Information Note on the Court’s case-law No.
February 1991
Frau v. Italy - 12147/86
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: request for applicant's parliamentary immunity to be lifted.
Close: expiry of time-limit for an appeal on a point of law by prosecuting authorities.
Total: more than six years and eight 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.
Proceedings of some complexity, but applicant's conduct gave rise to hardly any delay and there were several periods when the proceedings were not carried forward with reasonable expedition.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
II.ARTICLE 50 OF THE CONVENTION
Pecuniary damage deriving from violation of Article 6 § 1: no evidence – claim dismissed.
Non-pecuniary damage: sum awarded.
Costs and expenses incurred before Convention organs: no claim – not a matter which Court has to examine of its own motion.
Conclusion: respondent State to pay specified sum 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