FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 42842/05
Yevgeniy Alekseyevich ZAVGORODNIY against Ukraine
and 27 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 7 February 2012 as a committee composed of:
Mark Villiger, President,
Karel Jungwiert,
André Potocki, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the dates specified in the annexed table,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicants are Ukrainian nationals whose names and dates of birth are specified in the annexed table. The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms V. Lutkovska, of the Ministry of Justice.
On various dates domestic courts delivered judgments in the applicants’ cases and ordered the domestic authorities to take certain measures in the applicants’ favour or to pay them certain amounts. The judgments became final, but the authorities delayed their enforcement.
COMPLAINTS
Relying on various provisions of the Convention, the applicants complained about the delayed enforcement of the judgments given in their favour. Some of the applicants also raised other complaints under the Convention.
THE LAW
1. The Court considers that, in accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the applications should be joined, given their common factual and legal background.
2. The Government submitted several unilateral declarations with a view to settling the applicants’ cases. By these declarations, the Government acknowledged the excessive duration of the enforcement of the applicants’ judgments and declared that they were ready to pay to the applicants the outstanding judgement debts, as well as to pay them compensation sums (for the sums, see the annexed table). The Government suggested that the declarations might be accepted by the Court as “any other reason” justifying the striking out of the cases in their entirety under Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
The declarations also provided that the compensation sums were to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses and would be free of any taxes that may be applicable and to be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement. They would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertook 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.
The applicants expressed their agreement with the terms of the Government’s declarations, though some of them questioned the Government’s compliance.
The Court reiterates 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 in paragraph 1 (a), (b) or (c) of that Article. 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.”
In the light of the applicants’ agreement with the Government’s declarations, the Court considers that Article 37 § 1 (b) is relevant in the present cases. This is in line with the Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov pilot judgment (no. 40450/04, 2009‑... (extracts), § 99 and point 6 of the operative part) and the Court finds no public policy reasons to justify the continued examination.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s unilateral declarations and the applicants’ comments thereon;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention.
Stephen PhillipsMark Villiger
Deputy RegistrarPresident
ANNEX
No.
Application
number
Date of
introduction
Applicant’s name, year of birth
Domestic judgments about the lengthy non-enforcement of which the applicants complain (date of the judgment and name of the court)
Date of the Government’s
unilateral declaration
Compensation offered by the Government (euro)
1.
42842/05
11/11/2005
ZAVGORODNIY
YEVGENIY ALEKSEYEVICH, 1937
03/12/2003, Selydove Court
15/09/2011
1,380
2.
11000/06
21/02/2006
SHUBIN
VITALIY MIKHAYLOVICH, 1954
30/09/2004, Saky Court
13/09/2010
870
3.
15058/06
06/04/2006
MASTERYUK
NADEZHDA ALEKSANDROVNA, 1960
11/11/2005,
Nova Kakhovka Court
1/04/2011
480
4.
22411/06
23/05/2006
SHYNKARENKO
TATYANA VYACHESLAVOVNA, 1963
10/05/2002, Navy Court of Appeal
30/07/2010
1,260
5.
36728/06
18/08/2006
SHYNKARENKO
TATYANA VYACHESLAVOVNA, 1963
05/12/2005,
Crimea Regional Court of Appeal
30/07/2010
585
6.
3431/07
06/12/2006
KONVALIYA, TOV
25/08/2004,
Sumy Regional Commercial Court
30/07/2010
1,020
7.
15988/07
27/03/2007
YURCHENKO
STANISLAV NIKOLAYEVICH, 1940
12/05/1999 and 18/07/2001,
Kirovskyy District Court of Kirovograd
14/07/2011
1,995
8.
46858/07
16/10/2007
YEGOROVA
YELENA YEVGENYEVNA, 1960
13/12/2001, Khmelnytsk Court
14/07/2011
1,350
9.
3837/08
15/01/2008
SELEDETS
OLEKSANDR DENYSOVYCH, 1944
03/04/07, Trostyanets Court
25/06/2011
750
10.
12391/08
26/02/2008
TOLSTOVA YELENA PETROVNA, 1951
09/06/1999, 09/11/2000, 17/04/2002, 14/07/2004 and 06/10/2005,
Krasnyy Luch Court
25/06/2011
1,515
11.
18777/08
01/04/2008
ODNOVOLIK
STEPAN ANDREYEVICH, 1945
26/01/2000 and 29/06/2000,
Krasnyy Luch Court
21/04/2011
1,560
12.
23463/08
22/04/2008
SAZONOV
SERGEY SERGEYEVICH, 1966
17 /01/2006, Krasnyy Luch Court
21/07/2011
405
13.
26615/08
19/05/2008
KUZMENKOV
VIKTOR MITROFANOVICH, 1959
28/11/2003, Novogrodivka Court
30/07/2010
540
14.
54291/08
28/10/2008
GLADCHENKO
PAVEL NIKOLAYEVICH, 1944
03/03/2007, 02/11/2006
Yuzhne Court
25/06/2011
495
15.
7253/09
21/01/2009
RYBAK
LYUBOV MYKOLAYIVNA, 1950
26/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
16.
9821/09
02/02/2009
MISHCHENKO
STEPAN TROKHYMOVYCH, 1937
22/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
17.
12634/09
24/02/2009
KHARYPONCHUK
MARIYA FEDOTIVNA, 1936
07/06/2004, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
1,260
18.
18812/09
02/03/2009
SHPAK
VOLODYMYR MYKHAYLOVYCH, 1955
22/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
19.
21809/09
07/04/2009
NEKHAYEV
ANATOLIY IVANOVICH, 1947
21/05/2004, Krasnyy Luch Court
05/05/2011
1,230
20.
32427/09
23/05/2009
TYSHKEVYCH
LYUDMYLA VITALIYIVNA, 1977
10/09/2007, Ichnya Court
14/07/2011
510
21.
34288/09
12/06/2009
PRYKHODKO
MYKOLA VASYLYOVYCH, 1958
23/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
22.
39072/09
30/07/2009
VYSHKOVSKYY
SERGIY KAZYMYROVYCH, 1962
03/06/2008, Oleksandriya Court (amended by the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administrative Court of Appeal on 07/10/2008)
14/07/2011
495
23.
40512/09
10/07/2009
SYTNIK
VITALIY IVANOVYCH, 1965
27/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
630
24.
40800/09
09/07/2009
ALTYNBAYEVA
IRINA NIKOLAYEVNA, 197130/10/2000 and 22/10/2004,
Rozdolne Court
28/05/2010
1,005
25.
41938/09
07/07/2009
PARKHOMENKO
NADEZHDA VLADIMIROVNA, 1954
23/04/2008, Nova Kakhovka Court
21/04/2010
510
26.
47242/09
20/08/2009
ZDITOVETSKA
TAMARA DMYTRIVNA, 1940
22/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
27.
48026/09
20/08/2009
ZDITOVETSKYY
GEORGIY EDUARDOVYCH, 1966
20/11/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
645
28.
48189/09
25/08/2009
ERLIKHMAN
VILYA YOSYPOVYCH, 1936
23/10/2007, Tetiyiv Court
25/06/2011
660
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