FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 6610/06
by Safar Dzhamilovich KORNIKOV
against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on
6 September 2007 as a Chamber composed of:
MrC.L. Rozakis, President,
MrsN. Vajić,
MrA. Kovler,
MrsE. Steiner,
MrK. Hajiyev,
MrD. Spielmann,
MrS.E. Jebens,
and Mr S. Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 January 2006,
Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together.
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Safar Dzhamilovich Kornikov, is a Russian national who was born in 1956 and lives in the town of Neryungri in the Sakha (Yakutiya) Republic. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr P. Laptev, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 26 May 2003 the Neryungri Town Court upheld the applicant’s action against the Ministry of Finance and awarded him 138,967 Russian roubles. On 7 July 2003 the Supreme Court of the Sakha (Yakutiya) Republic upheld the judgment.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complained under Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No.1 about the non-enforcement of the judgment in his favour.
THE LAW
On 22 June 2006 the application was communicated to the respondent Government.
On 20 October 2006 the Government’s observations on the admissibility and merits of the application were received. The Government informed the Court that the applicant had provided the Ministry of Finance with incorrect details of his bank account. The Government assured the Court that as soon as the Ministry of Finance received the correct details of the applicant’s bank account, the judgment in the applicant’s favour would be enforced.
The Court asked the applicant to submit written observations by 3 January 2007.
On 15 November 2006 the English version of the Government’s observations was forwarded to the applicant. The time-limit for the submission of the applicant’s observations remained unaffected.
As the applicant’s observations on the admissibility and merits had not been received by 3 January 2007, on 26 April 2007 the applicant was advised by registered mail that the failure to submit observations might result in the strike-out of the application. The Court received the advice of receipt showing that its letter of 26 April 2007 had reached the applicant on 15 May 2007. The applicant did not reply.
The Court recalls Article 37 of the Convention which, in the relevant part, reads as follows:
“1. The Court may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that
(a) the applicant does not intend to pursue his application;
...
However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto so requires.”
The Court notes that the applicant was requested to submit written observations on the admissibility and merits of the case. He subsequently received a reminder thereof. The applicant was also informed about a consequence of his failure to submit the observations. No response has been received to date. The Court infers therefrom that the applicant does not intend to pursue his application. Furthermore, the Court considers that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols does not require it to continue the examination of the case.
In these circumstances it considers that Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it should be struck out of the list in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Søren NielsenChristos Rozakis
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy