Resolution CM/ResDH(2013)92
Wojciechowski and Kazimierczak against Poland
Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
(Application No. 5422/04 judgment of 09/12/2008, final on 05/06/2009
Application No. 4317/04, judgment of 10/03/2009 final on 10/06/2009)
(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 29 May 2013 at the 1171st 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, 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 final judgments transmitted by the Court to the Committee in the above cases and to the violations established;
Recalling the respondent State’s obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by all final judgments in cases to which it is party and that this obligation entails, over and above the payment of any sums awarded by the Court, the adoption by the authorities of the respondent State, where required:
- of individual measures to put an end to violations established and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and
- of general measures preventing similar violations;
Having invited the government of the respondent State to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with its above-mentioned obligation;
Having examined the action report provided by the government indicating the measures adopted in order to give effect to the judgments, including the information provided regarding the payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court (see document DH-DD(2011)1009);
Having satisfied itself that all the measures required by Article 46, paragraph 1, have been adopted,
DECLARES that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases; and
DECIDES to close the examination thereof.
Action report[1]
Information about the measures to comply with the judgment in the cases of
Wojciechowski against Poland and Kazmierczak against Poland
Case description
Wojciechowski, Application No. 5422/04, judgment of 09/12/2008, final on 05/06/2009.
Kairmierczak, Application No. 4317/04, judgment of 10/03/2009, final on 10/06/2009.
Both cases concern the violation of the presumption of innocence due to the domestic courts’ grounds for their decisions on the prolongation of the applicants’ detention (violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention).
In the case of Kazmierczak the Wrocław Regional Court in its decision of 03/11/2003 and in the case of Wojciechowski the Lublin Regional Court in its decision of 3/09/2002 stated, before their guilt had been proved according to law, that the evidence against the applicants indicated that they had committed the offences with which they had been charged.
The European Court of Human Rights has emphasised that there is a fundamental distinction to be made between a statement that someone is merely suspected of having committed a crime and a clear judicial declaration, in the absence of a final conviction, that the individual has committed the crime in question. The Court has underlined that there can be no justification for a court of law to make a premature pronouncement of this kind.
The case of Wojciechowski also concerns the excessive length of detention on remand of the applicant from October 2001 to December 2004, when he was convicted of participation in an organised criminal group, deriving profits from prostitution and extortion (violation of Article 5 § 3).
I.Payment of just satisfaction and individual measures
1. Details of just satisfaction
Case
Pecuniary damage
Non-pecuniary damage
Cost and expenses
Total
Wojciechowski
-
1 500 EUR
-
1 500 EUR
Paid on 20/10/2009
2. Individual measures
In the case of Wojciechowski, the applicant was convicted and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and a fine in December 2004. The Court awarded him just satisfaction for non-pecuniary damage.
In the case of Kazmierczak the applicant was released on bail in March 2004. The Court held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for any moral damage suffered by the applicant.
In these circumstances, no other individual measure appears necessary.
II.General measures
1.Violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention
The violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention in the present cases was rather of an isolated nature and resulted from failure of specific national courts. Therefore, it seems that the publication and dissemination of the Court’s judgment would be appropriated in order to avoid similar violations in the future.
In this context, it should be noted that the Court’s judgments were translated into Polish and published on the website of the Ministry of Justice (). They were sent to all courts of appeal and the General Prosecutor’s Office with request to disseminate them among judges and prosecutors. The judgments were also sent to the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution with request to include them in the training programme addressed to judges and prosecutors.
In these circumstances, no other general measure appears necessary.
2. Violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention
General measures are examined in the context of the Trzaska group of cases (Application No. 25792/94).
III.Conclusions of the responding State
The government considers that other individual measures are not necessary in the present cases and that the general measures adopted, in particular publication and dissemination of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, will be sufficient to conclude that Poland has complied with its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1 of the Convention with respect to the breach of Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Convention.
[1] Information submitted by the Polish authorities on 14 October 2011.
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