FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 12652/09
Nina Nikolayevna SHEVCHENKO and Lyudmila Ilyinichna CHAUS against Ukraine
and 86 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 13 December 2011 as a Committee composed of:
Mark Villiger, President,
Karel Jungwiert,
André Potocki, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on various dates,
Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure taken in the case of Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov v. Ukraine (no. 40450/04, ECHR 2009‑... (extracts)),
Having regard to the unilateral declaration submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants are Ukrainian nationals whose names and dates of birth are specified in the table below. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Ms V. Lutkovska and Mr N. Kulchytskyy, of the Ministry of Justice.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
The applicants are former employees of the “Avtosklo” and “Tekhbudsklo” State plants. On the dates specified in the table below the Kostyantynivka Court or the labour dispute commission of the “Avtosklo” Plant (“the LDC”) ordered the plants to pay the applicants various work‑related pecuniary amounts. The decisions in the applicants’ favour became final but remain unenforced as the plants became bankrupt.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complained about the lengthy non-enforcement of the decisions given in their favour.
THE LAW
1. The Court considers that in accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the applications should be joined, given their common factual and legal background.
2. Following the Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov pilot judgment cited above, on 19 July 2011 the Government submitted to the Court the unilateral declaration aimed at resolving the issue raised in the applications. The declaration read as follows:
“The Government of Ukraine acknowledge the excessive duration of the enforcement of the applicants’ judgments.
The Government are ready to pay to the applicants the outstanding debts according to the judgements of the national authorities, as well as to pay the applicants the sums in accordance with annex no. 1 to this declaration [[1]].
The Government therefore invite the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases. They suggest that the present declaration might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the case of the Court’s list of cases, as referred to in Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
The sums proposed are to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, to be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of settlement [[2]]. They will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these sums according to the annex no. 1 to this declaration within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them 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.
This payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.”
The applicants disagreed with the declaration, considering that the Government would not comply with its terms, and requested the Court to pursue the examination of the cases.
The Court reiterates that under Article 37 of the Convention it may at any stage of the proceedings strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusions specified under § 1 (a), (b) or (c) of that Article. In particular, Article 37 § 1 (c) enables the Court to strike a case out of its list if:
“for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.”
Article 37 § 1 in fine states:
“However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto so requires.”
The Court also reiterates that in certain circumstances it may strike out an application under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicant wishes the examination of the case to be continued (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objection) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75-77, ECHR 2003-VI).
The Court recalls that in the aforementioned pilot judgment it ordered Ukraine to grant redress to the applicants whose applications were communicated to the Government before the delivery of the judgment or would be communicated further to the judgment and concerned complaints about the prolonged non-enforcement of domestic decisions for which the State was responsible (see Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov v. Ukraine, cited above, § 99 and point 6 of the operative part). Having examined the terms of the Government’s declaration, the Court understands it as intending to give the applicants the redress in accordance with the pilot judgment.
The Court is satisfied that the Government explicitly acknowledge the excessive duration of the execution of decisions in the applicants’ favour and undertake to pay the applicants the outstanding debts. It also notes that the compensation sums offered by the Government are comparable with Court awards in similar cases, taking account, inter alia, of the specific delay in each particular case.
The Court therefore considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications. It is also satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications.
Accordingly, the applications should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declaration;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
Stephen PhillipsMark Villiger
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Table
No.
Application number, applicant’s name, date of birth
Date of introduction
Date(s) of unenforced domestic decision(s), court/LDC
Sums offered by the Government (in euros)
1.
12652/09
1). SHEVCHENKO,
Nina Nikolayevna, 1946
2). CHAUS,
Lyudmyla Ilyinichna, 1936
16 February 2009
1). 1 February 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court,
2). 24 November 2000, Kostyantynivka Court, and
21 May 2001, LDC
1). 1,875
2). 1,860
2.
12660/09
PETRIY,
Liliya Nikolayevna, 1937
16 February 2009
12 February 2001, LDC
1,875
3.
12661/09
1). SAMKOVA,
Larisa Grigoryevna, 1950,
2). SPIVAK,
Yevgeniya Petrovna, 1939
16 February 2009
1). 8 August 2005
2). 7 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1). 1,050
2). 1,200
4.
12679/09
ISIKOVA,
Natalya Grigoryevna, 1951
16 February 2009
13 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,800
5.
12701/09
CHUMAK,
Irina Alekseyevna, 1959
16 February 2009
13 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,800
6.
12732/09
LITVINOVA,
Irina Alimovna, 1954
16 February 2009
19 and 25 November 2003, Kostyantynivka Court
1,350
7.
12767/09
VOVK,
Valentina Vasilyevna, 1946, and
Anatoliy Tikhonovich, 1945
16 February 2009
6 November 2000 (two orders), LDC
1,920 (to each)
8.
12817/09
KROKHMAL,
Yelena Vasilyevna, 1952
16 February 2009
17 April 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,830
9.
12824/09
ZHARKOV,
Fedor Fedorovich, 1950
16 February 2009
11 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,200
10.
12828/09
KLIMENKO,
Nadezhda Viktorovna, 1957
16 February 2009
7 June 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,620
11.
12835/09
PIKHOTSKAYA,
Aleksandra Dmitriyevna, 1941
16 February 2009
7 June 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,560
12.
13255/09
PISARENKO,
Mikhail Ivanovich, 1940
16 February 2009
7 November 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,545
13.
13257/09,
KHOKHOLYAK,
Olga Vladimirovna, 1966
16 February 2009
23 February 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,860
14.
13260/09,
IVAKHNIN,
Petr Afanasyevich, 1952
16 February 2009
23 January 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,680
15.
13265/09,
KOVALSKAYA,
Alla Nikolayevna, 1941
16 February 2009
6 August 2001, LDC
1,785
16.
13266/09,
GUNCHAK,
Lyudmila Ivanovna, 1940
16 February 2009
19 March and 14 May 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court and LDC, respectively
1,830
17.
13455/09
1). SLYUSAR,
Lyubov Grigoryevna, 1958,
2). YERASOV,
Vladimir Vasilyevich, 1961,
3). LYADNOVA,
Vera Vasilyevna, 1948,
4). SKIPA,
Valentina Mikhaylovna, 1955,
5). SOLOVYEVA,
Zinaida Viktorovna, 1954,
6). IVAKINA,
Nelya Dmitriyevna, 1951
16 February 2009
Kostyantynivka Court:
1). 29 October 2001
2). 4 February 2002
3). 17 December 2002
4). 28 February 2002
5). 18 December 2002
6). 20 December 2002
1). 1,725
2). 1,680
3). 1,515
4). 1,665
5). 1,515
6). 1,515
18.
13588/09
BARABASH,
Yevgeniy Platonovich, 1940
16 February 2009
20 November 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court,
and 2 April 2001, LDC
1,905
19.
17838/09
1). NOVIKOVA,
Inna Yakovlevna, 1946
2). ZHIZNEVSKAYA,
Nadezhda Sergeyevna, 1952
3). SERDYUK,
Tatyana Anatolyevna, 1946
4). SHAROVA,
Tatyana Dmitriyevna, 1956
5). OSTROZHNAYA,
Valentina Vasilyevna, 1956
6). SKRYPNIK,
Nina Aleksandrovna, 1960
7). KURBATOVA,
Vera Nikolayevna, 1956
8). KORNIYENKO,
Yelena Aleksandrovna, 1964
5 March 2009
Kostyantynivka Court:
1). 16 August 2004
2). 9 August 2005
3). 9 August 2005
4). 4 August 2005
5). 4 August 2005
6). 8 August 2005
7). 8 August 2005
8). 9 August 2005
1). 1,230
2). 1,050
3). 1,050
4). 1,050
5). 1,050
6). 870
7). 1,050
8). 1,050
20.
17846/09
1). ARTEMENKO,
Aleksandr Vasilyevich, 1953
2). KIRSHINA,
Mariya Nikolayevna, 1954
5 March 2009
1). 13 August 2002 and 17 May 2005, Kostyantynivka Court
2). 29 April 2003 (two judgments), Kostyantynivka Court
1). 1,590
2). 1,455
21.
21541/09
1). VORONKOVA,
Zoya Mitrofanovna, 1956
2). OKOLOVSKYY,
Yevgeniy Pavlovich, 1954
3). GRABITCHENKO,
Igor Valentinovich, 1962
4). ZASENKO,
Ivan Alekseyevich, 1952
5). LISTOPAD,
Lidiya Ivanovna, 1958
6). BUREYKO,
Valentina Viktorovna, 1965
7). SIROSH,
Yevgeniya Antonovna, 1939
8). SYSOYEVA,
Nelya Ivanovna, 1970
9). TARASENKO,
Nadezhda Petrovna, 1945
10). TIBABISHEVA,
Inna Yuryevna, 1973
5 March 2009
Kostyantynivka Court:
1). 1 December 1999
2). 29 October 2004
3). 26 February 2001
4). 11 December 2000
5). 16 September 2004
6). 24 April 2001
7). 3 September 2007
8). 17 February 2006
9). 9 August 2005
10). 20 December 2002
1). 2,085
2). 1,185
3). 1,860
4). 1,890
5). 1,200
6). 1,815
7). 675
8). 960
9). 1,050
10). 1,515
22.
21577/09
KOROLEVA,
Nina Ivanovna, 1939
10 April 2009
14 June 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,260
23.
30402/09
KOVALCHUK,
Nikolay Arsenyevich, 1950
2 April 2009
21 March 2003,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,470
24.
30424/09
KASYANENKO,
Yevgeniy Yevgenyevich, 1945
2 April 2009
27 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,785
25.
30428/09
SHCHERBIY,
Viktor Anatolyevich, 1954
2 April 2009
13 March 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,845
26.
30430/09
BYCHKOV,
Valentin Anatolyevich, 1964
2 April 2009
9 July 2001, LDC
1,800
27.
30436/09
GARULYA,
Nikolay Vasilyevich, 1954
2 April 2009
11 December 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,890
28.
30439/09
GOLOVKO,
Nina Nikolayevna, 1949
2 April 2009
11 December 1997, LDC, and 29 November 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,445
29.
30444/09
PECHENYY,
Aleksandr Yakovlevich, 1928
2 April 2009
22 December 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,250
30.
30448/09
GETSMAN,
Vladimir Nikolayevich, 1952
2 April 2009
4 December 1997,
Kostyantynivka Court, and
21 November 2000, LDC
2,445
31.
30453/09
SHISTKO,
Pavel Alekseyevich, 1947
2 April 2009
23 October 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,280
32.
30748/09
SIMUNINA,
Lyudmila Mikhaylovna, 1956
2 April 2009
31 October 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,545
33.
30753/09
MILLER,
Valentina Veniaminovna, 1956
2 April 2009
29 October 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,725
34.
30794/09
KATSYUBA,
Yuriy Andreyevich, 1935
2 April 2009
21 August 2002 and 27 August 2003, Kostyantynivka Court
1,530
35.
30796/09
KUTENKOV,
Yevgeniy Nikolayevich, 1954
2 April 2009
25 November 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,530
36.
31671/09
KHODUS,
Aleksandr Anatolyevich, 1955
2 April 2009
19 December 1997,
Kostyantynivka Court, and
11 September 2000, LDC
2,430
37.
31676/09
LEGOSTAYEVA,
Lyudmila Ivanovna, 1954
2 April 2009
11 December 1997, LDC, and
29 November 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,445
38.
31679/09
ZHURAVLEVA,
Raisa Ivanovna, 1946
2 April 2009
21 January 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,415
39.
31683/09
SOLOVYEV,
Artur Mikhaylovich, 1976
2 April 2009
13 January 1998, LDC, and
9 February 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,430
40.
31684/09
ZAKHAROVA,
Neonila Vladimirovna, 1941
2 April 2009
5 December 2000, LDC
1,905
41.
31689/09
SIVOV,
Andrey Nikolayevich, 1969
2 April 2009
11 December 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,890
42.
31691/09
BELENKO,
Roman Vitalyevich, 1980
2 April 2009
26 March 2001, LDC
1,845
43.
31794/09
KUZNETSOV,
Yevgeniy Mikhaylovich, 1948
2 April 2009
11 December 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,890
44.
31812/09
KLYAKHIN,
Anatoliy Grigoryevich, 1941
2 April 2009
21 May 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,355
45.
31832/09
VORONTSOVA,
Yelena Petrovna, 1957
2 April 2009
5 March 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,860
46.
31839/09
DANKO,
Galina Grigoryevna, 1953
2 April 2009
14 March 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,845
47.
31850/09
MAKOVLEVA,
Irina Grigoryevna, 1965
2 April 2009
29 March 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,845
48.
31854/09
YUSHKINA,
Galina Petrovna, 1954
2 April 2009
24 April 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,815
49.
31863/09
BONDAREVA,
Yelena Nikolayevna, 1964
2 April 2009
29 May 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,800
50.
31934/09
MISHKOVICH,
Lyubov Petrovna, 1953
2 April 2009
12 March 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,665
51.
31938/09
ROSHKOV,
Svyatoslav Sergeyevich, 1946
3 April 2009
25 March 2003,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,470
52.
31940/09
NAKONECHNAYA,
Yekaterina Nikolayevna, 1952
3 April 2009
22 April 2003,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,455
53.
31943/09
ROMANENKO,
Lidiya Yakovlevna, 1949
3 April 2009
15 December 1997, 7 September 1998 and 2 March 2001, LDC
2,445
54.
31946/09
KONONOVA,
Viktoriya Aleksandrovna, 1951
3 April 2009
25 January 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,875
55.
31949/09
VOLOBUYEVA,
Valentina Ilyinichna, 1947
3 April 2009
12 February 2001, LDC
1,875
56.
31953/09
BODRAYA,
Tatyana Vladimirovna, 1973
3 April 2009
17 November 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,170
57.
31955/09
KATSYUBA,
Nadezhda Dmitriyeva, 1940
3 April 2009
20 December 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,515
58.
31960/09
POGORELOV,
Ivan Semyonovich, 1947
3 April 2009
26 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,170
59.
31961/09
POGORELOVA,
Lyudmila Semyonovna, 1948
3 April 2009
26 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,185
60.
31965/09
ABASHINA,
Lyudmila Mikhaylovna, 1952
3 April 2009
9 December 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,170
61.
33206/09
DROZDOVA,
Lyubov Ivanovna, 1941
5 June 2009
7 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,800
62.
33210/09
TRISKIBA,
Olga Ivanovna, 1941
5 June 2009
30 January 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,875
63.
33219/09
SUBBOTINA,
Natalya Grigoryevna, 1964
5 June 2009
5 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,815
64.
33228/09
LIMANSKAYA,
Yekaterina Grigoryevna, 1941
5 June 2009
12 December 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,710
65.
33231/09
KIRICHENKO,
Nina Ivanovna, 1937
5 June 2009
27 August 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,310
66.
33246/09
CHUGUYEVA,
Aleksandra Vladimirovna, 1950
5 June 2009
17 April 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,830
67.
33248/09
KHOROSHILOVA,
Vera Eduardovna, 1956
5 June 2009
11 April 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,830
68.
33264/09
POLKOVNIKOV,
Vladimir Sergeyevich, 1951
5 June 2009
17 September 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,380
69.
33277/09
POLOVAYA,
Galina Vladimirovna, 1961
5 June 2009
29 August 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,575
70.
33279/09
SAYGAK,
Ivan Grigoryevich, 1952
5 June 2009
19 December 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,515
71.
33281/09
STOGNUSHENKO,
Anastasiya Vasilyevna, 1938
5 June 2009
27 September 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,560
72.
33400/09
BOZHKO,
Lyudmila Vladimirovna, 1958
5 June 2009
24 January 2003 and 23 February 2009, Kostyantynivka Court
1,500
73.
33407/09
KOVALEVA,
Raykhan Nikolayevna, 1958
5 June 2009
5 June 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,815
74.
33421/09
CHEPEL,
Valentina Nikolayevna, 1952
5 June 2009
26 February 2001, LDC
1,860
75.
33434/09
VENTURA,
Zoya Raisovna, 1950
5 June 2009
11 March 2002,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,665
76.
33437/09
TSIGANOVSKAYA,
Lyubov Stepanovna, 1951
5 June 2009
19 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,185
77.
33441/09
PROTSENKO,
Tatyana Mikhaylovna, 1950
5 June 2009
15 November 2001,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,725
78.
33446/09
LEVCHISHIN,
Vladimir Leonidovich, 1966
5 June 2009
12 February 2001, LDC
1,875
79.
33447/09
LIMANSKIY,
Igor Viktorovich, 1964
5 June 2009
10 September 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,215
80.
33451/09
SYSHCHENKO,
Viktor Nikolayevich, 1938
5 June 2009
5 October 2000,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,920
81.
33478/09
KOLPAKOVA,
Natalya Vladimirovna, 1951
5 June 2009
24 January 2003 and 23 February 2009, Kostyantynivka Court
1,500
82.
33512/09
KIYAN,
Zinaida Nikolayevna, 1956
5 June 2009
12 December 2000, LDC
1,905
83.
33519/09
FILONENKO,
Nina Mikhaylovna, 1942
5 June 2009
13 February 2009,
Kostyantynivka Court
405
84.
33522/09
LIGASOV,
Stanislav Yevgenyevich, 1938
5 June 2009
9 September 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,200
85.
33525/09
BONDARENKO,
Mitrofan Fedorovich, 1941
5 June 2009
12 December 2000, LDC
1,905
86.
33529/09
PANTYUSHENKO,
Anatoliy Prokofyevich, 1935
5 June 2009
16 February 1998,
Kostyantynivka Court
2,400
87.
65914/09
SINOVITSKAYA,
Olga Ivanovna, 1958
5 June 2009
26 October 2004,
Kostyantynivka Court
1,185
[1]. For the sums, see the attached Table
[2]. Subsequently the Government informed that these sums would also be free of any taxes that may be chargeable
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