Information Note on the Court’s case-law 63
April 2004
Moreira Barbosa v. Portugal (dec.) - 65681/01
Decision 29.4.2004 [Section III]
Article 35
Article 35-1
Exhaustion of domestic remedies
Exhaustion of one several effective domestic remedies for the same complaint: preliminary objection dismissed
The applicant had lodged a criminal complaint and an application for damages in 1996 in connection with the drawing of a bad cheque. Four years later he applied for an order to expedite the proceedings. The Supreme Council of the Judiciary dismissed the application. The criminal trial ended in December 2000. The applicant applied for enforcement proceedings. He complained of the length of proceedings, which were still pending in April 2004.
Admissible under Article 6 § 1: Having used a domestic remedy which is considered effective within the meaning of Article 35 § 1 (application for an order to expedite the criminal proceedings), the applicant was not also obliged to bring a second appeal, considered equally effective, in order to complain of the excessive length of a set of Portuguese judicial proceedings (an action concerning the State’s non-contractual liability). Where a remedy to be exhausted under Article 35 § 1 had been used, it was not necessary to use a second remedy, also considered as a remedy to be exhausted and in which the objective was practically the same. The objection that domestic remedies had not been exhausted was dismissed.
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