FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 8177/12
Malkhaz MZEKALISHVILI
against Georgia
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 10 February 2015 as a Committee composed of:
Paul Mahoney, President,
Nona Tsotsoria,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 3 February 2012,
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 Malkhaz Mzekalishvili, is a Georgian national, who was born in 1994 and lives in Tbilisi. He was represented before the Court by Mr I. Khatiashvili, a lawyer practising in Tbilisi.
2. The Georgian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr Levan Meskhoradze, of the Ministry of Justice.
3. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
4. The case concerned the lack of adequate criminal investigation into the applicant’s alleged ill-treatment by officers of the Telavi police station on 6 April 2010 when the applicant had been arrested on robbery charges.
5. On 16 April 2010 the Kakheti regional prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry into the applicant’s alleged ill-treatment by police officers. However, no tangible progress was ever reached; the applicant was not even granted victim status in that investigation.
6. On 14 January 2014 notice of the application was given to the Government under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention.
7. On 23 May 2014 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“With due regard to the applicant’s complaints under the Convention, in particular those communicated to the Government under Articles 3 and 13 raising the issues of alleged ill-treatment of the applicant;
Bearing in mind the existence of certain deficiencies identified in the course of the investigation of the alleged ill-treatment of the applicant in violation of Article 3 of the Convention;
Willing to secure a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case, the Government undertake to carry out all possible investigative activities to accomplish the investigation pending before [the prosecution authority] and to pay Euro 4,500 (four thousand five hundred) to cover any and all pecuniary or non-pecuniary damages as well as costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
This sum will be converted into the national currency at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from 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.”
8. By a letter of 6 October 2014, the applicant informed the Court that he was ready accept the terms of the friendly settlement as proposed by the Government, waiving, in exchange, any further claims. He explicitly noted the Government’s undertakings to pay him compensation in the above‑mentioned amount and to conduct an effective investigation into his ill-treatment by the police officers on 6 April 2010.
THE LAW
9. 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.
10. 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 5 March 2015.
Fatoş AracıPaul Mahoney
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy