Information Note on the Court’s case-law No.
February 1991
Maj v. Italy - 13087/87
Judgment 19.2.1991
Article 6
Article 6-1
Reasonable time
Length of criminal proceedings: violation
[This summary is extracted from the Court’s official reports (Series A or Reports of Judgments and Decisions). Its formatting and structure may therefore differ from the Case-Law Information Note summaries.]
I.ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION ("reasonable time")
A.Period to be taken into consideration
Starting-point: applicant's arrest.
Close: at the earliest on the pronouncement that there was no case to answer, at the latest on expiry of time-limit for an appeal by prosecuting authorities against that pronouncement.
Total: more than five years and eight months.
B.Applicable criteria
Reasonableness of length of proceedings: to be assessed in the light of the particular circumstances of the case, which in this instance called for overall assessment.
Case of some complexity, but applicant did not appear to have done anything to slow down progress of proceedings and no justification for one very long period.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
II.ARTICLE 50 OF THE CONVENTION
Pecuniary damage: no evidence of damage deriving from violation found – claim dismissed.
Non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses incurred before Convention organs: assessment on an equitable basis.
Conclusion: respondent State to pay specified sum to the applicant (unanimously).
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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