Information Note on the Court’s case-law No.
December 1995
Terranova v. Italy - 17156/90
Judgment 4.12.1995
Article 6
Constitutional proceedings
Article 6-1
Reasonable time
Length of proceedings in the Court of Audit: 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 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION ("reasonable time")
A.Period to be taken into consideration
Starting-point: registration of application by registry of Court of Audit.
End: deposit of judgment.
Total: approximately eight years and one month, including length of proceedings in Constitutional Court concerning another case.
B.Applicable criteria
Reasonableness of length of proceedings: to be assessed in light of circumstances of case and having regard to criteria laid down in Court's case-law, in particular complexity of case and conduct of applicant and relevant authorities.
Relevant authorities responsible for lengthy delays.
Applicant's conduct: even if he had asked before 20 November 1985 for a date to be fixed for hearing, Court of Audit would not have been able to accede to request, as it had not received his administrative file by then.
Length complained of could not be considered reasonable, regard being had to the fact that case was not complex and to what was at stake for applicant.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
II.ARTICLE 50 OF THE CONVENTION
Pecuniary damage: not proved.
Non-pecuniary damage and costs: award of compensation.
Conclusion: respondent State to pay applicant a specified sum (unanimously).
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy