Information Note on the Court’s case-law 18
May 2000
Loewenguth v. France (dec.) - 53183/99
Decision 30.5.2000 [Section III]
Article 2 of Protocol No. 7
Review of conviction
Cassation appeal as sole appeal against judgments of a Cour d’assises: inadmissible
The applicant was convicted by an assize court of a number of counts of aggravated rape and sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment and the loss of his civic, civil and family rights for a period of ten years. An appeal on points of law was dismissed on the ground that he had submitted no statement of the grounds of appeal. The applicant submitted that the failure to state the grounds was due to his lawyer’s negligence. He complained that he had not had access to a second level of jurisdiction, appeals on points of law being the only remedy available against assize court judgments.
Inadmissible under Article 2 of Protocol No. 7: the applicant had not had the opportunity to appeal on the merits against the assize court’s judgment, since the only remedy available against an assize court judgment was an appeal to the Court of Cassation. Reconsideration of his case was therefore limited to points of law. However, under this provision the States Party had reserved the right to lay down the conditions for exercise of the right of appeal and were entitled to restrict its scope. Consequently, the fact that the applicant had had the opportunity to appeal on points of law satisfied the requirements of Article 2 of Protocol No. 7: manifestly ill-founded.
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