THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 73765/12
Dumitru Răzvan DRAGOMIR RUSU
against Romania
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 21 January 2014 as a Committee composed of:
Luis López Guerra, President,
Nona Tsotsoria,
Valeriu Griţco, judges,
and Marialena Tsirli, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 6 November 2012,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 7 October 2013 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant’s reply to that declaration,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Dumitru Răzvan Dragomir Rusu, is a Romanian national, who was born in 1977 and lives in Deva. He was represented before the Court by Mr F. Radu, a lawyer practising in Deva.
The Romanian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms C. Brumar, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The applicant complained, among others, under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of criminal proceedings in which he was involved. The proceedings lasted for eight years and two months for three levels of jurisdiction.
The application was communicated to the Government on 22 May 2013.
On 7 October 2013, following previous unsuccessful friendly settlement negotiations, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a declaration with a view to resolving the issues raised by the application.
The declaration provided as follows:
« Le Gouvernement déclare - au moyen de la présente déclaration unilatérale - qu’il reconnaît l’existence d’une violation de l’article 6 § 1 de la Convention qui découle de la durée excessive de la procédure.
Le Gouvernement déclare être prêt à verser à la partie requérante au titre de satisfaction équitable à l’égard de la durée de la procédure la somme de 1440 EUR, montant qu’il considère comme raisonnable au vu de la jurisprudence de la Cour. Cette somme qui couvrira le préjudice matériel et moral ainsi que les frais et dépens, ne sera soumise à aucun impôt. Elle sera versée en lei roumains au taux applicable à la date du paiement sur le compte bancaire indiqué par la partie requérante, dans les trois mois suivant la date de la notification de la décision de la Cour rendue conformément à l’article 37 § 1 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’Homme. A défaut de règlement dans ledit délai, le Gouvernement s’engage à verser, à compter de l’expiration de celui-ci et jusqu’au règlement effectif de la somme en question, un intérêt simple à un taux égale à celui de la facilité de prêt marginal de la Banque centrale européenne, augmenté de trois points de pourcentage.
Le Gouvernement invite respectueusement la Cour à dire que la poursuite de l’examen de la partie de la requête concernant la durée de la procédure n’est plus justifiée et à la rayer du rôle en vertu de l’article 37 § 1 c) de la Convention. »
On 7 November 2013, the Court received a letter from the applicant informing the Court that he had agreed to the terms of the Government’s declaration.
THE LAW
The Court finds that following the applicant’s express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government the case can be considered as an implied friendly settlement between the parties.
It therefore takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases pursuant to Article 39 of the Convention.
Marialena TsirliLuis López Guerra
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy