Last Updated on May 3, 2019 by LawEuro
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 declarationsin 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 Degener Ksenija Turković
Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
| No. | Application no. | Lodged on | Applicant
Date of birth Place of residence |
Represented by
|
Other complaints | Amount proposed in Unilateral Declaration |
| 1. 1 | 32267/13 | 29/04/2013 | Rafał ZYCH
19/03/1976 Barczewo |
Yes | PLN 15,440 | |
| 2. 2 | 9823/14 | 22/01/2014 | Piotr PAKIEŁA
31/07/1978 Ciechanów |
Yes | PLN 10,480 | |
| 3. 3 | 7970/15 | 03/02/2015 | Ryszard BOGUCKI
27/04/1969 Herby |
Emilia MĄDRECKA | Yes | PLN 34,730 |
| 4. 4 | 10899/15 | 23/06/2015 | Zbigniew ŚWIĄTCZAK
21/03/1964 Sieradz |
Yes | PLN 4,680 | |
| 5. 5 | 12464/15 | 03/03/2015 | Marzena GRZEGORCZYK
20/06/1961 Warszawa |
Paweł OLEJNICZEK | Yes | PLN 9,290 |
| 6. 6 | 17347/15 | 10/11/2015 | Tomasz HIRSCH
23/03/1974 Lublin |
No | PLN 9,080 | |
| 7. 7 | 23482/15 | 17/07/2015 | Leszek ORŁOWSKI
26/06/1977 Poznań |
No | PLN 3,820 | |
| 8. 8 | 27589/15 | 28/05/2015 | Arkadiusz WARZYCHA
12/01/1965 Kłobuck |
No | PLN 8,000 | |
| 9. 9 | 34030/15 | 19/06/2015 | Filip Andrzej WEINBERG
10/07/1984 Iława |
Anna Weronika TETKOWSKA | No | PLN 10,080 |
| 10. 10 | 40337/15 | 07/08/2015 | Tomasz BŁASIK
18/07/1974 Kamińsk |
No | PLN 15,290 | |
| 11. 11 | 42073/15 | 22/10/2015 | Krzysztof SOCIK
17/07/1987 Stara Huta |
Yes | PLN 6,240 | |
| 12. 12 | 46824/15 | 07/09/2015 | Seweryn NIEDŹWIADEK
11/02/1985 Lublin |
No | PLN 12,230 | |
| 13. 13 | 49169/15 | 22/12/2015 | Jan DYTRYCH
24/07/1949 Legionowo |
Yes | PLN 10,160 | |
| 14. 14 | 50832/15 | 07/10/2015 | Adam WYSOCKI
24/09/1967 Barczewo |
No | PLN 12,480 | |
| 15. 15 | 52137/15 | 30/03/2016 | Robert CIEŚLAK
01/06/1977 Warszawa |
Yes | PLN 18,720 | |
| 16. 16 | 53344/15 | 19/10/2015 | Anna GALAS-NIEDŹWIEDŹ
11/04/1961 Wroclaw |
Yes | PLN 6,120 | |
| 17. 17 | 57548/15 | 10/06/2011 | Maciej LUBIŃSKI
11/04/1967 Warszawa |
Jolanta TURCZYNOWICZ-KIERYŁŁO | No | PLN 8,890 |
| 18. 18 | 57636/15 | 10/06/2011 | Remigiusz MINDA
05/05/1959 Warszawa |
Jolanta TURCZYNOWICZ-KIERYŁŁO | No | PLN 8,890 |
| 19. 19 | 58375/15 | 16/11/2015 | Ryszard WIELOCHA
06/08/1944 Koszalin |
Tomasz Janusz PSIUCH | No | PLN 40,560 |
| 20. 20 | 59362/15 | 20/11/2015 | Ernest UJAZDA
03/10/1968 Warszawa |
PLN 6,240 | ||
| 21. 21 | 60336/15 | 25/11/2015 | Krzysztof MASZTALSKI
04/11/1967 Ruda Śląska |
No | PLN 9,570 | |
| 22. 22 | 60915/15 | 24/11/2015 | Jacek KARABIOWSKI
05/07/1986 Lublin |
Emilia KARABIOWSKA | No | PLN 6,050 |
| 23. 23 | 61071/15 | 04/12/2015 | Andrzej MAKOWSKI
30/11/1974 Siemianowice Śląskie |
Olga LEŚNIK | No | PLN 26,680 |
| 24. 24 | 62967/15 | 04/12/2015 | Kamil OLSZEWSKI
19/01/1988 Kamińsk |
No | PLN 3,610 | |
| 25. 25 | 1306/16 | 19/12/2015 | Władysław PAWLIKOWSKI
15/01/1972 Świętochłowice |
No | PLN 7,800 | |
| 26. 26 | 1986/16 | 29/12/2015 | Piotr SKUTNIK
23/10/1987 Warszawa |
Yes | PLN 11,600 | |
| 27. 27 | 4806/16 | 14/01/2016 | Mariusz PAWELCZYK
03/05/1989 Korsze |
No | PLN 16,510 | |
| 28. 28 | 5579/16 | 19/01/2016 | Adam Władysław SIKORSKI
27/10/2005 Częstochowa |
Jacek BĘDKOWSKI | No | PLN 7,640 |
| 29. 29 | 8165/16 | 02/02/2016 | Krzysztof Maciej KISSON
20/05/1960 Warszawa |
Yes | PLN 18,850 | |
| 30. 30 | 8855/16 | 02/02/2016 | Małgorzata WORHACH
30/06/1960 Boynton Beach |
No | PLN 16,500 | |
| 31. 31 | 10825/16 | 12/02/2016 | Jarosław CZEREDYS
28/08/1964 Warszawa |
No | PLN 12,110 | |
| 32. 32 | 10881/16 | 01/04/2016 | Janina GURBAŁA
15/08/1928 Kraków |
Yes | PLN 7,020 | |
| 33. 33 | 12151/16 | 02/02/2016 | Artur ŁOŃSKI
13/08/1977 Warszawa |
No | PLN 17,780 | |
| 34. 34 | 13524/16 | 24/02/2016 | Artur ŁOŃSKI
13/08/1977 Warszawa |
No | PLN 8,800 | |
| 35. 35 | 13571/16 | 03/03/2016 | Grzegorz JAROWICZ
28/10/1978 Międzyrzecz |
No | PLN 7,800 | |
| 36. 36 | 15322/16 | 08/03/2016 | Stefan LIBAN
15/03/1946 London |
No | PLN 15,400 | |
| 37. 37 | 15867/16 | 14/03/2016 | Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956 Błonie |
Yes | PLN 5,720 | |
| 38. 38 | 16239/16 | 17/03/2016 | Zbigniew GAGAT
25/12/1964 Chorzów |
No | PLN 8,890 | |
| 39. 39 | 16852/16 | 18/03/2016 | Mirosław TKACZYK
09/01/1970 Katowice |
Yes | PLN 7,020 | |
| 40. 40 | 19609/16 | 24/03/2016 | Maciej Jerzy DOBROWOLSKI
03/01/1978 Warszawa |
Michal KOROLCZUK | No | PLN 7,570 |
| 41. 41 | 24018/16 | 23/04/2016 | Artur ZARZYCKI
19/03/1977 Warszawa |
No | PLN 10,370 | |
| 42. 42 | 25894/16 | 27/04/2016 | Wojciech Janusz KUCHARSKI
23/03/1986 Chełm |
No | PLN 4,240 | |
| 43. 43 | 26274/16 | 30/06/2016 | Łukasz GRUDA
29/01/1981 Rosdorf |
No | PLN 6,360 | |
| 44. 44 | 27241/16 | 04/05/2016 | Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956 Błonie |
Yes | PLN 9,360 | |
| 45. 45 | 32534/16 | 01/06/2016 | Piotr MIROŃCZUK
03/06/1969 Włodawa |
No | PLN 16,220 | |
| 46. 46 | 34133/16 | 10/06/2016 | Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956 Błonie |
Yes | PLN 6,360 | |
| 47. 48 | 36820/16 | 20/06/2016 | Gabriela KOPROWICZ
06/11/1989 Lubaczów |
Joanna GRABOWIECKA | Yes | PLN 3,900 |
| 48. 49 | 37336/16 | 14/06/2016 | Robert SMARDZEWSKI
14/06/1975 Lublin |
No | PLN 6,240 | |
| 49. 50 | 39113/16 | 29/06/2016 | Włodzimierz ARCIUCH
11/08/1986 Siedlce |
No | PLN 7,360 | |
| 50. 51 | 44876/16 | 18/07/2016 | Andrzej GNAŚ
13/07/1963 Chełm |
No | PLN 16,220 | |
| 51. 52 | 46125/16 | 02/08/2016 | Wiesław TARASIUK
12/12/1959 Chełm |
No | PLN 10,170 | |
| 52. 53 | 48228/16 | 10/08/2016 | Tomasz STODOLSKI
12/01/1976 Gdańsk |
No | PLN 7,800 | |
| 53. 54 | 51097/16 | 18/08/2016 | Michał SKIBIŃSKI
26/03/1989 Gdańsk |
Marcin LIPSKI | Yes | PLN 17,970 |
| 54. 55 | 51217/16 | 23/08/2016 | Jacek SZEWCZYK
29/01/1965 Tomaszów Mazowiecki |
No | PLN 28,320 | |
| 55. 56 | 51853/16 | 17/08/2016 | Edmund PUZDROWSKI
25/01/1956 Choczewo |
No | PLN 4,240 | |
| 56. 57 | 54130/16 | 07/09/2016 | Grzegorz Michał
SMOGORZEWSKI 12/01/1971 Warszawa
|
No | PLN 3,240 | |
| 57. 58 | 56011/16 | 05/12/2015 | Włodzimierz SŁOWIŃSKI
30/07/1956 Błonie |
Yes | PLN 16,720 | |
| 58. 60 | 60429/16 | 03/10/2016 | Maria WOJCIECHOWSKA
25/12/1951 Warszawa |
Yes | PLN 7,800 | |
| 59. 61 | 63055/16 | 18/10/2016 | Artur KOWALCZYK
09/07/1971 Warszawa |
No | PLN 29,200 | |
| 60. 62 | 63097/16 | 21/10/2016 | Artur KUJAWA
18/08/1971 Warszawa |
No | PLN 15,600 | |
| 61. 63 | 65996/16 | 05/11/2016 | Ryszard KORBAS
26/12/1953 Słubice |
Yes | PLN 18,720 | |
| 62. 64 | 70694/16 | 17/01/2017 | Danuta GRABSKA
10/07/1964 Radłów |
Zbigniew CICHOŃ | No | PLN 28,080 |
| 63. 65 | 70971/16 | 17/11/2016 | Janusz PALIAN
20/10/1962 Jaworzno |
No | PLN 6,250 | |
| 64. 66 | 76691/16 | 28/11/2016 | Piotr PIECHALAK
24/03/1973 Chorzów |
No | PLN 31,200 | |
| 65. 67 | 77315/16 | 28/11/2016 | Krzysztof MAĆKIEWICZ
21/01/1988 Warszawa |
Yes | PLN 4,200 | |
| 66. 68 | 1269/17 | 27/12/2016 | Jarosław MATEJUK
24/09/1968 Ruda Huta |
No | PLN 16,220 | |
| 67. 69 | 1537/17 | 07/12/2016 | Adam ZIMNY
09/06/1946 Kraków |
No | PLN 2,340 | |
| 68. 70 | 6438/17 | 13/01/2017 | Przemysław OSIŃSKI
21/01/1973 Gdańsk |
No | PLN 17,840 | |
| 69. 71 | 12664/17 | 23/01/2017 | Kazimierz IWANKIEWICZ
06/09/1949 Lipiany |
Yes | PLN 11,520 | |
| 70. 72 | 21324/17 | 10/03/2017 | Janusz NIEĆKO
09/01/1957 Łęczna |
No | PLN 30,580 | |
| 71. 73 | 27925/17 | 04/04/2017 | Helena MRÓZ
04/07/1933 Bydgoszcz |
Dorota KALINOWSKA | Yes | PLN 4,680 |
| 72. 74 | 29534/17 | 29/03/2017 | Andrzej MUSZYŃSKI
27/10/1984 Zamość |
No | PLN 6,000 | |
| 73. 75 | 33391/17 | 26/04/2017 | Adam KAZIMIERCZUK
11/03/1962 Płock |
No | PLN 16,390 | |
| 74. 76 | 34241/17 | 26/04/2017 | Marcin URBANEK
01/08/1976 Strzelce Opolskie |
Yes | PLN 4,240 | |
| 75. 77 | 38893/17 | 19/05/2017 | Jan ROSSA
13/04/1955 Mirków |
Yes | PLN 3,820 |
Leave a Reply