FOURTH SECTION
\nCASE OF PAUL POPESCU v. ROMANIA
\n(Application no. 64162\/10)<\/p>\n
JUDGMENT
\nSTRASBOURG
\n6 February 2018<\/p>\n
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.<\/p>\n
In the case of Paul Popescu v. Romania,<\/strong><\/p>\n The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque, President, and Andrea Tamietti, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n Having deliberated in private on 16 January 2018,<\/p>\n Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/p>\n PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0The case originated in an application (no. 64162\/10) against Romania lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (\u201cthe Convention\u201d) by a Romanian national, Mr Paul Popescu (\u201cthe applicant\u201d), on 7 October 2010.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0The Romanian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented by their Agent, Ms C. Brumar of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant allegedthat the proceedings brought by him were unreasonably lengthy in breach of his rightsunder Article 6 of the Convention.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0On 10 July 2015 the above-mentioned complaintwas communicated to the Government and the remainder of the application was declared inadmissiblepursuant to Rule 54 \u00a7 3 of the Rules of Court.<\/p>\n THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n I.\u00a0\u00a0THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant was born in 1957 and lives in San Jose, the United States of America.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0\u00a0On 6 September2005 the applicant brought proceedings against the private companyX and a third party, seeking the recovery of property rightspertaining to land, both on his own behalf and on behalf of six other plaintiffs who were allegedly co-owners of the property.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0\u00a0Between 11 October 2005 and 24 March 2008 the Ploie\u015fti District Court (hereinafter referred to as \u201cthe District Court\u201d) held more than fifteen hearings in the case in order to allow the parties to add evidence to the file.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0\u00a0On 21 December 2005 the District Court ordered the applicant to inform it by 31 January 2006 of the home addresses of the other six plaintiffson whose behalf he had brought the proceedings. The applicant complied with the court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0\u00a0On 29 November 2006 the applicant informed the District Court on behalf of himself and the other six plaintiffs of the cancellation of the legal representation contract they had signed with their initial legal representative.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0\u00a0On 24 March and 21 April 2008 the District Court adjourned the proceedings on procedural grounds and in order to allow the applicant to add to the file the relevant documents proving that he and the other six plaintiffs were entitled to claim the land in question and that the applicant was authorised by the other plaintiffs to represent them. The court also noted that the proceedings would be suspended in accordancewith the relevant civil procedure rulesif the applicant failed to comply with the court\u2019s request to add the requisite documents.<\/p>\n 11.\u00a0\u00a0On 16 June 2008 the District Court suspended the proceedingsin accordancewith Article 242 \u00a7 1(2) of the former Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter referred to as the \u201cCCP\u201d \u2013 see paragraph 25below) on the grounds that none of the parties had attended the hearing scheduled for that date.<\/p>\n 12.\u00a0\u00a0On 26 January 2009 the District Court amended of its own motion the decision of 16 June 2008. It held that some of the parties had in fact attended the hearingof 16 June 2008. However, the proceedings hadhad to be suspended on the groundsthat, according to the available evidence,four of the other six plaintiffs haddiedprior to 2005 and the applicant had taken no steps to identify the heirs of the deceased parties in order to enable the court to summon them as parties to the proceedings.<\/p>\n 13.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant appealed on points of fact and points of law against both the decision of 16 June 2008 and that of 26 January 2009 (see paragraphs 11 and 12 above).<\/p>\n 14.\u00a0\u00a0On 8 October and 3 December 2009 the Prahova County Court (hereinafter referred to as the \u201cthe County Court\u201d) adjourned the aforementioned appeal proceedings brought by the applicant in order to allowthe private company X to prepare its defence and the applicant to submit proof of the steps he had taken to identify the home addresses of the other six plaintiffs, and to serve a summons onthe six plaintiffs by publishing it in a national newspaper.<\/p>\n 15.\u00a0\u00a0On 11 February 2010 the County Court allowed the applicant\u2019s aforementioned appeal against the District Court\u2019s decisions and ordered the reopening of the proceedings. It held that there was no evidence in the file that four of the other plaintiffs had died or that the first-instance court had adjourned the proceedings in order to allow the applicant to submit proof of those deaths. Also, the decision of 26 January 2009 to amend the decision of 16 June 2008 (see paragraph 12 above) had been unlawful.<\/p>\n 16.\u00a0\u00a0On 2 July 2010 the applicant asked the President of the District Court to order that court to start the re-examination of the case. He complained that even though the County Court had ordered the reopening of the proceedings in the case in February 2010, the District Court had still not resumed the examination thereof.<\/p>\n 17.\u00a0\u00a0On 14 October and 9 December 2010 and 3 March 2011 the District Court adjourned the proceedings on procedural grounds to allow the plaintiffs\u2019 legal representative to add documents to the file and to prepare his defence, and for the court to deliberate. In addition, it ordered the applicant to clarify whether the other six plaintiffswere still alive and, if not,to establish who were their heirs. The court further noted that the proceedings would be suspended according to the civil procedure rules if the applicant failed to comply with the court\u2019s request.<\/p>\n 18.\u00a0\u00a0On 8 March 2011 the District Court suspended the proceedings on the grounds that the applicant had failed to clarify whether the other six plaintiffs were still alive and if not who were their heirs. It noted that the applicant had made some attempts to obtain the requested information from the relevant domestic authorities, but he had failed to provide relevant information about the plaintiffs which would have enabled the authorities to identify them. Moreover, the summonses sent by the court to the known foreign addresses of the other six plaintiffs provided by the applicant had either not beenreceived by the recipients or had been returned because the intended recipients had been unknown at those addresses. The applicant appealed on points of fact and points of law against the decision.<\/p>\n 19.\u00a0\u00a0On 18 January and on 14 and 21 March 2012 the County Court adjourned the appeal proceedings in order to allow the six other plaintiffs to be publicly summonsed, and for the parties to make written submissions.<\/p>\n 20.\u00a0\u00a0On 28 March 2012 the County Court dismissed the applicant\u2019s appeal on points of fact and points of law against the District Court\u2019s decision of 8 March 2011 (see paragraph 18 above). It held, amongst other things, that the applicant had acted as the other six plaintiffs\u2019 representative without being able to prove that they were still alive or to identify their heirs, if such heirs existed. Since he was the one who had brought the proceedings, he had a duty to produce evidence in respect of the persons he was representing and was solely responsible for the way he had chosen to formulate his action before the court. The court was bound by the procedural framework set by the applicant. Since he had chosen to sign the application to the court both on his own behalf and on that of other persons, he should have been aware that he would be responsiblefor proving his status and his right to act as a representative.<\/p>\n 21.\u00a0\u00a0On 29 November 2012 the County Court dismissed the extraordinary appeal for a review of proceedings instituted by the applicant against the final judgment of 28 March 2012 as having been lodged out of time.<\/p>\n 22.\u00a0\u00a0On 11 March 2013 the County Court dismissed the extraordinary appeal forthe annulment of the proceedings instituted by the applicant against the final judgment of 28 March 2012 as ill-founded.<\/p>\n 23.\u00a0\u00a0On 23 May 2013 the District Court of its own motiondeclared the proceedings brought by the applicant on 6 September 2005 (see paragraph 6 above)to be barred by limitation on account of his inaction. It held that for more than a year the applicant had failed to make any request for the proceedings to be reopened. The applicant appealed on points of fact and points of law against the decision.<\/p>\n 24.\u00a0\u00a0By a final judgment of 27 March 2014 the County Court dismissed the applicant\u2019s appeal on points of fact and points of law against the District Court\u2019s decision of 23 May 2013(see paragraph 23 above). It reiterated the reasons provided by the first-instance court. It also held that the extraordinary appeals lodged by the applicant against the judgment of 28\u00a0March 2012 (see paragraph 20 above) had not put a stopto the bar by limitation, because they could not be considered as procedural acts aimed at reopening the proceedings.<\/p>\n II.\u00a0\u00a0RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW<\/p>\n 25.\u00a0The provisions of the CCP in force at the relevant time, read as follows:<\/p>\n Article 1551<\/p>\n \u201cA court may suspend the examination of a case by stating in its decision which duties have not been fulfilled in caseswhere it establishes that the normal continuation of the proceedings has been affected through fault on the part of the plaintiff as a result of the latter\u2019s non-fulfilment of a lawful duty or a dutyset by the court…<\/p>\n The examination of the case may be resumed at the request of a party when the duties mentioned in paragraph 1 have been fulfilled and the examination of the case can be lawfully continued…\u201d<\/p>\n Article 242<\/p>\n \u201cA court shall suspend the examination of a case:<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n 2. if none of the parties is present when the case is called out in court.<\/p>\n …\u201d<\/p>\n THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n I.\u00a0\u00a0ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 \u00a7 1 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n 26.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant complained that the length of the proceedings had been incompatible with the \u201creasonable time\u201d requirement laid down in Article 6 \u00a7 1 of the Convention, which, in so far as relevant, reads:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the determination of his civil rights and obligations …, everyone is entitled to a … hearing within a reasonable time by a … tribunal…\u201d<\/p>\n A.\u00a0\u00a0Admissibility<\/strong><\/p>\n 27.\u00a0\u00a0The Court notes that the application is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 \u00a7 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.<\/p>\n B.\u00a0\u00a0Merits<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0The parties\u2019 submissions<\/em><\/p>\n (a)\u00a0\u00a0The applicant<\/p>\n 28.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant contested the Government\u2019s submissions that the suspensions of the domestic proceedings by the domestic courts had been necessary and lawful, that the domestic authorities had examined the case without undue delays, and that he had failed to ask for the proceedings to be reopened.<\/p>\n 29.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant submitted that the arguments used by the first-instance court in order to suspend the proceedings in June 2008 had beendeemed invalid by the Prahova County Court (see paragraph 15 above). Moreover, the District Court had failed for several months to resume its examination of the case after the County Court had reopened the proceedings in February 2010 (see paragraphs 16-17 above). Furthermore, the domestic courts had used the same reasons to suspend the proceedings for a second time.<\/p>\n (b)\u00a0\u00a0The Government<\/p>\n 30.\u00a0\u00a0The Government submitted that the domestic proceedings brought by the applicant had lasted from 6 September 2005 to 27 March 2014 and that their overall lengthwas thereforeapproximately eight years and six months. However,the proceedings had been suspended for more than two years,from 8 March 2011 to 23 May 2013 (see paragraphs 18-23 above), because the applicant had failed to comply with the orders of the domestic courts and had not asked for the proceedings to be reopened. Consequently, the Government considered that the delay of more than two years could not count toward the overall length of the proceedings and that the domestic proceedings had therefore actually lasted forapproximately six years and five months for two levels of jurisdiction, which was a not unreasonable timespan.<\/p>\n 31.\u00a0\u00a0The Government argued that the domestic courts\u2019 decision to suspend the proceedings brought by the applicant had been both necessary and lawful given that the applicant had also acted as representative of six other plaintiffs and had failed to provide the requisite information concerning those plaintiffs. Also, according to the relevant civil procedure rules in force at the time, the domestic courts could not have reopened the proceedings of their own motion. In addition, the applicant had failed to take steps in order to comply with the orders of the domestic courts, even though he could have asked for the proceedings to be reopened as soon as he had obtained the requested information.<\/p>\n 32.\u00a0\u00a0The Government considered that the domestic authorities had acted diligently in examining the applicant\u2019s case andthat they could not be held responsible for unjustified delays or accused of being inactive. The overall length of the proceedings,namely eight years and six months,had been caused by the applicant\u2019s attitude because he had ignored the civil procedure rules when bringing the domestic proceedings, even though he had been represented by a lawyer of his own choosing.Moreover, the absence of procedural diligence by the parties was of particular importance given that the proceedings in question concerned a dispute between private parties and needed to be taken into account when calculating the length of proceedings.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0The Court\u2019s assessment<\/em><\/p>\n 33.\u00a0\u00a0The Court reiterates that reasonableness of the length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the circumstances of the particular case and with reference to the following criteria: the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicant and the relevant authorities, and what was at stake for the applicant in the dispute (see, among many other authorities, Frydlender v. France [GC], no. 30979\/96, \u00a7 43, ECHR 2000-VII).<\/p>\n 34.\u00a0\u00a0The Court notes that, in the current case, it is not disputed by the parties that the domestic proceedings brought by the applicant had begun on 6\u00a0September 2005 (see paragraph 6 above) and hadended with the final judgment of the Prahova County Court of 27 March 2014 (see paragraph\u00a024 above). Hence, they had lasted eight years six months and twenty-one days over two levels of jurisdiction.<\/p>\n 35.\u00a0\u00a0The Court notes that there were repeated procedural delays throughout the course of the proceedings. It appears that the applicant was responsible for some of these delays. In this connection the Court notes that between 28 March 2012 and 27 March 2014 the applicant seemed to have been inactive with regard to the ordinary proceedings (see paragraphs 20-24 above). Apart from the extraordinary appeals initiated by him\u2212 which had no effect on the ordinary proceedings becoming barred by limitation \u2012and the appeal against the decision of 23 May 2013 (see paragraphs 23-24 above), when the proceedings had already become barred by limitation,it does not appear that he complied with the Prahova County Court\u2019s decision of 28 March 2012 (see paragraph\u00a020 above) or that he asked for the ordinary proceedings to be resumed.<\/p>\n 36.\u00a0\u00a0That having been said, the Court notes that the domestic proceedings brought by the applicant concerning a dispute between private parties aboutproperty rightscannot be said to be complex. It further notes that between September 2005 and 11 February 2010 the first-instance court adjourned the proceedings repeatedly on procedural grounds and eventually decided to suspend those proceedings by relying on grounds which were considered invalid by the appellate court (see paragraphs 6-15 above). Moreover, even though the Prahova County Court issued an order in February 2010 for the proceedings in the case to be re-opened, the first-instance court had still not resumed the examination of the case in July 2010 (see paragraphs 16-17 above).<\/p>\n 37.\u00a0\u00a0In these circumstances, the Court considers that the length of the proceedings can only partially be explained by the applicant\u2019s occasional inactivity, in particular as far as the period from 28 March 2012 to 27 March 2014 is concerned. However, the remaining length of the proceedings is attributable to the competent courts which failed to deal with the case diligently (see, mutatis mutandis, G\u00fcm\u00fc\u015ften v. Turkey, no. 47116\/99, \u00a7\u00a024, 30\u00a0November 2004).<\/p>\n 38.\u00a0\u00a0Taking into account all the evidence before it, the Court finds that the length of the proceedings at issue does not satisfy the \u201creasonable time\u201d requirement.<\/p>\n 39.\u00a0\u00a0There has accordingly been a breach of Article 6 \u00a7 1 of the Convention.<\/p>\n II.\u00a0\u00a0APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n 40.\u00a0\u00a0Article 41 of the Convention provides:<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n A.\u00a0\u00a0Damage<\/strong><\/p>\n 41.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant claimed 43,600 Romanian Lei (RON) (approximately 9,636\u00a0euros\u00a0(EUR)) in respect of pecuniary damage for the alleged value of the property claimed by him. In addition, he claimed a portion of 7,600\u00a0US dollars (USD) (approximately EUR 6,967) for loss of revenue during his involvement in the proceedings. He also claimed a portion of the amount of EUR\u00a06,967 and an additional USD 10,000 (approximately EUR 9,167) in respect of non-pecuniary damage for the stressful experience and the time and effort expended during the domestic proceedings.<\/p>\n 42.\u00a0\u00a0The Government submitted that there was no causal link between the alleged violation of the Convention and the pecuniary damage claimed by the applicant. Moreover, the claim was speculative, excessive and unsupported by sufficient evidence.<\/p>\n 43.\u00a0\u00a0The Government further argued that the applicant\u2019s non-pecuniary damage claims were excessive. Moreover, the applicant had not clearly specified the causal link between the alleged length of proceedings and the non-pecuniary damage claimed. Furthermore, the finding of a potential violation could amount to sufficient just satisfaction in his case.<\/p>\n 44.\u00a0\u00a0The Court considers that the applicant has not shown the existence of a causal link between the violations found and the pecuniary damage claimed by him. Consequently, it rejects this claim.<\/p>\n 45.\u00a0\u00a0However, the Court accepts that the applicant suffered some non\u2011pecuniary damage as a result of the infringement of his rights under Article 6 of the Convention, which cannot be made good by the mere finding of a violation. Making an assessment on an equitable basis, it awards the applicant EUR 1,800 under this head, plus any tax that may be chargeable. This amount shall be converted into US dollars at the rate applicable at the date of settlement (see, mutatis mutandis,Hunt v. Ukraine, no.\u00a031111\/04, point 4 (a) of the operative part, 7\u00a0December 2006).<\/p>\n B.\u00a0\u00a0Costs and expenses<\/strong><\/p>\n 46.\u00a0\u00a0The applicant also claimedcosts and expenses incurred before the domestic courts and before the Court. He claimed RON 300 (approximately EUR\u00a066) for court-imposed fees paid following judgments delivered by Romanian criminal courts during criminal proceedings instituted by him against third parties, USD 7,600 (approximately EUR 6,967) for lawyer\u2019s fees paid for his representation during the domestic proceedings brought by him as well as during other sets of proceedings, and an unquantified amount for other fees paid to the domestic authorities, printing costs and for correspondence with the domestic authorities and the Court. He submitted copies of documents and contracts attesting to the payment of the above\u2011mentioned amounts. In addition, he submitted copies of documents and receipts attesting to the payment of RON 4,407 (approximately EUR\u00a01,040) for judicial stamp duty, expert fees and the annotation in the land register of the information concerning the existence of court proceedings with regard to the claimed property. Furthermore, he submitted copies of several receipts attesting to the payment of USD\u00a0270 (approximately EUR\u00a0247) in postal fees for the correspondence with the Court.<\/p>\n 47.\u00a0\u00a0 The Government contested these claims. They argued that the applicant had not submitted a breakdown of the number of hours worked by his legal representatives in order to support his claim for the lawyer\u2019s fees. Nor had he specified the amount claimed with regard to postal fees paid for the correspondence with the Court.<\/p>\n 48.\u00a0\u00a0According to the Court\u2019s case-law, an applicant is entitled to the reimbursement of costs and expenses only in so far as it has been shown that these have been actually and necessarily incurred and are reasonable as to quantum. In the present case, having considered the above criteria, the supporting documents submitted, the nature of the issue dealt with and its connection with the applicant\u2019s actual claims, as well as the fact that he must have incurred some printing costs, the Court considers it reasonable to award the sum of EUR 1,270 to cover the applicant\u2019s costs and expenses. This amount shall be converted into US dollars at the rate applicable at the date of settlement (see Hunt, loc. cit.).<\/p>\n C.\u00a0\u00a0Default interest<\/strong><\/p>\n 49.\u00a0\u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0Declaresthe application admissible;<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0Holdsthat there has been a violation of Article 6 \u00a7 1 of the Convention;<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0Holds<\/p>\n (a)\u00a0\u00a0that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, the following amounts,to be converted intoUS dollars at the rate applicable at the date of settlement:<\/p>\n (i)\u00a0\u00a0EUR 1,800 (one thousand eight hundred euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage;<\/p>\n (ii)\u00a0\u00a0EUR 1,270 (one thousand two hundred and seventy euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant, in respect of costs and expenses;<\/p>\n (b)\u00a0\u00a0that 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;<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0Dismissesthe remainder of the applicant\u2019s claim for just satisfaction.<\/p>\n Done in English, and notified in writing on 6 February 2018, pursuant to Rule\u00a077\u00a0\u00a7\u00a7\u00a02 and 3 of the Rules of Court.<\/p>\n Andrea Tamietti\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 Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque
\nEgidijus K\u016bris,
\nIulia Motoc, judges,<\/p>\n
\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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 President<\/p>\n