them;
Having satisfied itself that the Greek government paid the applicants the sums awarded by the European Court as just satisfaction (see Appendix);
Having examined the information provided by the Greek government concerning the general measures taken to prevent new violations of the same kind as those found in the present cases (see Appendix);
Declares, after having taken note of the information supplied by the Greek government, that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases.
Appendix to Resolution ResDH(2005)64
concerning cases concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings in Greece
(Academy Trading Ltd and others against Greece and other cases)
Information provided by the Government of Greece
Payment of just satisfaction
Case
Application
No.
Date of
judgment
Amounts awarded
by the European Court
Time-limit
for payment
Date of payment
Default interest
Academy Trading Ltd and others
30342/96
04/04/00
Costs and expenses: 3,000,000 drachmas
04/07/00
02/06/00
No interest due
Kosmopolis S.A.
40434/98
29/03/01
Non-pecuniary damages:
2,000,000 drachmas; Costs and expenses: 2,000,000 drachmas
29/09/01
11/01/02
Waived by the applicant company
LSI Information Technologies
46380/99
20/12/01
Non-pecuniary damages: 1,000,000 drachmas; Costs and expenses: 2,500,000 drachmas
20/06/02
04/06/02
No interest due
Velliou
20177/02
14/10/04
Non-pecuniary damages: 2,000 euros; Costs and expense: 1,000 euros
14/04/05
16/03/05
No interest due
II. Individual measures
All the civil proceedings at issue had been closed by the time of delivery of the judgments of the European Court.
III.General measures
A. Reform of the civil procedure
Following the first of the Court's judgments here at issue, Greek Parliament adopted in 2001 Law 2915/2001 aiming in particular to accelerate proceedings in civil courts. Further measures to that effect were introduced with amendments adopted in 2005 (Law 3327/2005 and Law 3346/2005). According to the introductory reports to Laws 2915/2001 and 3346/2005, the main reason for the adoption of this new legislation was Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention, which has a supra-statutory force according to Article 28§1 of the Constitution, and the judgments of the European Court. The novelties introduced in the Greek civil procedure are as follows:
Parties' obligations and stricter time-limits at the preparatory stage
According to the new legislation, the action is now notified to the defendant through the plaintiff's own means, within 30 days, at the latest, from the filing of action. The parties' pleadings and all relevant evidence should be lodged with the court at the latest 30 days before the hearing. The rebuttals to the opposing party's pleadings should be lodged with the court at the latest 15 days before the hearing. A rebuttal may include new claims or evidence only when they concern the argumentation exposed in the opposing party's initial pleading. Pleadings or rebuttals lodged out of the above time-limits are not examined by the court (Articles 229 and 237§1 of Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) as amended).
These rules aim at providing the parties and the court with sufficient time to prepare a case so that they avoid adjournment of a hearing on such a ground.
New rules for hearings
As regards the setting of hearings: Law 3346/2005 (Article 1) amended the Courts Administration Code and prescribed that the initial setting of hearings at first instance and civil appeal courts shall take place within a reasonable time which may not exceed six months for special proceedings and twelve months for ordinary proceedings.
As regards parties' applications for setting preferred hearing dates: According to Article 226 of CCP (as amended by Law 3327/2005), all parties' applications relating to the setting of a hearing in all instances, courts and procedures should be in writing and reasoned. The decision of the judge concerned on this application should also be reasoned.
As regards the overall length of first instance proceedings: According to Article 307 of CCP (as amended by Law 3327/2005), judicial decisions at first instance should be delivered within eight months since the hearing of the case. After this period, the judge concerned is obliged to return the file, or else it is taken away by decision of the judge heading the court or of the president of the three-member administration council.
As regards the adjournments: The hearing may be adjourned by a court decision only once for each instance and only for an “important reason”. Costs and expenses may be incurred, by a court decision, by the party requesting the adjournment (amended Article 241 of CCP). In first-instance courts, if one of the parties is not present at a hearing, even though duly notified, the hearing may continue as though that party were present (amended Article 270 CCP).
As regards the conduct of the evidentiary procedure: Evidence (including witnesses) should be examined, in principle, at a single hearing. In cases where the court considers that an expert's opinion is necessary, it must impose a time-limit on the filing of the expert's opinion, which may not exceed 60 days (amended Article 270 of CCP).
Extra-judicial case settlement
Law 2915/2001 has also improved the procedure regarding extra-judicial settlement of civil cases: the relevant parties' meetings may take place in the offices of the parties' lawyers or on the premises of the local Bar Association; a settlement should be reached at the latest 35 days before the date of the hearing (amended Article 214A, paragraph 3 of CCP).
Procedures before the Court of Cassation
The admissibility of an application for judicial review before the Court of Cassation is examined by a three‑member Council composed of the President of the Court of Cassation and two others. If it is found inadmissible or manifestly ill-founded it is rejected. The appellant applicant on cassation may, within 60 days since notification and following the payment of a fee fixed by the Council, request the review of the Council's decision at a hearing before the ordinary chamber of the Court of Cassation. If the application is found to be admissible, the Council's decision is quashed and the appeal examined. If the application is rejected as inadmissible the fee is forfeit to the state (Article 17 of Law 2915/2001).
B. Increase of judicial posts and improvement of courts' infrastructure
Law 3160/2003 increased the number of criminal and civil judges' posts by 237 as from 1 July 2003 (Article 58, paragraph 3), while Law 3258/2004 increased the number of criminal and civil judges' posts by 24 as from 29 July 2004 (Article 3, paragraph 1). Moreover, since 2000 the Athens Appeal Court, the overload of which was at issue in the present cases, has been housed in a new building with 22 courtrooms and 500 offices (compared to 10 and 150). In addition, the two biggest civil courts of Athens and Thessaloniki are participating in a pilot programme for the improvement of court proceedings, supervised by CEPEJ.
A project to construct 25 new court premises with modern equipment is under way. Nine of these premises are ready, among which are the Court of Audit and the Athens Court of Appeal. The remaining premises are scheduled to be ready by 2006.
Finally, a project to computerise all civil courts is under way. Priority has been given to the civil courts of first instance in the major cities of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki. It also aims at improving civil courts' legal data bases to give judges more rapid and easier access.
C. Conclusion
The positive effects of all the above general measures have been demonstrated in particular in first-instance civil proceedings which are now concluded within 1 ½ years maximum, while in the past they used to last up to four years. The government therefore considers that the measures taken have been effective in preventing new violations due to the excessive length of civil proceedings and that Greece has accordingly satisfied its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy