Published on 19 December 2022
FIFTH SECTION
Applications nos. 59464/21 and 13079/22
Tamari KHATCHAPURIDZE and Kakhaber KHACHIDZE against Georgia
and Davit KHACHIDZE against Georgia
lodged on 4 December 2021 and 10 March 2022 respectively
communicated on 30 November 2022
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The cases relate to the conviction of the applicants in application no. 59464/21 for disrupting public order on 26 August 2016 by assaulting a judge, and the ongoing criminal investigation into the injury allegedly inflicted by the judge on their son (a minor at the time) – applicant in application no. 13079/22 – as a result of the same incident.
Relying on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 of the Convention, applicants in application no. 59464/21 complain that: (i) the domestic authorities did not make a genuine effort to ensure the attendance of all the relevant witnesses in the applicants’ case, including of the applicants’ son; (ii) their conviction was based, to a decisive extent, on statements of absent witnesses and, additionally, these statements had been taken in breach of the applicable domestic procedure and safeguards; and (iii) the applicants had been unable to question the victim and some of the witnesses for the prosecution due to the applicants’ exclusion from the trial proceedings.
Relying on Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, the applicant in application no. 13079/22 complains that the authorities have failed to conduct an effective investigation into the physical and psychological ill-treatment allegedly sustained by him during the incident complained of.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Application no. 59464/21:
Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of the criminal charges against them, in accordance with Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) and (d) of the Convention?
In particular,
(a) Were the applicants able to obtain the attendance of witnesses on their behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against them, as required by Article 6 § 3 (d) of the Convention (see, for instance, Murtazaliyeva v. Russia [GC], no. 36658/05, § 139-168, 18 December 2018)? Did the domestic courts provide relevant reasons for dismissing their request to call witnesses (see, for instance, Topić v. Croatia, no. 51355/10, § 42, 10 October 2013)? Did the authorities exhaust all reasonable efforts to ensure the attendance of witnesses on the applicants’ behalf, including the applicants’ son?
(b) Were the applicants given an adequate and proper opportunity to challenge and question the witnesses against them, either when those witnesses made their statements or at a later stage of proceedings, as required under Article 6 § 3 (d) (see, for instance, Schatschaschwili v. Germany [GC], no. 9154/10, § 105, ECHR 2015, with further references)? In this connection, what steps did the domestic authorities take to secure the attendance of the relevant witnesses? Did the statements given by absent witnesses in the applicants’ case serve as the sole or decisive evidence for the applicants’ conviction? What safeguards did the domestic authorities put in place to counterbalance the applicants’ inability to cross-examine the said witnesses?
(c) In so far as the applicants’ exclusion from the courtroom is concerned, did they exhaust relevant domestic remedies in that respect? If so, was the applicants’ exclusion compatible with the requirements of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) and (d) (see Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 175-82, 22 May 2012)?
Application no. 13079/22:
1. Is Article 3 of the Convention applicable in respect of the alleged ineffective investigation of the incident of 26 August 2016?
2. If so, have the relevant authorities carried out an effective investigation into the applicant’s complaints?
3. Does an issue arise with regard to the State’s positive obligation under Article 8 of the Convention?
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
59464/21
Khatchapuridze and Khachidze v. Georgia
04/12/2021
Tamari KHATCHAPURIDZE
1970
United Kingdom
Georgian
Kakhaber KHACHIDZE
1969
United Kingdom
Georgian
Yegor Leonidovych BOYCHENKO
2.
13079/22
Khachidze v. Georgia
10/03/2022
Davit KHACHIDZE
2003
United Kingdom
Georgian
Yegor Leonidovych BOYCHENKO