FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 19313/15
Gheorghe LOGHIN against Romania
and 18 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 13 September 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Georges Ravarani, President,
Marko Bošnjak,
Péter Paczolay, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by some of the applicants,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of criminal proceedings as well as the complaint in one of the applications under Article 13 of the Convention, concerning the lack of an effective remedy, were communicated to the Romanian Government (“the Government”). Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
A. Joinder of the applications
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
B. Complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (excessive length of criminal proceedings)
The Government pleaded non-exhaustion of domestic remedies under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention since the applicants had not pursued an action for tortious liability.
Those applicants who replied to the Government’s observations disagreed with the preliminary objection of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies.
The Government also raised other preliminary objections. However, the Court will not pursue these objections, as it considers that the complaints are in any event inadmissible for the reasons set out below.
In the case of Brudan v. Romania (no. 75717/14, § 68, 10 April 2018), the Court held that following its judgment in the case of Vlad and Others v. Romania (nos. 40756/06 and 2 others, 26 November 2013), the action for tortious liability had been included by the domestic courts as an effective remedy to complain about the excessive length of proceedings, before both criminal and civil courts in Romania. In Brudan (cited above), the Court also found that the High Court for Cassation and Justice’s judgment of 30 January 2014, which consolidated the domestic case-law on actions for tortious liability, had acquired a sufficient level of certainty on 22 March 2015. It therefore concluded that this remedy must be exhausted, as of that date, for the purposes of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention (see Brudan, cited above, § 88).
The present applications were all lodged with the Court after 22 March 2015 (see the appended table) and the applicants were therefore required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention to avail themselves of this domestic remedy (see Brudan, cited above, § 89). It appears from the case-files that the applicants have not lodged actions for tortious liability before the domestic courts, or have failed to provide the Court with a final decision rendered by the competent court in such proceedings.
Accordingly, the Government’s objection of failure to exhaust domestic remedies must be upheld. It follows that these complaints must be rejected as inadmissible, pursuant to Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.
C. Complaint under Article 13 of the Convention
In application no. 20892/15, the applicant also raised a complaint under Article 13 of the Convention. Given that the applicant’s complaint under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention has been rejected for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, no issue arises in relation to the applicant’s complaint under Article 13. It follows that it is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
D. Remaining complaints
In applications nos. 23486/15, 25146/15, 25450/15, 25461/15, 26404/15, 26691/15, the applicants also raised other complaints under various articles of the Convention.
The Court has examined the applications listed in the appended table and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.
It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 4 October 2018.
Liv TigerstedtGeorges Ravarani
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention
(excessive length of criminal proceedings and lack of an effective remedy)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Date of birth
Representative’s name and location
Start of proceedings
End of proceedings
Total length
Levels of jurisdiction
Domestic court file number
Other complaints under well-established case-law
19313/15
29/07/2015
Gheorghe Loghin
29/03/1950
Ileana Stoica
Bucharest
29/01/2004
29/10/2014
28/02/2013
11/02/2015
9 years, 4 months and 17 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
6593/2/2014
19957/15
16/04/2015
Gheorghe Bobu
25/02/1970
16/04/2009
21/10/2014
5 years, 6 months and 6 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
347/103/2013
20035/15
16/04/2015
Ghiorghe Borfălău
15/05/1954
16/04/2009
21/10/2014
5 years, 6 months and 6 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
347/103/2013
20892/15
21/04/2015
Radu Constantin Drăgan
20/09/1979
Horaţiu Petria
Craiova
14/06/2007
28/04/2014
6 years, 10 months and
16 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
5247/63/2008
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings.
22160/15
27/04/2015
Nicolae Busuioc
23/09/1973
15/02/2007
14/11/2014
7 years and 9 months
3 levels of jurisdiction
2490/2/2012
23241/15
04/05/2015
Florin Iulian Aldea
16/05/1966
Tiberius Nicu
Bucharest
07/09/2005
07/10/2014
9 years, 1 month and 2 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
30041.01/3/2006*
23486/15
06/05/2015
Maricel Păcuraru
19/10/1964
09/10/2009
03/11/2014
5 years and 26 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
40408/3/2009*
24202/15
12/05/2015
Lucian-Cornel Toma
17/08/1979
15/02/2007
14/11/2014
7 years and 9 months
3 levels of jurisdiction
2490/2/2012
25146/15
15/05/2015
Vasile Gheorghe Toma
30/08/1972
15/07/2008
17/11/2014
6 years, 4 months and 4 days
3 levels of jurisdiction
3410/105/2009
25450/15
22/05/2015
Attila Gabor Marko
27/09/1968
Michel de Guillenchmidt
Paris
05/03/2009
26/11/2014
5 years, 8 months and 23 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
13020/200/2011
25461/15
22/05/2015
Tamas Maroșan
22/05/1974
Michel de Guillenchmidt
Paris
24/02/2009
26/11/2014
5 years and 9 months and
2 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
13020/200/2011
26404/15
27/05/2015
Cerasela Elena Rus
07/11/1966
Lucian Dumitrașcu
Bucharest
07/02/2006
07/10/2014
8 years, 8 months and 1 day
2 levels of jurisdiction
30041.01/3/2006*
26682/15
20/05/2015
Gheorghe Suciu
11/05/1967
26/06/2009
21/10/2014
5 years, 3 months and 26 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
347/103/2013
26691/15
27/05/2015
Sorin Pantiș
15/11/1960
Lucian Dumitrașcu
Bucharest
07/02/2006
07/10/2014
8 years, 8 months and 1 day
2 levels of jurisdiction
30041.01/3/2006*
26703/15
20/05/2015
Viorel Handaric
04/03/1973
16/04/2009
21/10/2014
5 years, 6 months and 6 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
347/103/2013
29489/15
09/06/2015
Ilarie-Mihai Rotaru
22/10/1972
15/02/2007
14/11/2014
7 years and 9 months
3 levels of jurisdiction
2490/2/2012
32807/15
26/06/2015
Cristian Gheorghe Severin
13/11/1975
15/02/2007
14/11/2014
7 years and 9 months
3 levels of jurisdiction
2490/2/2012
7185/16
02/02/2016
Adriana Veturia Moldovan
19/02/1954
Elena Mihaela Burzo
Cluj-Napoca
23/06/2009
12/03/2015
5 years, 8 months and 19 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
666/33/2010
22306/16
19/04/2016
Ștefan Rădulescu
11/03/1956
Ovidiu Ion Budușan
Bucharest
19/11/2004
31/10/2014
9 years, 11 months and
13 days
2 levels of jurisdiction
7534/303/2007****
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