Resolution CM/ResDH(2007)104[1]
Execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
Papageorgiou against Greece and 12 other judgments
(see details in Appendix)
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
a)All these cases concern the excessive length of proceedings before criminal courts (violations of Article 6, §1);
b)The Papageorgiou and Nastos cases also concern violations of the applicants' right to a fair trial (violations of Article 6§§1 and 3 d, 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 Greece'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 all applicants the just satisfaction provided in the judgments, except for those in the cases of Basoukos, Proïos, Simaskou and Nastos, where, on the dates indicated in the appendix, after expiry of the time-limit set, the respondent state paid the applicants the sums provided in the judgments, and that the applicants had waived their right to default interest in view of the minimal sum involved (see details in Appendix),
Recalling that a finding of violations by the Court requires, over and above the payment of just satisfaction awarded in the 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
- general measures preventing similar violations;
Having examined the measures taken by the respondent state to that effect, the details of which appear in the Appendix;
DECLARES 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)104
Information about the measures to comply with the judgment in the cases of Papageorgiou against Greece and 12 other judgments
I.Introductory case summary
All these cases concern the excessive length of proceedings before criminal courts (violations of Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention).
The Papageorgiou case also concerns the domestic courts' refusal in 1998 to order production of the originals of essential documents for the defence of the applicant who was sentenced to three years' and six months' imprisonment for deception (violation of Article 6§§1 and 3d of the Convention).
Finally, the Nastos case also concerns a domestic court's unreasoned decision in 2001 not to award the applicant compensation, after his acquittal, for his pre-trial detention for approximately 18 months (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention).
II.Payments of just satisfaction and individual measures
a) Details of just satisfaction
Cases
Pecuniary damage
Non-pecuniary damage
Costs and expenses
Paid on
59506/00 Papageorgiou, judgment of 09/05/03, final on 09/08/03
-
20,000 EUR
15,848 EUR
09/09/03
25559/03
M.A., judgment of 02/03/06, final on 02/06/06
-
7,000 EUR
2,000 EUR
03/08/06
3525/04
Allushi
judgment of 13/07/06, final on 13/10/06
-
3,500 EUR
-
27/12/06
7544/04
Basoukos, judgment of 27/04/06, final on 27/07/06
-
6,000 EUR
1,500 EUR
02/11/06
60821/00 Diamantides, judgment of 23/10/03, final on 23/01/04
-
10,000 EUR
3,000 EUR
26/03/04
9874/04 Horomidis, judgment of 27/04/06, final on 27/07/06
-
6,000 EUR
-
13/10/06
14309/04
Koleci, judgment of 27/04/06, final on 27/07/06
-
-
-
-
35828/02 Nastos, judgment of 30/03/06, final on 30/06/06
Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages:
20,000 EUR
1,500 EUR
05/10/06
Cases
Pecuniary damage
Non-pecuniary damage
Costs and expenses
Paid on
16771/02 Pothoulakis, judgment of 15/07/04, final on 15/10/04
-
10,000 EUR
3,000 EUR
20/12/04
35765/03 Proïos, judgment of 24/11/05, final on 24/02/06
-
5,000 EUR
-
29/05/06
22868/02 Savvas, judgment of 13/10/05, final on 13/01/06
-
-
-
-
37270/02 Simaskou, judgment of 30/03/06, final on 30/06/06
-
4,000 EUR
-
11/10/06
64417/01
Terzis, judgment of 29/01/04, final on 29/04/04
-
6,000 EUR
-
20/07/04
b) Individual measures
In all cases the domestic proceedings at issue have been closed.
As regards the Papageorgiou case, following the Court's judgment, the applicant requested reopening of the domestic proceedings in accordance with Article 525, paragraph 1(5), of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCrP). The Court of Cassation accepted his request and by decision No. 642/2004 ordered the initiation of an investigation to clarify whether the electronic bank data and cheques were still available. The bank replied in the negative to the Court of Cassation Prosecutor. In view of these developments, on 27/01/2005 the Court of Cassation ordered the reopening of the criminal proceedings at issue, before the Athens Court of Appeal.
Finally, as regards the Nastos case, the applicant was also entitled to request reopening of the domestic proceedings, in accordance with the same provision of the CCrP. Moreover, the Court awarded the applicant just satisfaction covering pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
III.General measures
As regards the excessive length of proceedings before criminal courts (violations of Article 6, §1), Greece has adopted a number of legislative and other measures to accelerate proceedings before criminal courts (see Final Resolution ResDH(2005)66 on Tarighi Wageh Dashti against Greece and 7 other cases).
As regards the violation of Article 6, §§1 and 3d in the Papageorgiou case, the judgment has been sent out to the competent judicial authorities, translated and published on the official site of the State Legal Council ().
Finally, as regards the violation Article 6, §1 in the Nastos case, the case presents similarities to that of Anastassios Georgiadis, examination of which was concluded following the adoption by Greece of legislative and other measures to prevent similar violations (see Final Resolution ResDH(2004)82). It is also to be noted that all criminal court decisions must obligatorily be reasoned; this has been confirmed by a series of judgments of the Court of Cassation in 2005 (e.g. judgments no 7/2005 (Plenary) and no 629/2005).
IV.Conclusions of the respondent state
The government considers that the measures adopted have fully remedied the consequences for the applicants of the violations found in these cases, that these measures will prevent new, similar violations and that Greece has thus complied with its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
[1] Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 20 June 2007 at the 997th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies.
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