Communicated on 8 March 2016
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 4603/11
Margita CIRNEROVÁ and 31 Others
against Slovakia
lodged on 14 January 2011
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicants are thirty-two Slovak nationals whose particulars are set out in the annexed table.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
On 27 November 1987 a claim was lodged against the applicants or their predecessors with the Košice – okolie District Court. In this claim, plaintiffs sought a judicial ruling declaring them to be the owners of a plot of agricultural land. The applicants entered the proceedings as defendants on different dates and on distinct grounds as it is outlined in the Appendix.
Between 1988 and 2009 the first instance court held a number of hearings, ordered expert opinions, dealt with other relevant evidence, and heard witnesses. It also took a considerable time to determine who the actual parties were to be sued in the proceedings in view of multiple deaths among the original defendants and various transactions made in respect of the property in question.
On 27 April 2010 the Constitutional Court delivered a judgement, finding that the applicants’ (or their predecessors’) right to a hearing within a reasonable time had been violated by the District Court. It ordered the District Court to proceed without undue delay and to reimburse the complainants’ legal costs. It also awarded just satisfaction in respect of non‑pecuniary damage of EUR 300 to the applicants listed under points 1 to 17 and EUR 500 to those listed under points 18 to 28 and to the deceased predecessor of the applicants listed under points 29 to 32 of the Appendix. It appears that the Constitutional Court took into account inter alia the procedural behaviour of the complainants and what was at stake for them.
On 22 November 2011 the District Court delivered a judgment on the merits of the case.
On 19 March 2013 the Constitutional Court rejected the applicants’ fresh constitutional complaint, finding no further undue delay in the proceedings before the first-instance court since the constitutional judgment of 27 April 2010.
On 12 March 2014 the Košice Regional Court partly upheld the first‑instance judgment and partly dismissed the claim concerning some of the contested property. It also rejected the remainder of the appeal. The judgment became final on 10 July 2014.
On 8 August 2014 the applicants listed under points 4, and 30 to 32 and several other defendants in the proceedings lodged an appeal on points of law. On 21 January 2015 the proceedings in respect of that appeal were discontinued without examination of its merits due to the appellants’ failure to pay the court fees. The decision became final on 13 February 2015.
COMPLAINT
The applicants complain under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings to which they were parties.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. In view of the Constitutional Court’s finding, may the applicants still claim to be victims of a violation of the Convention, within the meaning of Article 34 of a violation of their alleged right under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?
2. In the light of all circumstances of the case, was the length of the proceedings in the present case in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in respect of each applicant?
3. The parties are requested to provide information in the format shown below concerning the exact dates of commencement and conclusion of the domestic proceedings and levels of jurisdiction involved in the proceedings in respect of each applicant.
Name of the applicant
Identification details of the applicant
Date of entry into the proceedings
Date of conclusion of the proceedings
Overall length of proceedings for the applicant and levels of jurisdiction involved on the merits
AppendiX
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
NAME AND SURNAME
YEAR OF BIRTH
ADDRESS
EXACT DATE OF ENTRY INTO THE PROCEEDIGNS
EXACT DATE OF CONCLUSION
OF THE PROCEEDINGS (FINAL DECISION)
ORIGINAL DEFENDANT
or
TITLE (e.g. succession) ON WHICH THE APPLICANT BECAME A PARTY TO PROCEEDINGS
PROPERTY AT STAKE
(m² )
JS RECEIVED FROM THE CC
(in euros)
1
Ms Margita CIRNEROVÁ
1934
Vyšný Klátov
č. 96
27/11/1987
10/07/2014
original party
4.31
300
2
Ms Margita TIRPÁKOVÁ
1941
Košice
21/11/1987
10/07/2014
original party
18.49
300
3
Mr Štefan MAČINGA
1939
Vyšný Klátov
č. 84
21/11/1987
10/07/2014
original party
15.41
300
4
Mr Ľubomír SCERANKA
1961
Vyšný Klátov
č. 48
20/10/2011
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
7.7
300
5
Mr Karol ČIŽMÁR
1942
Košice
28/09/1990
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
4.31
300
6
Mr Anton ČIŽMÁR
1940
Košice
28/09/1990
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
4.31
300
7
Ms Marta SOBINKOVIČOVÁ
1946
Nižný Klátov
č. 172
02/08/2004
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
11.08
300
8
Ms Mária JURÍČKOVÁ
1925
Košice
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed her date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
11.08
300
9
Mr Vincent ČIŽMÁR
1933
Vyšný Klátov
č. 78
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed his date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
11.08
300
10
Mr Viktor ČIŽMÁR
1947
Vyšný Klátov
č. 5
23/12/2005
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
11.08
300
11
Ms Mária BALOGOVÁ
1941
Nižný Klátov
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed her date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
9.01
300
12
Ms Mária VLČEJOVÁ
1938
Košice
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed her date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
10.81
300
13
Mr Jozef MARČÁK
1965
Košice
03/05/2007
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
(the first instance court assessed his predecessor’s date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
9.01
300
14
Mr Matej MAČINGA
1951
Košice
04/06/1994
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
4.62
300
15
Ms Eva GALÁTOVÁ
1970
Banská Bystrica
04/06/1994
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
4.62
300
16
Ms Mária GURBAĽOVÁ
1939
Košice
02/05/2000
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
6.93
300
17
Ms Alena MAČINGOVÁ
1942
Košice
20/04/2008
10/07/2014
successor to the defendant sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings (since 02/08/2004)
(the first instance court assessed her predecessor’s date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
9.25
300
18
Mr Miloš MAČINGA
1966
Košice
23/12/2005
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
34.68
500
19
Mr Štefan MIKULA
1942
Vyšný Klátov
č. 35
02/08/2004
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
44.39
500
20
Mr Pavol JOKEĽ
1950
Košice
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed his date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
34.68
500
21
Ms Stanislava ŠEBEŠOVÁ
1953
Prešov
20/04/2008
10/07/2014
successor to the defendant sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings (since 02/08/2004)
(the first instance court assessed her predecessor’s date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
17.57
500
22
Ms Jaroslava OĽHOVÁ
1957
Nižná Šebastová
20/04/2008
10/07/2014
successor to the defendant sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings (since 02/08/2004)
(the first instance court assessed her predecessor’s date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
500
23
Ms Eva SCIRANKOVÁ
1964
Nižný Klátov
23/09/2005
10/07/2014
successor to the defendant sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings (since 02/08/2004)
23.12
500
24
Ms Jarmila ČIŽMÁROVÁ
1971
Vyšný Klátov
č. 82
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed her date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
44.4
500
25
Mr Milan CIRNER
1963
Vyšný Klátov
č. 96
02/08/2004
(the first instance court assessed his date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
17.57
500
26
Mr Blažej CIRNER
1958
Vyšný Klátov
č. 136
02/08/2004
10/07/2014
sued by the claimant in the course of the proceedings
17.57
500
27
Ms Cecília GORDANOVÁ
1949
Košice
18/05/2006
(the first instance court assessed her date of entry in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
(the first instance court assessed she had entered the proceedings on the title of acquiring the property share by deed of gift in 2005)
32.43
500
28
Mr Mikuláš ČIŽMÁR
1957
Vyšný Klátov
č. 49
18/05/2006
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
(the first instance court assessed the date of entry of his predecessor in the proceedings on 23/12/2005)
32.43
500
29
Mr Ondrej JUSKO
1946
Vyšný Klátov
č. 97
04/11/2011
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
261.31
500
30
Ms Valéria HALUŠKOVÁ
1973
Hyľov č. 178
04/11/2011
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
31
Mr Rastislav JUSKO
1976
Košice
04/11/2011
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
32
Mr Jaroslav JUSKO
1. 1971
Vyšný Klátov
č. 178
04/11/2011
10/07/2014
successor to the original party
The applicant listed under point 4 is an heir of the deceased original applicant, Mr Ján Sceranka, who was born 1936 and lived in Vyšný Klátov.
The applicants listed under points 29, 30, 31 and 32 are heirs of the deceased original applicant, Ms Mária Jusková, who was born in 1952 and lived in Vyšný Klátov.
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