FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 48623/16
Francisco MORAIS ESTEVES DE BARROS
against Portugal
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 3 July 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Egidijus Kūris, President,
Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque,
Iulia Motoc, judges,
and Andrea Tamietti, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 12 August 2016,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. The applicant, Mr Francisco Morais Esteves de Barros, is a Portuguese national, who was born in 1964 and lives in Lisbon. He was represented before the Court by Mr M. Reis Aires, a lawyer practising in Lisbon.
2. The Portuguese Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms M. F. da Graça Carvalho, Deputy Attorney General.
3. The applicant complained under Article 10 of the Convention that the judgments delivered in criminal proceedings against him were in breach of his freedom of expression.
4. On 25 January and 19 March 2018 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Portugal in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay him 9,320 (nine thousand three hundred and twenty) euros to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, which will be free of any taxes that may be applicable and payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, 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 case.
THE LAW
5. The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 26 July 2018.
Andrea TamiettiEgidijus Kūris
Deputy RegistrarPresident
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