Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2010)222

Execution of the pilot judgment of the European Court of Human Rights
in the case Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov against Ukraine and of 386 cases against Ukraine concerning the failure or serious delay in abiding by final domestic courts’ decisions delivered against the state and its entities as well as the absence of an effective remedy

(Application No. 40450/04 Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov, judgment of 15/10/2009, final on 15/01/ 2010)
(See Appendix for the list of cases in the Zhovner group)

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 30 November 2010
at the 1100th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Having regard to almost 400 judgments of the Court in which it found violations of the Convention on account of non-execution or delayed execution by the state authorities of final domestic judicial decisions delivered in the applicants’ favour and the lack of an effective remedy in this respect;

Recalling the Committee of Ministers’ decisions and Interim Resolutions (CM/ResDH(2008)1 and CM/ResDH(2009)159) in which the Committee noted with concern the lack of progress in taking general measures to resolve the structural problems underlying the repetitive violations of the Convention;
Noting with deep concern that notwithstanding the Committee’s repeated calls, the Ukrainian authorities failed since 2004 to give priority to devising a comprehensive strategy to bring their legislation and administrative practice in line with the Convention requirements, thus generating new massive applications before the Court;
Recalling that in these circumstances the Court delivered on 15 October 2009 a pilot judgment in the case of Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov in which:
-	stressed that specific reforms in Ukraine’s legislation and administrative practice should be implemented without delay in order to bring it into line with the Court’s conclusions in the present judgment and to comply with the requirements of Article 46 of the Convention;

-	held that in any event the respondent state must introduce without delay, and at the latest within one year from the date on which the judgment becomes final, i.e. by 15 January 2011, a remedy or a combination of remedies capable of securing adequate and sufficient redress for the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions;

-	ordered the respondent state by the same date to grant such a redress to all persons in the applicant’s position in the cases lodged with the Court before the delivery of the pilot judgment and decided to adjourn the Court proceedings in all similar cases for one year;

Taking note of the information provided by the Ukrainian authorities during the meeting that a draft law has been prepared “on enforcement of the court decisions for which the state is responsible”;

Noting however that no details have been provided concerning the precise content of the draft law as well as on the timetable envisaged for its adoption;

Noting in addition with regret that only little progress has been made in ad hoc settlement of individual applications lodged with the Court before the delivery of the pilot judgment;

Recalling the obligation of every state, under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to abide by the judgments of the Court;

STRONGLY URGES once again the Ukrainian authorities at the highest political level to hold to their commitment to resolving the problem of non-enforcement of domestic judicial decisions and to adopt as a matter of priority the specific reforms in Ukraine’s legislation and administrative practice required by the pilot judgment;

FIRMLY INVITES the Ukrainian authorities to enhance their efforts in resolving the similar individual cases lodged with the Court before the delivery of the pilot judgment and to keep the Committee regularly informed of the solutions reached and of their subsequent implementation.

DECIDES to resume consideration of these cases at their 1108th meeting (March 2011) (DH), in the light of information to be provided by the authorities on the measures taken to comply with the judgments.