FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 32267/13
Rafał ZYCH against Poland
and 74 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 18 December 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Ksenija Turković, President,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek,
Pauliine Koskelo, judges,
and Renata Degener, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government on 22 February, 7 June, and 9 July 2018 requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicants’ reply to these declarations,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
2. The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms J. Chrzanowska, and subsequently by Mr J. Sobczak, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. All the applicants complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the excessive length of proceedings in their cases and under Article 13 of the Convention about the lack of, or insufficient, redress for the excessive length of proceedings granted to them by the national courts.
4. The applications were communicated to the Government.
5. By letters dated 22 February, 7 June, and 9 July 2018 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by the applications. In each case the Government acknowledged a violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the excessive length of proceedings and violation of Article 13 on account of the lack of an effective remedy, securing sufficient redress for a violation of Article 6 § 1. They offered payment of sums specified in respect of each applicant in a table appended to their declarations. The Government further undertook to adopt a range of general measures in respect of other persons who were victims of similar violations or might be affected by similar violations in the future. The sums referred to above, which are specified in the appendix to the decision, 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 Convention. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on each of 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 periods plus three percentage points. In addition, the Government made a declaration on general measures to be adopted in implementation of the Rutkowski and Others pilot judgment (see Rutkowski and Others v. Poland, nos. 72287/10 and 2 others, 7 July 2015). They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.
THE LAW
6. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
A. Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention
7. On various dates in 2018 sixty applicants indicated that they were not satisfied with the terms of the unilateral declarations. The remaining fifteen applicants made no comments on the Government’s unilateral declarations.
8. 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, 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”.
9. It also reiterates 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 applicants wish the examination of the case to be continued.
10. To this end, the Court has examined the declarations in the light of the principles emerging from its case-law, in particular the Tahsin Acar judgment (Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75-77, ECHR 2003-VI; WAZA Sp. z o.o. v. Poland (dec.), no. 11602/02, 26 June 2007; and Sulwińska v. Poland (dec.), no. 28953/03, 18 September 2007).
11. The conclusions reached by the Court on admissions and undertakings contained in the Government’s declarations in the first group of 400 cases submitted in the pilot-judgment procedure apply to the present case (see Załuska and Rogalska v. Poland and 398 other applications (dec.), nos. 53491/10 and 72286/10, §§ 51-53, 20 June 2017).
12. Having regard to the nature of the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations, 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 applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).
13. 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 applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine).
14. Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications 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).
15. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list in their part concerning the complaints under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention.
B. Other alleged violations of the Convention
16. The twenty-seven applicants indicated in the attached Appendix also raised a number of complains under other Articles of the Convention.
17. Having regard to the facts of the case, the Government’s declarations, and its decision to strike out the complaints under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention, the Court considers that the main legal question raised in the present applications has been resolved. It concludes, therefore, that there is no need to give a separate ruling on the applicants’ remaining complaints (see, mutatis mutandis, Kamil Uzun v. Turkey, no. 37410/97, § 64, 10 May 2007).
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declaration under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention and of the modalities for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in their part concerning the complaints under Articles 6 § 1 and 13 of the Convention in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention;
Holds that there is no need to examine separately the remaining complaints.
Done in English and notified in writing on 24 January 2019.
Renata DegenerKsenija Turković
Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Represented by
Other complaints
Amount proposed in Unilateral Declaration1
32267/13
29/04/2013
Rafał ZYCH
19/03/1976
Barczewo
Yes
PLN 15,4402
9823/14
22/01/2014
Piotr PAKIEŁA
31/07/1978
Ciechanów
Yes
PLN 10,4803
7970/15
03/02/2015
Ryszard BOGUCKI
27/04/1969
Herby
Emilia MĄDRECKA
Yes
PLN 34,7304
10899/15
23/06/2015
Zbigniew ŚWIĄTCZAK
21/03/1964
Sieradz
Yes
PLN 4,6805
12464/15
03/03/2015
Marzena GRZEGORCZYK
20/06/1961
Warszawa
Paweł OLEJNICZEK
Yes
PLN 9,2906
17347/15
10/11/2015
Tomasz HIRSCH
23/03/1974
Lublin
No
PLN 9,0807
23482/15
17/07/2015
Leszek ORŁOWSKI
26/06/1977
Poznań
No
PLN 3,8208
27589/15
28/05/2015
Arkadiusz WARZYCHA
12/01/1965
Kłobuck
No
PLN 8,0009
34030/15
19/06/2015
Filip Andrzej WEINBERG
10/07/1984
Iława
Anna Weronika TETKOWSKA
No
PLN 10,08010
40337/15
07/08/2015
Tomasz BŁASIK
18/07/1974
Kamińsk
No
PLN 15,29011
42073/15
22/10/2015
Krzysztof SOCIK
17/07/1987
Stara Huta
Yes
PLN 6,24012
46824/15
07/09/2015
Seweryn NIEDŹWIADEK
11/02/1985
Lublin
No
PLN 12,23013
49169/15
22/12/2015
Jan DYTRYCH
24/07/1949
Legionowo
Yes
PLN 10,16014
50832/15
07/10/2015
Adam WYSOCKI
24/09/1967
Barczewo
No
PLN 12,48015
52137/15
30/03/2016
Robert CIEŚLAK
01/06/1977
Warszawa
Yes
PLN 18,72016
53344/15
19/10/2015
Anna GALAS-NIEDŹWIEDŹ
11/04/1961
Wroclaw
Yes
PLN 6,12017
57548/15
10/06/2011
Maciej LUBIŃSKI
11/04/1967
Warszawa
Jolanta TURCZYNOWICZ-KIERYŁŁO
No
PLN 8,89018
57636/15
10/06/2011
Remigiusz MINDA
05/05/1959
Warszawa
Jolanta TURCZYNOWICZ-KIERYŁŁO
No
PLN 8,890 19
58375/15
16/11/2015
Ryszard WIELOCHA
06/08/1944
Koszalin
Tomasz Janusz PSIUCH
No
PLN 40,56020
59362/15
20/11/2015
Ernest UJAZDA
03/10/1968
Warszawa
PLN 6,24021
60336/15
25/11/2015
Krzysztof MASZTALSKI
04/11/1967
Ruda Śląska
No
PLN 9,57022
60915/15
24/11/2015
Jacek KARABIOWSKI
05/07/1986
Lublin
Emilia KARABIOWSKA
No
PLN 6,05023
61071/15
04/12/2015
Andrzej MAKOWSKI
30/11/1974
Siemianowice Śląskie
Olga LEŚNIK
No
PLN 26,68024
62967/15
04/12/2015
Kamil OLSZEWSKI
19/01/1988
Kamińsk
No
PLN 3,61025
1306/16
19/12/2015
Władysław PAWLIKOWSKI
15/01/1972
Świętochłowice
No
PLN 7,80026
1986/16
29/12/2015
Piotr SKUTNIK
23/10/1987
Warszawa
Yes
PLN 11,60027
4806/16
14/01/2016
Mariusz PAWELCZYK
03/05/1989
Korsze
No
PLN 16,51028
5579/16
19/01/2016
Adam Władysław SIKORSKI
27/10/2005
Częstochowa
Jacek BĘDKOWSKI
No
PLN 7,64029
8165/16
02/02/2016
Krzysztof Maciej KISSON
20/05/1960
Warszawa
Yes
PLN 18,85030
8855/16
02/02/2016
Małgorzata WORHACH
30/06/1960
Boynton Beach
No
PLN 16,50031
10825/16
12/02/2016
Jarosław CZEREDYS
28/08/1964
Warszawa
No
PLN 12,11032
10881/16
01/04/2016
Janina GURBAŁA
15/08/1928
Kraków
Yes
PLN 7,02033
12151/16
02/02/2016
Artur ŁOŃSKI
13/08/1977
Warszawa
No
PLN 17,78034
13524/16
24/02/2016
Artur ŁOŃSKI
13/08/1977
Warszawa
No
PLN 8,80035
13571/16
03/03/2016
Grzegorz JAROWICZ
28/10/1978
Międzyrzecz
No
PLN 7,80036
15322/16
08/03/2016
Stefan LIBAN
15/03/1946
London
No
PLN 15,40037
15867/16
14/03/2016
Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956
Błonie
Yes
PLN 5,72038
16239/16
17/03/2016
Zbigniew GAGAT
25/12/1964
Chorzów
No
PLN 8,89039
16852/16
18/03/2016
Mirosław TKACZYK
09/01/1970
Katowice
Yes
PLN 7,02040
19609/16
24/03/2016
Maciej Jerzy DOBROWOLSKI
03/01/1978
Warszawa
Michal KOROLCZUK
No
PLN 7,57041
24018/16
23/04/2016
Artur ZARZYCKI
19/03/1977
Warszawa
No
PLN 10,37042
25894/16
27/04/2016
Wojciech Janusz KUCHARSKI
23/03/1986
Chełm
No
PLN 4,24043
26274/16
30/06/2016
Łukasz GRUDA
29/01/1981
Rosdorf
No
PLN 6,36044
27241/16
04/05/2016
Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956
Błonie
Yes
PLN 9,36045
32534/16
01/06/2016
Piotr MIROŃCZUK
03/06/1969
Włodawa
No
PLN 16,22046
34133/16
10/06/2016
Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956
Błonie
Yes
PLN 6,36048
36820/16
20/06/2016
Gabriela KOPROWICZ
06/11/1989
Lubaczów
Joanna GRABOWIECKA
Yes
PLN 3,90049
37336/16
14/06/2016
Robert SMARDZEWSKI
14/06/1975
Lublin
No
PLN 6,24050
39113/16
29/06/2016
Włodzimierz ARCIUCH
11/08/1986
Siedlce
No
PLN 7,36051
44876/16
18/07/2016
Andrzej GNAŚ
13/07/1963
Chełm
No
PLN 16,22052
46125/16
02/08/2016
Wiesław TARASIUK
12/12/1959
Chełm
No
PLN 10,17053
48228/16
10/08/2016
Tomasz STODOLSKI
12/01/1976
Gdańsk
No
PLN 7,80054
51097/16
18/08/2016
Michał SKIBIŃSKI
26/03/1989
Gdańsk
Marcin LIPSKI
Yes
PLN 17,97055
51217/16
23/08/2016
Jacek SZEWCZYK
29/01/1965
Tomaszów Mazowiecki
No
PLN 28,32056
51853/16
17/08/2016
Edmund PUZDROWSKI
25/01/1956
Choczewo
No
PLN 4,24057
54130/16
07/09/2016
Grzegorz Michał
SMOGORZEWSKI
12/01/1971
Warszawa
No
PLN 3,24058
56011/16
05/12/2015
Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956
Błonie
Yes
PLN 16,72060
60429/16
03/10/2016
Maria WOJCIECHOWSKA
25/12/1951
Warszawa
Yes
PLN 7,80061
63055/16
18/10/2016
Artur KOWALCZYK
09/07/1971
Warszawa
No
PLN 29,20062
63097/16
21/10/2016
Artur KUJAWA
18/08/1971
Warszawa
No
PLN 15,60063
65996/16
05/11/2016
Ryszard KORBAS
26/12/1953
Słubice
Yes
PLN 18,72064
70694/16
17/01/2017
Danuta GRABSKA
10/07/1964
Radłów
Zbigniew CICHOŃ
No
PLN 28,08065
70971/16
17/11/2016
Janusz PALIAN
20/10/1962
Jaworzno
No
PLN 6,25066
76691/16
28/11/2016
Piotr PIECHALAK
24/03/1973
Chorzów
No
PLN 31,20067
77315/16
28/11/2016
Krzysztof MAĆKIEWICZ
21/01/1988
Warszawa
Yes
PLN 4,20068
1269/17
27/12/2016
Jarosław MATEJUK
24/09/1968
Ruda Huta
No
PLN 16,22069
1537/17
07/12/2016
Adam ZIMNY
09/06/1946
Kraków
No
PLN 2,34070
6438/17
13/01/2017
Przemysław OSIŃSKI
21/01/1973
Gdańsk
No
PLN 17,84071
12664/17
23/01/2017
Kazimierz IWANKIEWICZ
06/09/1949
Lipiany
Yes
PLN 11,52072
21324/17
10/03/2017
Janusz NIEĆKO
09/01/1957
Łęczna
No
PLN 30,58073
27925/17
04/04/2017
Helena MRÓZ
04/07/1933
Bydgoszcz
Dorota KALINOWSKA
Yes
PLN 4,68074
29534/17
29/03/2017
Andrzej MUSZYŃSKI
27/10/1984
Zamość
No
PLN 6,00075
33391/17
26/04/2017
Adam KAZIMIERCZUK
11/03/1962
Płock
No
PLN 16,39076
34241/17
26/04/2017
Marcin URBANEK
01/08/1976
Strzelce Opolskie
Yes
PLN 4,24077
38893/17
19/05/2017
Jan ROSSA
13/04/1955
Mirków
Yes
PLN 3,820
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