Published on 20 February 2023
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 51020/22
Marina LOLI and Others
against Greece
lodged on 27 October 2022
communicated on 3 February 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the issue of access to court in view of the dismissal of an application for annulment of the measure of school closures during the pandemic.
In the context of the COVID-19 health crisis, the national authorities by issuing successive joint ministerial decisions, decided school closures, which lasted from March 2020 to May 2020 and, after the second outbreak of the pandemic, from November 2020 to January 2021 and from February 2021 to April 2021. On 21 April 2021 the applicants, minor students together with their parents, lodged before the Supreme Administrative Court an application for annulment of the measure in question. The relevant ministerial decision in force at the time was applicable for one week, namely from 19 April 2021 to 26 April 2021. On the same day, the applicants also submitted a request to accelerate the proceedings, arguing that the joint ministerial decision providing for the measure in question would expire soon. The hearing took place on 15 June 2021. The Supreme Administrative Court by its judgment no. 1904/2021 held that there was no need to adjudicate on the grounds that the contested act was no longer in force. Applying Article 32 of Presidential Decree no. 18/1989, it ruled that the applicants did not have a special legal interest (ιδιαίτερο έννομο συμφέρον) to pursue the annulment process since the contested ministerial decision had expired.
Relying on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, the applicants complain that the Supreme Administrative Court’s failure to schedule an earlier hearing, despite their request, together with its consideration that they lacked special legal interest in pursuing their application, had prevented them from having their claim determined on the merits in breach of their right of access to a court.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Was the right of access to court, as guaranteed by Aticle 6 § 1 of the Convention, respected in the present case (see, mutatis mutandis, Frezadou v. Greece, no. 2683/12, §§ 43-50, 8 November 2018), taking into account the short duration of the contested COVID-19 measures?
APPENDIX
Application no. 51020/22
No.
Applicant’s Name
Year of birth
Nationality
1.
Marina LOLI
1985
Greek
2.
Lamprini DEMOU
1980
Greek
3.
Anna GLYMIDAKI
1977
Greek
4.
Eleni KARACHALIOU
1978
Greek
5.
Konstantinos KRONTIRIS
1976
Greek
6.
Vasilios KRONTIRIS
2014
Greek
7.
Vagia Maria KYRZIDI
2014
Greek
8.
Michail KYRZIDIS
1977
Greek
9.
Evaggelia LEMPESI
1983
Greek
10.
Christos LIAPATIS
1976
Greek
11.
Odysseas LIAPATIS
2015
Greek
12.
Ioanna MAKRAKI
1978
Greek
13.
Charis MITROPOULOS
2014
Greek
14.
Vasilios MITROPOULOS
1977
Greek
15.
Lygia MITROPOULOU
2017
Greek
16.
Frideriki PANA
2011
Greek
17.
Aristidis PANAS
2009
Greek
18.
Doukas PANAS
1978
Greek
19.
Ismini PANTZALI
2014
Greek
20.
Zoi PANTZALI
2016
Greek
21.
Symeon PANTZALIS
1981
Greek
22.
Athanasios THIRIOS
1980
Greek
23.
Alkyoni Christina THIRIOU
2016
Greek
24.
Stavroula Petrina THIRIOU
2014
Greek
25.
Christina TSAROUCHI
1976
Greek
26.
Spyridon TSAROUCHIS
2015
Greek
27.
Panagiota TZIVELOU
1977
Greek