FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 37737/10
by Marcin STAROSTA
against Poland
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 18 October 2011 as a Committee composed of:
George Nicolaou, President,
Lech Garlicki,
Vincent A. De Gaetano, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 21 June 2010,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Marcin Starosta, is a Polish national who was born in 1975 and lives in Łódź. The applicant was represented before the Court by Ms B. Owczarek, a lawyer practising in Łódź. The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 13 January 2011 the President of the Fourth Section of the Court decided to communicate the applicant’s complaint under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention concerning the unreasonably long period of his pre-trial detention which began on 16 January 2006 and appears still to be pending. The applicant was arrested in the Netherlands on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant and subsequently charged with numerous offences, including, inter alia, having acted in an organised criminal gang, kidnapping, murder, extortion and robbery.
THE LAW
On 13 April 2011 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“I declare that the Government of Poland offer to pay Mr Marcin Starosta, with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, PLN 6,000 (six thousand Polish zlotys), 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 it, 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 27 September 2011 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:
“I, Marcin Starosta, note that the Government of Poland are prepared to pay me, with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, PLN 6,000 (six thousand Polish zlotys), 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 Poland 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.
Fatoş AracıGeorge Nicolaou
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy