RACHEYEV v. RUSSIA

THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 41592/20
Andrey Vladimirovich RACHEYEV
against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 19 June 2025 as a Committee composed of:

 Diana Kovatcheva, President,
 Canòlic Mingorance Cairat,
 Vasilka Sancin, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 14 November 2020,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant’s details are set out in the appended table.

The applicant’s complaints under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms were communicated to the Russian Government (“the Government”).

THE LAW

The Court notes from the outset that, in the present case, the application was lodged more than six months after the end of the period complained of in respect of the applicants’ grievances under Articles 3 of the Convention (see the appended table). It must therefore ascertain whether the applicant complied with the six-month rule set out in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention.

The Court further notes that, as regards applications introduced in 2020, the method of calculation of the six-month rule has been adjusted in order to handle the difficulties to which the global pandemic and widespread lockdown gave rise and to preserve the essence of the right of individual petition under Article 34 of the Convention. In particular, the six-month rule was exceptionally considered to have been suspended for three calendar months in total, whenever a calendar six-month period either started to run or, on the contrary, was due to expire at any time between 16 March and 15 June 2020 (see Saakashvili v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 6232/20 and 22394/20, §§ 46-59, 1 March 2022).

Turning to the circumstances of the present case, the Court observes that neither the date of the introduction of the application nor the date of the expiration of the six-month time-limit fall within the above-mentioned period (16 March to 15 June 2020). The measures in question which the applicant complained of under Article 3 of the Convention ended on 4 March 2020, that is even before the beginning of the COVID-related period. The exceptional measure is therefore not applicable in the present case (compare Kitanovska and Barbulovski v. North Macedonia, no. 53030/19, § 39-40, 9 May 2023; and Masse v. France (dec.), no. 47506/20, 25 March 2025). It follows that the application was lodged out of time and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Declares the application inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 10 July 2025.

 Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Kovatcheva
 Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

Application raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention

(use of metal cages and/or other security arrangements in courtrooms)