Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 82
January 2006
Danell and Others v. Sweden - 54695/00
Judgment 17.1.2006 [Section II]
Article 37
Article 37-1-b
Matter resolved
Ex gratia payment to holders of fishing rights who had been unable to have their complaint examined by a domestic court: struck out
Facts: The applicants are 15 Swedish nationals. Eight of them were professional fishermen. They live in the North of Sweden close to the border with Finland. The applicants, who held private fishing rights in the Torne River Fishing Area, requested the Finnish-Swedish Frontier Rivers Commission to grant them an exemption for the 1999 season from certain fishing restrictions. The eight professional fishermen in the group were granted authorisation to catch fish, other than trout and salmon, using stationary equipment, but the remainder of their request was rejected. Under the 1971 Frontiers River Agreement between Sweden and Finland no appeal was permitted against a decision from the Commission. The applicants notwithstanding brought appeals to the administrative courts, which were dismissed. They complained to the Court that the Finnish-Swedish Frontier Rivers Commission could not be considered to be an independent and impartial tribunal, and that, since no appeal against its decision was possible, they had been refused access to court. They had therefore also been denied the right to an effective remedy. They relied on Articles 6(1) and 13. The Court declared the application admissible in March 2005.
Law: Article 37(1) – In July 2005 the Court received a formal declaration signed by the parties accepting a friendly settlement of the case. The Government agreed to pay the applicants 750,000 Swedish kronor (approximately EUR 79,736). It also informed the Court that a new agreement revising the 1971 Frontier Rivers Agreement would enter into force when approved by the respective Parliaments of Sweden and Finland. The new Commission would not in the future be empowered to grant exemptions from fishing provisions, and issues of the kind would be dealt with by domestic authorities and courts in the two States: struck out.
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy