Published on 26 August 2024
FIFTH SECTION
Application no. 26867/21
Luděk ŠPERLICH against the Czech Republic
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 10 July 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASES
The applicants were parties to different civil proceedings before the domestic courts. They lodged appeals on points of law which the Supreme Court dismissed after an examination on the merits.
Referring to its plenary opinion no. Pl. ÚS-st. 45/16 of 28 November 2017, the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicants’ respective constitutional appeals (nos. I. ÚS 2892/20, I. ÚS 83/23 and III. ÚS 644/23), holding that they had to be rejected (i) in respect to the decisions of the Supreme Court as manifestly ill-founded since the latter had duly dismissed the applicants’ appeals on points of law on procedural grounds, and (ii) in respect to the decisions of the lower courts for non-exhaustion of available remedies since the applicants had failed to duly challenge them before the Supreme Court.
Relying on Article 6 § 1, the applicants mainly complain about the lack of access to the Constitutional Court. In their view the Constitutional Court erred by not having reviewed the decisions of the lower courts, given that they had duly exhausted the appeals on points of law.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Did the applicants have access to the Constitutional Court for the determination of their civil rights and obligations in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, did the partial rejection on formal grounds of their respective constitutional appeals result from an omission imputable to the Constitutional Court (see, mutatis mutandis, Adamíček v. the Czech Republic, no. 35836/05, 12 October 2010, and Crites and Rabinovitz v. the Czech Republic [Committee], no. 54651/20, 20 June 2024)?
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
26867/21
Šperlich v. the Czech Republic
19/05/2021
Luděk ŠPERLICH
1966
Šumperk
Czech
Karel BOČEK
2.
22336/23
Hanus v. the Czech Republic
25/05/2023
Bernard HANUS
1963
Prague
Czech
Ondřej HÁLA
3.
30632/23
Crites and Rabinovitz v. the Czech Republic
28/07/2023
Alice CRITES
1963
Bethesda
American
Czech
Michael RABINOVITZ
1960
Bethesda
American
Michal KOJAN