Information Note on the Court’s case-law No.
February 1991
Ficara v. Italy - 12176/86
Judgment 19.2.1991
Article 6
Article 6-1
Reasonable time
Length of criminal proceedings: violation
[This summary is extracted from the Court’s official reports (Series A or Reports of Judgments and Decisions). Its formatting and structure may therefore differ from the Case-Law Information Note summaries.]
I.ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION ("reasonable time")
A.Period to be taken into consideration
Starting-point: judicial notification to applicant.
Close: expiry of time-limit for an appeal on a point of law by prosecuting authorities.
Total: nine years and seven months.
B.Applicable criteria
Reasonableness of length of proceedings: to be assessed in the light of the particular circumstances of the case, which in this instance called for overall assessment.
Applicant contributed to delays by making three requests for hearings to be adjourned, but case not a complex one and there were long periods of stagnation attributable to the competent authorities.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
II.ARTICLE 50 OF THE CONVENTION
Pecuniary damage: no evidence of damage deriving from violation found – claim dismissed.
Non-pecuniary damage: sum awarded.
Lawyer's fees and expenses incurred before Convention organs: reimbursed in part.
Conclusion: respondent State to pay specified sums to the applicant (unanimously).
© 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