Information Note on the Court’s case-law 54
June 2003
Tierce v. San Marino - 69700/01
Judgment 17.6.2003 [Section II]
Article 6
Civil proceedings
Article 6-1
Reasonable time
Length of proceedings relating to eviction of tenants: violation
Facts: In March 1993, proceedings were commenced against the applicant for cancellation of his tenancy contract and eviction for non-payment of rent. In August 1998, the Commissario della legge made an order for the applicant’s eviction from the property, to be enforced immediately. The eviction took place in 1999. By judgment of October 2001, published in December 2001, the civil court of appeal allowed the applicant’s appeal in part and reduced the amount of rent to be paid.
Law: Article 6 § 1 – The period to be taken into consideration began in March 1993 and ended in December 2001. It therefore lasted eight years and nine months. The cause of the length of the proceedings lies mainly in the complexity of the national proceedings, which are characterised by the need, unless the parties waive the relevant rights, to observe all the periods prescribed for submitting evidence (first and second), further evidence (first and second) and evidence in rebuttal, both at first instance and on appeal, which does not help to speed up the pace of the proceedings, and, moreover, in the fact that the civil courts do not have the power of initiative where the parties fail to act.
Conclusion: violation (6 votes to 1).
Article 41 – The Court awards the applicant 2,500 € for non-pecuniary damage.
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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