THIRD SECTION
\nDECISION<\/p>\n
Application no. 45340\/09
\nGeorgiy Vladimirovich PANOV
\nagainst Russia<\/p>\n
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 4\u00a0December 2018 as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n
BrankoLubarda, President,
\nPere Pastor Vilanova,
\nGeorgios A. Serghides, judges,
\nand Fato\u015fArac\u0131, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n
Having regard to the above application lodged on 31\u00a0July 2009,<\/p>\n
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the submissions in reply submitted by the applicant,<\/p>\n
Having deliberated, decides as follows:<\/p>\n
THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n The applicant, Mr Georgiy Vladimirovich Panov, was a Russian national, who was born in 1947 and lived in Norilsk.<\/p>\n On 6\u00a0December 2014 the applicant died. His son, Mr Roman Georgiyevich Popov, born in 1971 and living in Norilsk, expressed the intention to continue the proceedings before the Court.<\/p>\n The applicant was represented before the Court by Mr D.A. Boyev, a lawyer practising in Norilsk, and so is Mr R.G. Popov.<\/p>\n The Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented initially by Mr G.\u00a0Matyushkin, the Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, and then by his successor in that office, Mr M. Galperin.<\/p>\n A.\u00a0\u00a0The circumstances of the case<\/strong><\/p>\n The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.<\/p>\n The applicant was granted victim status in the criminal proceedings against a private person. On 13\u00a0March 2006 the Norilsk Town Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region ordered to return to the applicant a pair of trousers, a sweater and a leather jacket, which had been admitted as evidence in the criminal case. It appears that the judgment was not enforced.<\/p>\n On 12\u00a0February 2015 the applicant\u2019s representative informed the Court that on\u00a06\u00a0December 2014 the applicant had died. The lawyer further stated that he had informed the applicant\u2019s relatives of the applicant\u2019s complaint to the Court, and that the applicant\u2019s son, Mr R.G. Popov expressed a wish to maintain the application in his late father\u2019s stead.<\/p>\n On\u00a023 March 2015 the Court requested a copy of an authentic document issued by domestic authorities certifying that the applicant\u2019s son was the applicant\u2019s legal heir.<\/p>\n On 5\u00a0May 2015 Mr R.G. Popov submitted in reply that he had made a disclaimer of an inheritance for the benefit of his mother. Nonetheless, he had applied to a notary for a succession certificate. On 30\u00a0April 2015 the notary had issued a written refusal to produce the certificate. The refusal stated that, in line with Article\u00a01142 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the applicant\u2019s heirs had been his widow, daughter and son. The succession file contained the widow\u2019s acceptance of the succession and the daughter\u2019s and the son\u2019s statements of disclaimer of the inheritance for the benefit of their mother. With reference to Article\u00a01157 of the Code the notary reiterated that a disclaimer of an inheritance could not be altered or reversed and concluded that she was unable to issue a succession certificate, due to Mr R.G. Panov\u2019sdisclamer.<\/p>\n The applicant\u2019s son did not challenge the refusal in court proceedings.<\/p>\n No other relatives of the applicant have expressed a wish to maintain the application in the late applicant\u2019s stead.<\/p>\n B.\u00a0\u00a0Relevant domestic law<\/strong><\/p>\n Succession is regulated by Part\u00a03 of the Civil Code. The deceased\u2019s children, spouse and parents have priority in succession over other heirs (Article\u00a01141-42). An heir should claim and accept succession, as well as obtain a succession certificate from a public notary (Articles\u00a01152, 1162).<\/p>\n Article\u00a01157\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01 (Disclaiming an inheritance) provides that a heir has a right to disclaim an inheritance for the benefit of other persons or without an indication of a person for whose benefit the inheritance is rejected. A disclaimer of an inheritance cannot be altered or reversed (Article\u00a01157\u00a0\u00a7\u00a03).<\/p>\n COMPLAINT<\/strong><\/p>\n The applicant complained under Article\u00a06 of the Convention and Article\u00a01 of Protocol\u00a0No.\u00a01 thereto about the non-enforcement of the judgment of in his favour.<\/p>\n THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n The applicant complained under Article\u00a06 of the Convention and Article\u00a01 of Protocol\u00a0No.\u00a01 thereto about the non-enforcement of the judgment of in his favour, and his son maintained the complaint.<\/p>\n The Government objected to the applicant\u2019s son\u2019s standing, arguing that he had refused the succession and that action was irrevocable under the Russian law.<\/p>\n The Court notes that the applicant died after having lodged his application to the Court and that his son expressed a wish to maintain the claim. Where the applicant has died after the application was lodged, the Court has accepted that the next-of-kin or heir may in principle pursue the application, provided that he or she has sufficient interest in the case (see Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin C\u00e2mpeanu v. Romania [GC], no. 47848\/08, \u00a7\u00a097, ECHR 2014, with further references). Furthermore, in several Russian cases concerning non\u2011enforcement of court judgments in the applicant\u2019s favour, the Court recognised the right of the relatives of the deceased applicant to pursue the application (see Shiryayeva v.\u00a0Russia, no. 21417\/04, 13 July 2006, and Shvedov v. Russia, no.\u00a069306\/01, 20\u00a0October 2005).<\/p>\n The Court further reiterates, however, that it is for the heir who wishes to pursue the proceedings before the Court to substantiate his or her standing to do so (see Belskiy v.\u00a0Russia (dec.), no.\u00a023593\/03, 26\u00a0November 2009, and Streltsov and other \u201cNovocherkassk military pensioners\u201d cases v.\u00a0Russia, nos.\u00a08549\/06 and 86\u00a0others, \u00a7\u00a036, 29\u00a0July 2010).<\/p>\n It follows from the documents produced by the applicant\u2019s son that he had explicitly disclaimed the inheritance for the benefit of his mother, and that the disclaimer was not revocable or subject to any change. Accordingly, the applicant\u2019s son was not able to submit a document duly recognising him as heir in accordance with the Russian law. Therefore, he has not substantiated his standing to pursue the application in his late father\u2019s stead (see Belskiy, cited above; Rista and Others v.\u00a0Albania, nos.\u00a05207\/10 and 6\u00a0others, \u00a7\u00a034, 17\u00a0March 2016; and Koltakova v.\u00a0Russia (dec.), no.\u00a023558\/06, 17\u00a0January 2017).<\/p>\n Otherwise, the Court does not consider that \u201crespect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols\u201d requires the examination of the application, despite the applicant\u2019s death.<\/p>\n In these circumstances the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application and concludes pursuant to Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c) of the Convention that the application should be struck out of its list of cases.<\/p>\n For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,<\/p>\n Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c) of the Convention.<\/p>\n Done in English and notified in writing on 10 January 2019.<\/p>\n Fato\u015fArac\u0131\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 BrankoLubarda
\nDeputy Registrar\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 President<\/p>\n