FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF LEBEDYEV AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE
(Application no. 33994/20 and 7 others –see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
22 July 2021
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Lebedyev and Others v. Ukraine,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström, President,
Jovan Ilievski,
Mattias Guyomar, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 1 July 2021,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table
2. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
4. The applicants complained under Article 3 of the Convention of their life sentence with no prospect of release.
THE LAWJOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 of the Convention
6. The applicants complained of the life sentence with no prospect of release. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
Article 3
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
7. The Court reiterates that the Convention does not prohibit the imposition of a life sentence on those convicted of especially serious crimes, such as murder. Yet to be compatible with Article 3 such a sentence must be reducible de jure and de facto, meaning that there must be both a prospect of release for the prisoner and a possibility of review. The basis of such review must extend to assessing whether there are legitimate penological grounds for the continuing incarceration of the prisoner. These grounds include punishment, deterrence, public protection and rehabilitation. The balance between them is not necessarily static and may shift in the course of a sentence, so that the primary justification for detention at the outset may not be so after a lengthy period of service of sentence. The importance of the ground of rehabilitation is underlined, since it is here that the emphasis of European penal policy now lies, as reflected in the practice of the Contracting States, in the relevant standards adopted by the Council of Europe, and in the relevant international materials (see Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], nos. 66069/09 and 2 others, §§ 59-81, ECHR 2013 (extracts)).
8. In the leading case of Petukhov v. Ukraine (no. 2), (no. 41216/13, 12 March 2019), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.
9. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. They are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
10. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
11. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Petukhov (no. 2) cited above, § 201), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,Decides to join the applications;Declares the applications admissible;Holds that they disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention concerning the life sentence with no prospect of release;Holds that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 22 July 2021, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention
(life sentence with no prospect of release)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Name of the trial court
Date of the life sentence
Judicial decision upholding the conviction
33994/20
23/10/2020
Gennadiy Kostyantynovych LEBEDYEV
1972
Zaporozhets Oles Volodymyrovych
Zaporizhzhya
Tokmakskyy Local Court of Zaporizhzhya Region, 07/03/2013
Higher Specialised Civil and Criminal Court of Ukraine, 28/08/2014
42293/20
11/09/2020
Gennadiy Volodymyrovych BURYAK
1965
Kashapova Viktoriya Oleksiyivna
Zhytomyr
Kharkiv Regional Court, 14/06/2001
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 25/12/2001
43795/20
28/08/2020
Sergiy Volodymyrovych YEVGLEVSKYY
1986
Bespala Tamila Sergiyivna
Kharkiv
Court of Appeal of Donetsk Region, 12/03/2010
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 30/09/2010
47659/20
19/10/2020
Ruslan Viktorovych MALAKHOV
1976
Bespala Tamila Sergiyivna
Kharkiv
Zaporizhzhya Regional Court of Appeal, 31/07/2007
N/A
50826/20
19/10/2020
Vitaliy Viktorovych CHAYKOVSKYY
1967
Fedash Mykola Mykolayovych
Kyiv
Court of Appeal of Donetsk Region, 06/10/2005
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 19/10/2006
53207/20
11/11/2020
Oleksandr Vitaliyovych KAMATSKYY
1971
Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych
Kyiv
Court of Appeal of Lviv Region, 25/07/2008
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 23/12/2008
53345/20
10/11/2020
Vasyl Volodymyrovych KOVAL
1962
Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych
Kyiv
Sevastopol Court of Appeal, 26/11/2001
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 05/09/2002
53677/20
11/11/2020
Yan Mykhaylovych GORDIYCHUK
1969
Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych
Kyiv
Sevastopol City Court of Appeal, 03/12/2002
Supreme Court of Ukraine, 17/04/2003
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy