THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 28880/10
Yuriy Nikolayevich MALKOVICH against Russia
and 4 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 27 April 2017 as a Committee composed of:
Luis López Guerra, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Karen Reid, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of pre-trial detention were communicated to the Russian Government (“the Government”). In application no 28880/10, complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention.
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints.
The Government acknowledged the excessive length of pre-trial detention. In application no. 28880/10, they further acknowledged that the domestic authorities had violated the applicants’ rights guaranteed by Article 5 § 4 of the Convention. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above‑mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.
The applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations.
The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:
“... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”.
Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see the principles emerging from the Court’s case-law, and in particular the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) ([GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75‑77, ECHR 2003-VI)).
The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the excessive length of pre-trial detention (see, for example, Dirdizov v. Russia, no. 41461/10, 27 November 2012).
Noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).
In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine).
Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 18 May 2017.
Karen ReidLuis López Guerra
RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant name
Date of birth
Representative name and location
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of applicant’s comments, if any
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage and costs and expenses
per applicant
(in euros)[i]
28880/10
13/05/2010
Yuriy Nikolayevich Malkovich
19/09/1957
Zhugan Ilya Borisovich
Vladimir
Art. 5 (4) - excessive length of judicial review of detention - decision of 21/01/2010 reviewed by the Moscow City Court on 24/03/2010 (62 days); decision of 19/03/2010 reviewed by the Moscow City Court on 28/04/2010 (40 days).
13/10/2016
29/11/2016
1,300
54053/10
29/07/2010
Viktor Dmitriyevich Ponomarenko
12/12/1979
19/09/2016
07/11/2016
4,400
55186/13
06/08/2013
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Triputin
01/01/1977
07/09/2016
1,600
60317/15
25/11/2015
Oleg Leonidovich Chashchukhin
26/01/1976
19/09/2016
04/11/2016
1,300
5169/16
12/01/2016
Yevgeniy Nikolayevich Kurakin
06/09/1977
19/09/2016
1,700
[i]. Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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