USKOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

FIRST SECTION

DECISION

This version was rectified on 10 March 2010

under Rule 81 of the Rules of Court

Application no. 6394/05
by Viktor Mikhaylovich USKOV
and 17 other applications
(nos. 7144/05, 9464/05, 10542/05, 30006/06, 39119/06, 50742/06, 2229/07, 5951/07, 31624/07, 31698/07, 51340/07, 51342/07, 9463/08, 13132/08, 16251/08, 16849/08 and 39590/08)
against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 12 November 2009 as a Chamber composed of:

Christos Rozakis, President,
Nina Vajić,
Anatoly Kovler,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
Dean Spielmann,
Giorgio Malinverni,
George Nicolaou, judges,
and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications,

Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure taken in the case of Burdov (no. 2) v. Russia (no. 33509/04, ECHR 2009‑...),

Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicants' replies to those declarations,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicants are 100 Russian nationals whose names and dates of birth are tabulated below. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

Under domestic law the applicants were entitled to social benefits. Because the State failed to pay these benefits in full or in time, the applicants sought relief in the courts. The courts held for the applicants and ordered the authorities to pay arrears and to upgrade periodic payments. These judgments became binding but the authorities delayed their enforcement.

COMPLAINT

The applicants complained about the delayed enforcement of the judgments and assorted faults that allegedly accompanied the proceedings.

THE LAW

In July 2009 the Government submitted to the Court unilateral declarations aimed at resolving the issue raised by the applications. The Government requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention. The declarations read as follows:

“[T]he Russian authorities acknowledge the excessive duration of the enforcement of [the applicants' judgments].

The authorities are ready to pay [the applicants] ex gratia [the sums tabulated below].

The authorities therefore invite the Court to strike [the applications] out of the list of cases. They suggest that the present declaration might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the case of the Court's list of cases, as referred to in Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.

The [sums tabulated below], which [are] to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable. [They] will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay [these sums] 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.

This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”

Some applicants objected to these declarations in principle and requested the Court to continue the adversarial proceedings. Some applicants agreed with the sums offered but insisted that their applications may be struck out only after the payment. They also noted that the Government had not acknowledged a breach of the Convention. Some applicants disagreed with the sums offered, but accepted the declarations for want of better options. Some applicants asked the Court to stop the proceedings having lost belief in their favourable outcome. Some applicants accepted the declarations entirely.

The Court reiterates that under Article 37 of the Convention it may at any stage of the proceedings strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusions specified under (a), (b), or (c) of that Article.

Article 37 § 1 (c) enables the Court in particular to strike a case out of its list if:

“for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.”

Article 37 § 1 in fine states:

“However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto so requires.”

The Court recalls that in its pilot judgment (Burdov v. Russia (no. 2), cited above) it recently ordered the Russian Federation to

“grant [adequate and sufficient] redress, within one year from the date on which the judgment [became] final, to all victims of non-payment or unreasonably delayed payment by State authorities of a judgment debt in their favour who [had] lodged their applications with the Court before the delivery of the present judgment and whose applications [had been] communicated to the Government under Rule 54 § 2 (b) of the Rules of the Court.”

In the same judgment the Court also held that

“pending the adoption of the above measures, the Court [would] adjourn, for one year from the date on which the judgment [became] final, the proceedings in all cases concerning solely the non-enforcement and/or delayed enforcement of domestic judgments ordering monetary payments by the State authorities, without prejudice to the Court's power at any moment to declare inadmissible any such case or to strike it out of its list following a friendly settlement between the parties or the resolution of the matter by other means in accordance with Articles 37 or 39 of the Convention.”

Having examined the terms of the Government's declarations, the Court understands them as intending to give the applicants redress in line with the pilot judgment (see Burdov (no. 2), cited above, §§ 127 and 145 and point 7 of the operative part).

Having regard to the acknowledgement contained in the declarations together with the amounts of compensation proposed, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications. Moreover, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications.

Accordingly, the applications should be struck out of the list.

As regards the question of implementation of the Government's undertakings raised by certain applicants, the Committee of Ministers remains competent to supervise this matter in accordance with Article 46 of the Convention (see the Committee's decisions of 14-15 September 2009 concerning the implementation of the Burdov (no. 2) judgment, CM/Del/Dec(2009)1065). In any event the Court's present ruling is without prejudice to any decision it might take to restore, pursuant to Article 37 § 2 of the Convention, the present applications to the list of cases (see E.G. v. Poland (dec.), no. 50425/99, § 29, ECHR 2008‑... (extracts)).

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government's declarations;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.

Søren NielsenChristos Rozakis
RegistrarPresident

ANNEX

Application no.

Applicant

Born

Sum

6394/05

Uskov Viktor Mikhaylovich

1939

2 050 €

7144/05

Paramonov Viktor Vasilyevich

1941

3 350 €

9464/05

Shniolis Stanislavas Alfonso

1942

2 050 €

10542/06

Kirillov Yevgeniy Sergeyevich

1958

2 050 €

30006/06

Gorokhov Dmitriy Ivanovich

1952

2 050 €

Rusyayev Rostislav Vladimirovich

1961

2 050 €

39119/06

Stankevich Yuriy Aleksandrovich

1955

1 400 €

50742/06

Sergeyenko Georgiy Andreyevich

1937

2 050 €

2229/07

Ignatyev Yuriy Ivanovich

1951

2 700 €

5951/07

Khaliullin Rakip Gabdulkhayevich

1949

2 700 €

31624/07

Nasilnikov Ivan Ivanovich

1950

2 700 €

31698/07

Neznanov Anatoliy Aleksandrovich

1957

2 050 €

51340/07

Minasyan Samvel Sarkisovich

1951

2 050 €

Pavlov Nikolay Georgiyevich

1946

2 050 €

Sazykin Aleksandr Stepanovich

1952

2 050 €

Denisenko Ivan Pavlovich

1947

2 050 €

Pavlov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

1955

2 050 €

Dydar Valeriy Vladimirovich

1967

2 050 €

Kruglov Vladimir Mikhaylovich

1945

2 050 €

Snezhko Valentin Dmitriyevich

1943

2 050 €

Mayorov Nikolay Ivanovich

1943

2 050 €

Tretyakov Igor Aleksandrovich

1954

2 050 €

Makagonov Grigoriy Nikolayevich

1949

2 050 €

Reznikov Viktor Stepanovich

1955

2 050 €

Merzlikin Yuriy Petrovich

1947

2 050 €

Vanzha Grigoriy Nikolayevich

1953

2 050 €

Terekhov Anatoliy Nikolayevich

1949

2 050 €

Kuznetsov Pyotr Ivanovich

1951

2 050 €

Martynov Vladimir Iliych

1954

2 050 €

Nechayev Vasiliy Markovich

1950

2 050 €

Borzov Vladimir Mikhaylovich

1951

2 050 €

Nazarenko Grigoriy Romanovich

1947

2 050 €

Yakovenko Nikolay Fyodorovich

1947

2 050 €

Drozdov Viktor Alekseyevich

1947

2 050 €

Seletskiy Vladimir Nikolayevich

1950

2 050 €

Koda Anatoliy Vasilyevich

1954

2 050 €

Achagov Aleksandr Anatolyevich

1959

2 050 €

Borovikov Vasiliy Vasiliyevich

1947

2 050 €

Kozub Vladimir Andreyevich

1945

2 050 €

Ilyenko Vladimir Nikolayevich

1943

2 050 €

Khodakovskiy Grigoriy Iosifovich

1950

2 050 €

Frolov Gennadiy Alekseyevich

1945

2 050 €

51342/07

Belov Vladimir Vladimirovich

1946

1 400 €

Berezhnoy Yuriy Mikaylovich

1951

1 400 €

Beloverbenko Anatoliy Valentinovich

1954

1 400 €

Burtan Yuriy Anatolyevich

1961

1 400 €

Bykovskiy Pyotr Pavlovich

1944

1 400 €

Varlamov Fyodor Alekseyevich

1965

1 400 €

Vikhtevskiy Anatoliy Nikolayevich

1952

1 400 €

Volchenko Vladimir Petrovich

1951

1 400 €

Gavrilov Yevgeniy Vladimirovich

1951

1 400 €

Gonchar Nikolay Pavlovich[1]

1950

1 400 €

Gres Dmitriy Alekseyevich

1952

1 400 €

Davydenko Yuriy Sergeyevich

1966

1 400 €

Denisenko Aleksey Grigoryevich

1952

1 400 €

Dobrovolskiy Vladimir Alekseyevich

1955

1 400 €

Yevdokimenko Nikolay Mikaylovich

1946

1 400 €

Ivanitskiy Vasiliy Romanovich

1954

1 400 €

Ignatenko Anatoliy Nikolayevich

1953

1 400 €

Ishekov Anatoliy Alekseyevich

1948

1 400 €

Kazakov Leonid Yegorovich

1945

1 400 €

Kovyazov Andrey Georgiyevich

1965

1 400 €

Kozhurin Yevgeniy Vladimirovich

1958

1 400 €

Kornienko Leonid Grigoryevich

1956

1 400 €

Koroshchenko Aleksandr Vladimirovich

1960

1 400 €

Koshel Dmitriy Ivanovich

1949

1 400 €

Kushnarenko Pavel Vasilyevich

1952

1 400 €

Lavrov Aleksandr Valentinovich

1953

1 400 €

Lebed Georgiy Kupriyanovich

1952

1 400 €

Litvinenko Pyotr Nikolayevich

1947

1 400 €

Luyenko Nikolay Ivanovich

1949

1 400 €

Makarenko Nikolay Grigoryevich

1951

1 400 €

Marukhno Nikolay Aleksandrovich

1957

1 400 €

Migel Yuriy Vasilyevich

1966

1 400 €

Mosin Aleksandr Vasilyevich

1965

1 400 €

Nehrist Vladimir Grigoryevich

1947

1 400 €

Novakov Viktor Georgiyevich

1956

1 400 €

Pozhidayev Vladimir Nikolayevich

1950

1 400 €

Orda Aleksandr Ivanovich

1952

1 400 €

Reznik Vasiliy Stepanovich

1952

1 400 €

Semko Aleksandr Grigoryevich

1964

1 400 €

Singayevskiy Ivan Stanislavovich

1951

1 400 €

Sirota Aleksandr Alekseyevich

1951

1 400 €

Sokolov Vitaliy Leonidovich

1955

1 400 €

Stratiy Viktor Mikhaylovich

1953

1 400 €

Stupak Nikolay Ivanovich

1950

1 400 €

Sukmanov Vladimir Ivanovich

1952

1 400 €

Tkachenko Nikolay Ivanovich

1943

1 400 €

Troyanov Georgiy Vasilyevich

1950

1 400 €

Fomenko Vladimir Sergeyevich

1951

1 400 €

Cherednichenko Ivan Ivanovich

1954

1 400 €

Chernomordov Valeriy Ivanovich

1950

1 400 €

Shabelnikov Aleksandr Ivanovich

1951

1 400 €

Shayturov Mikhail Pavlovich

1955

1 400 €

Shapovalov Vladimir Yakovlevich

1952

1 400 €

Shulga Aleksandr Petrovich

1965

1 400 €

9463/08

Gribanenkov Sergey Vasilyevich

1949

2 050 €

13132/08

Alekseyeva Valentina Nikolayevna

1948

2 050 €

16251/08

Boytsov Vladimir Vitaliyevich

1954

2 050 €

16849/08

Zhilinskiy Anatoliy Mikhaylovich

1929

1 400 €

39590/08

Bogach Igor Ivanovich

1959

4 000 €

[1] Rectified on 10 March 2010: the text was “Gonchar Nikolay Petrovich”

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