FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 17522/07
Vira Fedotivna VEDMEDENKO
against Ukraine
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 9 December 2014 as a Committee composed of:
Boštjan M. Zupančič, President,
Helena Jäderblom,
Aleš Pejchal, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 5 April 2007,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 25 December 2013 and 28 May 2014, requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant’s reply to that declaration,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Ms Vira Fedotivna Vedmedenko, is a Ukrainian national, who was born in 1926 and lives in Dnipropetrovsk.
The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.
The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about her inability to lodge a claim for damages against the State Bailiffs’ Service following its alleged inactivity in enforcing the court decision in the applicant’s favour against a private person.
She further complained under Article 13 of the Convention about refusal of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to open cassation proceedings in her case.
The application was communicated to the Government.
THE LAW
The applicant complained about lack of access to a court in the proceedings against the bailiffs to which she was a party. She relied on Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention. The Court considers that the sole issue in the case is that of access to court.
After the failure of attempts to reach a friendly settlement, by a letter of 25 December 2013, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issue raised by the application. They further requested the Court to strike out the application in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention. By a letter of 6 February 2014, the applicant indicated that she was not satisfied with the terms of the unilateral declaration on the ground that the compensation offered by the Government was insufficient.
On 28 May 2014 the Government submitted an amended version of their declaration. It provided as follows:
“The Government of Ukraine acknowledge the violation of the applicant’s right to access to a court in the applicant’s case.
The Government of Ukraine offer to pay to Ms Vira Fedotivna Vedmedenko EUR 2,340 (two thousand three hundred forty euros) to cover any and all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, as well as any and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
This sum will be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and 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 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.”
The Court recalls that Article 37 of the Convention provides that it may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to one of the conclusions specified, under (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph 1 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”.
It also recalls that in certain circumstances, it may strike out an application under Article 37 § 1(c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicant wishes the examination of the case to be continued.
To this end, the Court will examine carefully the declaration in the light of the principles emerging from its case-law, in particular the Tahsin Acar judgment (Tahsin Acar v. Turkey, [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75-77, ECHR 2003-VI); WAZA Spółka z o.o. v. Poland (dec.) no. 11602/02, 26 June 2007; and Sulwińska v. Poland (dec.) no. 28953/03, 18 September 2007).
The Court has established its practice concerning complaints of lack of access to court in the proceedings against the bailiffs in Chuykina v. Ukraine, no. 28924/04, 13 January 2011.
Having regard to the nature of the admissions contained in the Government’s declaration, as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application (Article 37 § 1(c)).
Moreover, in light of the above considerations, and in particular given the clear and extensive case-law on the topic, 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 application (Article 37 § 1 in fine).
Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declaration, the application could be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declaration under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the applicant’s right to access to a court and of the modalities for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
Stephen Phillips Boštjan M. Zupančič
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy