FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 52589/09
by Hidri SHPETIM
against Greece
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 13 September 2011 as a Committee composed of:
Anatoly Kovler, President,
Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos,
Erik Møse, judges,
and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 11 September 2009,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Hidri Shpetim, is an Albanian national who was born in 1972 and lives in Corfou. The Greek Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr F. Georgakopoulos, President of the Legal Council of the State.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 5 June 2004 the applicant was arrested and criminal proceedings were brought against him for inter alia robbery, contraband, illegal possession of a gun and illegal entrance in Greece. On 16 June 2005 the Athens First Instance Criminal Court convicted the applicant and sentenced him to twenty one years and eight months of imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 euros (judgment no. 2015/2005).
On an unspecified date the applicant lodged an appeal with the Athens Criminal Court of Appeal challenging the court’s findings and its evaluation of the evidence.
As it transpires from the case file, these proceedings are still pending.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complains under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the criminal proceedings brought against him before the domestic courts.
THE LAW
On 25 March 2011 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“I, Fokion P. Georgakopoulos, Agent of the Government of Greece, declare that the Government of Greece offer to pay, ex gratia Mr Hidri Shpetim, with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 3 000 euros, to cover any and all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and any and all costs and expenses plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
This sum will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum 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. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”
On 20 April 2011 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:
“I, Hidri Shpetim, note that the Government of Greece are prepared to pay ex gratia me, with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 3 000 euros, to cover any and all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and any and all costs and expenses plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
This sum will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Greece in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case.”
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 (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention).
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.
André WampachAnatoly Kovler
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy