Communicated on 4 August 2020
Published on 24 August 2020
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 2327/20
David COUSO PERMUY
against Spain
lodged on 23 December 2019
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applicant is the brother of a journalist who was killed on 8 April 2003 by the US military in Irak while on working mission. Criminal proceedings identified the suspected offenders.
A legislative reform operated by Institutional Law 1/2014 of 13 March 2014 restricting the Spanish courts’ ability to exercise jurisdiction (Article 23 of the Judicature Act) caused the disclosure of the case for this reason in 2016.
The applicant complains, under articles 6 and 13 of the Convention, about the lack of access to a court and the ineffectiveness of the investigation into the killing of his brother.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Was the applicant’s brother, a Spanish national killed by the US military in Irak, within the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Spain (see Güzelyurtlu and Others v. Cyprus and Turkey [GC], no. 36925/07, §§ 178-190, 29 January 2019)?
2. Having regard to the procedural obligation under Article 2 of the Convention (see Jaloud v. the Netherlands [GC], no. 47708/08, § 186, ECHR 2014, and the authorities cited therein), were the Spanish authorities required to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing of the applicant’s brother, and if they were so required, did they?
3. Were the applicant’s rights to access to a court and to an effective remedy under Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention with respect to the investigation of the killing of his brother breached in the present case? Did the passage of time play any role in the final discontinuation of proceedings in this regard, taking into account the entering into force of the Institutional Law 1/2014 of 13 March 2014 reforming Article 23 of the Judicature Act?
The respondent Government are invited to submit information and supporting documents on investigations conducted by the relevant court or any other domestic authority or international body about the facts of the case. The applicant is invited to submit a copy of the criminal file in the present case as it existed before the entry into force of the Institutional Law 1/2014.
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