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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> LITVINOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 1850/10 (Judgment : Violation of Right to a fair trial Civil proceedings - Fair hearing)) [2017] ECHR 1093 (30 November 2017) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2017/1093.html Cite as: CE:ECHR:2017:1130JUD000185010, ECLI:CE:ECHR:2017:1130JUD000185010, [2017] ECHR 1093

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THIRD SECTION

 

 

 

 

CASE OF LITVINOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 1850/10 and 8 others -

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

STRASBOURG

 

30 November 2017

 

 

 

 

 

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

 




In the case of Litvinova and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Luis López Guerra, President,
          Dmitry Dedov,
          Jolien Schukking, judges,
and Liv Tigerstedt, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 9 November 2017,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2.  The applications were communicated to the Russian Government (“the Government”).

THE FACTS

3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4.  The applicants complained of the domestic courts’ failure to ensure their participation in hearings in the civil proceedings to which they were parties.

THE LAW

I.  JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS

5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

II.  THE GOVERNMENT’S REQUEST TO STRIKE OUT SOME APPLICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 37 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION

6.  The Government submitted unilateral declaration in respect of some of these cases which did not offer a sufficient basis for finding that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention does not require the Court to continue its examination of the case (Article 37 § 1 in fine). The Court rejects the Government’s request to strike the applications out and will accordingly pursue its examination of the cases (see Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, § 75, ECHR 2003-VI).

II.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION

7.  The applicants complained that their right to a fair hearing had been breached on account of the domestic courts’ failure to properly and timely notify them of hearings in the civil proceedings to which they were parties. They relied on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

Article 6 § 1

“In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ... everyone is entitled to a ... hearing within a reasonable time by [a] ... tribunal ...”

8.  The Court observes that the general principles regarding the right to present one’s case effectively before the court and to enjoy equality of arms with the opposing side, as guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention, have been stated in a number of its previous judgments (see, among many other authorities, Steel and Morris v. the United Kingdom, no. 68416/01, §§ 59-60, ECHR 2005-II).

9.  The applicants alleged that they had not received the summonses and/or were not informed in due time of the date and place of hearings in their cases. The Court reiterates that domestic courts must make reasonable efforts to summon the parties to a hearing (see Kolegovy v. Russia, no. 15226/05, § 42, 1 March 2012, and Babunidze v. Russia (dec.), no. 3040/03, 15 May 2007). Litigants must also take appropriate measures to ensure effective receipt of correspondence the domestic courts may send them (see Perihan and Mezopotamya Basın Yayın A.Ş. v. Turkey, no. 21377/03, § 38, 21 January 2014; Boyko v. Ukraine (dec.), no. 17382/04, 23 October 2007; and Darnay v. Hungary, no. 36524/97, Commission decision of 16 April 1998). Moreover, the Court has noted that a lack or deficiency of reasons in domestic decisions as regards the proof of receipt of summonses by the applicants, as well as the domestic courts’ failure to assess the necessity to adjourn hearings pending the applicants’ proper notification or to delve on the nature of their legal claims which could have rendered the applicants’ presence unnecessary cannot be made up ex post facto in the Court proceedings, for it cannot take the place of the national courts which had the evidence before them (see Gankin and Others v. Russia, nos. 2430/06 and 3 others, §§ 41-42, 31 May 2016).

10.  In the leading case of Gankin and Others v. Russia, cited above, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

11.  Having examined all the material submitted to it and lacking any evidence of proper notification of the applicants, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court finds that by proceeding to consider the merits of the applicants’ cases without attempting to ascertain whether they had been or should have been at least aware of the date and time of the hearings, and, if they had not, whether the hearings should have been adjourned, the domestic courts deprived the applicants of the opportunity to present their cases effectively and fell short of their obligation to respect the principle of fair trial enshrined in Article 6 of the Convention.

12.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

III.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

13.  Article 41 of the Convention provides:

“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”

14.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law, the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

15.  The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

1.  Decides to join the applications;

 

2.  Rejects the Government’s request to strike some of the applications out of the list;

 

3.  Declares the applications admissible;

 

4.  Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the unfairness of the civil proceedings;

 

5.  Holds

(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 30 November 2017, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

        Liv Tigerstedt                                                             Luis López Guerra

Acting Deputy Registrar                                                            President

 




APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention

(applicant’s absence from civil proceedings)

No.	Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant name Date of birth	Representative name and location	Nature of the dispute	First-instance hearing date Court	Appeal hearing date Court	Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant /household (in euros)[1]
1.	1850/10 16/12/2009	Nadezhda Vladimirovna Litvinova 09/08/1958		civil proceedings for recovery of an indebtedness, interest and court fees	06/04/2009   Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Court	16/06/2009   Sakhalin Regional Court	1,500
2.	7300/12 16/01/2012	Household   Roman Sergeyevich Zholudev 27/06/1959 Roman Sergeyevich Zholudev 10/09/1989	Nechin Vasiliy Vasilyevich Dmitrov	recognition of property title over a flat	08/06/2011   Dmitrov Town Court of the Moscow Region	28/07/2011   Moscow Regional Court	1,500
3.	18261/13 23/01/2013	Tatyana Vitalyevna Perepelitsyna 26/08/1957	Chernyy Sergey Aleksandrovich Armavir	reinstatement at work	16/02/2012   Armavir Town Court	24/04/2012   Krasnodar Regional Court	1,500
4.	50086/13 12/07/2013	Valentina Viktorovna Rybas 27/11/1949	Boyev Dmitriy Alekseyevich Norilsk	royalties dispute	10/09/2012   Norilsk (Talnakh district) Town Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region	14/01/2013   Krasnoyarsk Regional Court	1,500
5.	16778/14 07/02/2014	Yevgeniy Sergeyevich Mikhleyev 17/05/1990	Gazizova Yelena Sergeyevna Naberezhnyye Chelny	pecuniary damages action brought against the applicant by a state-owned military academy, from which the applicant had been dismissed	09/04/2013   Naberezhnyye Chelny Town Court of the Tatarstan Republic	15/08/2013   Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic	1,500
6.	58166/14 02/08/2014	Aladdin Mamed Ogly Mamedov 06/07/1966	Khakimova Patimat Magomedovna Moscow	civil claim against the applicant seeking court injunction to withdraw horses from public area of a gardening association of which the applicant is a member	01/03/2013   Savelovskiy District Court of Moscow	04/12/2013   Moscow City Court	1,500
7.	39327/16 22/06/2016	Sergey Igorevich Puklich 22/04/1973		Dispute for reinstatement in the post and compensation of damages	28/05/2015   Sovetskiy district court of Ryazan	05/08/2015   Ryazan regional court	1,500
8.	62111/16 18/10/2016	Diana Aleksandrovna Yalbayeva 15/07/1983		Dispute to recover legal expenses from lawyer for his failure to provide legal services.	22/01/2015   Central District Court of Barnaul of the Altai Region	06/05/2015   Altai Regional Court	1,500
9.	5751/17 05/01/2017	Svetlana Nikolayevna Zaytseva 20/02/1963		Civil proceedings about validity of the contract for selling the applicant’s room.	13/10/2015   Gubkinskiy District Court	28/12/2015   Court of Yamalo-Nenetskiy autonomous district	1,500

 

 




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[1].  Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.