THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 48294/18
Guðmundur Thor GUÐMUNDSSON against Iceland
and 13 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 2 June 2022 as a Committee composed of:
Darian Pavli, President,
Andreas Zünd,
Mikhail Lobov, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the decision to grant the applicant in application no. 22796/19 anonymity, in accordance with Rule 47 § 4 of the Rules of the Court,
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases, and the applicants’ replies to those declarations,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants and their representatives is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the right to a tribunal established by law were communicated to the Icelandic Government (“the Government”).
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
The Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.
In the declarations, the Government acknowledged, with reference to the Court’s judgment in the case of Guðmundur Andri Ástráðsson v. Iceland [GC], no. 26374/18, 1 December 2020, that the applicants’ right to be heard by a tribunal established by law, guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, had been violated, and undertook to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table in respect of costs and expenses incurred in the proceedings before the Court.
Moreover, the declarations noted the possibility for the applicants to apply to the Court on Reopening of Judicial Proceedings for the reopening of their cases, pursuant to Chapter XXIX of the Civil Procedure Act No. 91/1991, as amended by Act No. 47/2020, with respect to the twelfth applicant, and pursuant to Chapter XXXV of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 88/2008, as amended by Act No. 47/2020, with respect to other applicants.
The applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations. By letters dated as shown in the appended table, the applicants indicated that they were not satisfied with the terms of the unilateral declarations, finding them to insufficiently address the violations they had suffered.
The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:
“... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”.
Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see, in particular, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75‑77, ECHR 2003-VI).
In Guðmundur Andri Ástráðsson [GC], cited above, the Court has established general principles concerning complaints about the violation of the right to a fair trial by a tribunal established by law in the context of irregularities in the appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal. Moreover, its decisions in the cases of Friðjón Björgvin Gunnarsson v. Iceland (dec.), no. 48281/18, 2 June 2022, and Haukur Sigurbjörn Magnússon v. Iceland (dec.), no. 6696/19, 2 June 2022, the Court accepted as satisfactory unilateral declarations identical to the ones submitted by the Government in the present case. With reference to this clear case-law concerning complaints relating to the right to a tribunal established by law, and noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amounts proposed, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).
In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine).
The Court considers that the amounts in the appended table should be converted into Icelandic krónur at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and paid within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision issued in accordance with Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within this period, simple interest shall be payable on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank plus three percentage points.
Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (see Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 23 June 2022.
Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
(Tribunal established by law)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of applicant’s comments
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)[1]
48294/18
04/10/2018
Guðmundur Thor GUÐMUNDSSON
1967
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
48300/18
04/10/2018
Sigurður Jóhann ÁRNASON
1982
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
48798/18
04/10/2018
Stefán Már GUÐFINNUSON
1989
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
49238/18
04/10/2018
Þór ELÍASSON BACHMANN
1983
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
6678/19
21/01/2019
Eldin SKOKO
1987
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
6681/19
21/01/2019
Ottó Örn ÞÓRÐARSON
1978
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
6699/19
21/01/2019
Karen Mjöll BJÖRGVINSDÓTTIR
1993
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
6713/19
21/01/2019
Fjölnir GUÐSTEINSSON
1992
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
14307/19
05/03/2019
Pétur Axel PÉTURSSON
1980
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
16152/19
13/03/2019
Hlynur EYJÓLFSSON
1989
Jón Bjarni Kristjánsson
Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
17300/19
21/03/2019
Viðar Már FRIĐFINNSSON
1963
Ólafur Valur Guðjónsson
Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
22084/19
11/04/2019
Þórarinn JÓNASSON
1944
Björgvin Þorsteinsson
Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
22796/19
12/04/2019
Anonymat
N.A.
1980
Jóhannes Albert Sævarsson
Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
36045/19
28/06/2019
Jens GUNNARSSON
1970
Vilhjálmur H. Vilhjalmsson Reykjavik
19/04/2021
26/05/2021
4,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant