Serves v. France

Information Note on the Court’s case-law No.

October 1997

Serves v. France - 20225/92

Judgment 20.10.1997

Article 6

Criminal proceedings

Article 6-1

Criminal charge

Fair hearing

Fining of a person for refusing to take the oath and give evidence before an investigating judge who had summoned him to appear as a witness: Article 6 § 1 applicable; no violation

[This summary is extracted from the Court’s official reports (Series A or Reports of Judgments and Decisions). Its formatting and structure may therefore differ from the Case-Law Information Note summaries.]

I.ARTICLE 6 OF THE CONVENTION

A.First complaint, based on Article 6 § 1 taken alone

1.Applicability of Article 6 § 1

Applicant could be considered the subject of a “charge” within autonomous meaning of Article 6 § 1 when he had been summoned to appear as a witness and fined for refusing to take the oath.

Conclusion: Article 6 § 1 applicable (unanimously).

2.Compliance with Article 6 § 1

Court’s task was to decide whether fining of applicant for refusing to take the oath had amounted to coercion such as to render his right not to incriminate himself ineffective.

A witness’s obligation to take the oath and the penalties imposed for failing to do so involved a degree of coercion designed to ensure that any statements made to the judge were truthful, not to force witnesses to give evidence – accordingly, fines imposed on applicant had not constituted a measure such as to compel him to incriminate himself as they had been imposed before such a risk ever arose.

Conclusion: no violation (six votes to three).

B.Second complaint, based on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) taken together

Appellate court had dealt with ground of appeal raised at end of proceedings which could not be faulted under Article 6.

Conclusion: no violation (six votes to three).

II.ARTICLE 10 OF THE CONVENTION

Complaint that applicant’s right not to incriminate himself had been violated had already been considered under Article 6 § 1.

Conclusion: unnecessary to rule on complaint (unanimously).

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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