FIRST SECTION
CASE OF TRELA AND OTHERS v. POLAND
(Applications nos. 25347/19 and 18 others – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
30 November 2023
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Trela and Others v. Poland,
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Lətif Hüseynov, President,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek,
Ivana Jelić, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 9 November 2023,
Having regard to the decision to grant the applicant in application no. 60803/21 anonymity under Rule 47 § 4 of the Rules of Court,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case originated in applications against Poland 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 Polish 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 of the excessive length of criminal proceedings and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law.
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.THE GOVERNMENT’S REQUEST TO STRIKE OUT THE APPLICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 37 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION
6. In all applications the Government submitted unilateral declarations which did not offer a sufficient basis for finding that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention does not require the Court to continue its examination of the case (Article 37 § 1 in fine). The Court rejects the Government’s request to strike the applications out and will accordingly pursue its examination of the merits of the cases (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary issue) [GC], no. 26307/95, § 75, ECHR 2003-VI).ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 AND ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION
7. The applicants complained that the length of the criminal proceedings in question had been incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention.
8. The Court reiterates that the reasonableness of the length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the circumstances of the case and with reference to the following criteria: the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicants and the relevant authorities and what was at stake for the applicants in the dispute (see, among many other authorities, Pélissier and Sassi v. France [GC], no. 25444/94, § 67, ECHR 1999‑II, and Frydlender v. France [GC], no. 30979/96, § 43, ECHR 2000‑VII).
9. In the leading case of Rutkowski and Others v. Poland, nos. 72287/10 and 2 others, 7 July 2015, the Court found a violation of Article 6 of the Convention in relation to the length of judicial proceedings.
10. Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of justifying the overall length of the proceedings at the national level. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the length of the proceedings was excessive and failed to meet the “reasonable time” requirement.
11. The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.
12. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and of Article 13 of the Convention.APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
13. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Rutkowski and Others, cited above), the Court finds it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,Decides to join the applications;Rejects the Government’s request to strike the applications out of the list;Declares the applications admissible;Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of criminal proceedings and lack of an effective remedy to complain about it;Holds
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;
(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 30 November 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Lətif Hüseynov
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention
(excessive length of criminal proceedings and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Start of proceedings
End of proceedings
Total length
Levels of jurisdiction
Domestic decision on complaint under the 2004 Act
Domestic award
(in Polish zlotys)
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
25347/19
23/11/2019
Janusz
TRELA
1963
18/01/1999
pending
More than 24 years, 8 months and 19 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Katowice Court of Appeal, 02/08/2017, case no. II S 35/17,
PLN 8,500
15,100
39784/20
27/08/2020
Piotr
ORŁOWSKI
1973
Lipski Marcin
Gdańsk
30/04/2004
16/12/2020
16 years, 7 months and 17 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
Gdańsk Court of Appeal,
19/02/2020, case no. II S 52/19
14,300
44876/20
28/09/2020
Arkadiusz ZAWADZKI
1974
Lipski Marcin
Gdańsk
18/04/2014
pending
More than 9 years, 5 months and 22 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Gdańsk Court of Appeal, 23/09/2020, case no. II S 23/20
7,800
54827/20
27/11/2020
Piotr ZWIERZYŃSKI
1984
13/05/2014
29/09/2020
6 years, 4 months and 17 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 25/09/2020, case no. IX S 75/20,
PLN 4,000
3,000
2992/21
16/12/2020
Wiktor
ZGONDEK
1981
27/05/2014
02/12/2021
7 years, 6 months and 6 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 06/10/2020, case no. IX S 17/20,
PLN 4,000
3,700
14641/21
04/03/2021
Mieczysław OLSZEWSKI
1957
Koehler Paweł
Katowice
03/04/2009
16/09/2020
11 years, 5 months and 14 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Katowice Court of Appeal, 19/03/2019, case no. II S 19/19,
PLN 5,000
6,700
14889/21
18/02/2021
Robert
PIETRZAK
1982
06/06/2009
pending
More than 14 years, 4 months and 4 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Ostrołęka Regional Court, 03/09/2020, case no. II S 8/20,
PLN 4,000
10,800
18901/21
15/03/2021
Sebastian Dariusz JANUCIK
1995
07/05/2014
pending
More than 9 years, 5 months and 3 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 08/12/2020, case no. X S 141/20
Warsaw Regional Court, 24/02/2021, case no. IX S 3/21,
PLN 5,000
6,700
22869/21
13/08/2021
Jan Arkadiusz TASIOR
1983
15/08/2014
pending
More than 9 years, 1 month and 25 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 27/02/2020, case no. X S 5/20
Warsaw Court of Appeal, 29/07/2021, case no. II S 44/21
5,200
24656/21
30/04/2021
Krzysztof PRZYSTUPA
1969
Błaszczyk
Michał Konrad
Lublin
26/08/2011
pending
More than 12 years, 1 month and 14 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Lublin Regional Court 05/11/2020, case no V S 12/20,
PLN 8,000
7,400
26959/21
12/07/2021
Karol
ZALEWSKI
1992
14/09/2012
pending
More than 11 years and 26 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 22/04/2021, case no. IX S 18/21,
PLN 4,500
9,400
28878/21
25/05/2021
Jacek
FIEĆKO
1977
06/09/2016
pending
More than 7 years, 1 month and 4 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Gdańsk Court of Appeal, 19/05/2021, case no. II S 43/21
5,200
29447/21
31/05/2021
Adam FEDYCZKOWSKI
1978
Gebauer Beata
Bielsko-Biała
30/12/2005
03/12/2020
14 years, 11 months and 4 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Katowice Court of Appeal, 01/03/2017, case no. II S 8/17,
PLN 4,500
Katowice Court of Appeal, 19/11/2019, case no. II S 83/19,
PLN 2,000
11,600
40094/21
02/08/2021
Zbigniew KRZYWAKOWSKI
1952
Lipski Marcin
Gdańsk
01/12/2008
06/11/2020
11 years, 11 months and 6 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Kraków Court of Appeal, 11/02/2021, case no. II S 20/20,
PLN 2,000
11,300
44169/21
17/08/2021
Eugeniusz
MAJZA
1951
12/06/2007
pending
More than 16 years, 3 month and 28 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
Katowice Court of Appeal, 14/11/2018, case no. II S 47/18,
PLN 11,000
10,600
60803/21
01/12/2021
P.H.
1983
17/11/2004
25/02/2021
16 years, 3 months and 9 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
Lublin Court of Appeal, 19/05/2021, case no. II S 4/21,
PLN 8,000
12,600
260/22
27/11/2021
Mateusz MICHALSKI
1992
Cupiał Dawid
Warsaw
19/06/2017
pending
More than 6 years, 3 months and 21 days 1 level of jurisdiction
Warsaw Regional Court, 28/05/2021, case no. VI S 69/21,
PLN 2,000
3,500
1777/22
20/12/2021
Rafał PILICHOWSKI
1993
Cupiał Dawid
Warsaw
09/10/2015
pending
More than 8 years and 1 day
1 level of jurisdiction
Warsaw-Praga Regional Court, 14/07/2021, case no. VI S 74/21
and VI S 75/21,
PLN 3,000
5,900
13169/22
25/02/2022
Maciej PODGÓRSKI
1985
Czarnecki Karol
Warszawa
22/02/2017
pending
More than 6 years, 7 months and 18 days
1 level of jurisdiction
Wrocław Court of Appeal, 04/10/2021, case no. II S 26/21
5,200
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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