9.  The applicant was born in 1969 and lives in the town of Seyhan, within the administrative jurisdiction of the province of Adana. 10.  The facts surrounding the events of 5 October 1994 are disputed by the parties. 11.  The facts as presented by the applicant are set out in Part B below (see paragraphs 12-21). The Government’s submissions concerning the facts are summarised in Part C below (see paragraphs 22-23). Documentary evidence submitted by the applicant and the Government is summarised in Part D (see paragraphs 24-27 below) and Part E (see paragraphs 28-52 below) respectively. 12.  On 3 October 1994 Rehib Çabuk and Sefer Cerf were killed in Adana. They were, respectively, district leader and administrative board member of HADEP (Halkın Demokrasi Partisi, People’s Democracy Party), a pro-Kurdish political party. The applicant witnessed the killing and attended the funeral on 4 October 1994. 13.  On 5 October 1994, at about 11 a.m., while the applicant was sitting in the Erzurumlular Café in the Mutlu neighbourhood in Adana, two persons, who later identified themselves as policemen, entered the café. Both were from the anti-terrorism branch of the police and both were armed with pistols. They told the applicant to come out of the café. On leaving the café the applicant was put in a white Renault car, with the registration number 01 HC 644. 14.  There were two other police officers inside the car, both armed with MP-5 automatic weapons. The applicant’s elder brother Suphi Dizman, who was also in the café, asked the police officers why they were taking his brother away. The police told him that they wanted to ask his brother a number of questions and they would then return him to the café. 15.  The car drove in the direction of Kabaktepe and stopped in a deserted field. The applicant was taken out of the car. As soon as he got out, the police officers started to punch and kick him and to beat him with the butts of their guns. The police officers told the applicant that they had seen him at the funeral of Sefer Cerf and Rehib Çabuk the day before. They threatened him and told him that if he continued to be involved in such activities, his end would be like those of the dead HADEP members. 16.  The police officers questioned the applicant about a number of local people. The applicant was also forced to report the activities of local shopkeepers, who were allegedly selling the newspaper Özgür Ülke, a pro-Kurdish newspaper, and who were collecting money, presumably for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (hereinafter “the PKK”). The applicant was threatened that if he did not report the political activities of these shopkeepers regularly, he would be killed. 17.  The applicant denied that he was involved in such activities and protested that they had no reason to treat him like a criminal. He was then put into the car and driven towards the town. Before releasing him, the officers gave the applicant an address and ordered him to be there on the following Friday evening. 18.  When the applicant got home, his relatives took him to the hospital where it was established that his jaw bone had been broken and required surgery. 19.  The applicant, with the assistance of a lawyer, submitted a petition to the Adana Prosecutor’s office on 7 October 1994 and requested the Prosecutor to initiate criminal proceedings against the police officers who had ill-treated him. He gave a detailed account of the incident and described the physical features of the police officers in question. The applicant asked the Prosecutor to send him to the Forensic Medicine Directorate to obtain a medical report which could be used as evidence in the criminal proceedings. 20.  The report was obtained from the Adana Forensic Medicine Directorate on 7 October 1994 (for content see paragraph 27 below). 21.  The applicant received no replies from the Prosecutor. 22.  A medical report was issued by the Forensic Medicine Directorate on 7 October 1994 according to which the applicant was unable to work for a period of 25 days. 23.  The applicant made an application to the Adana Public Prosecutor on 7 October 1994. On 10 October 1994 the Adana Public Prosecutor commenced an investigation into the applicant’s allegations of ill-treatment under file no. 1994/29324. 24.  The following information appears from the documents submitted by the applicant. 25.  On 6 October 1994 the applicant submitted a petition to the Prosecutor’s office in Adana. The contents of this petition formed the basis of his submissions under Part B above (see paragraphs 12-20). He also informed the Prosecutor that he had been taken to hospital after having been released by the police. It had been established at the hospital that his jaw had been broken and required surgery. The applicant submitted the x-rays to the Prosecutor and told him that he wanted to press charges against the police officers. He finally asked the Prosecutor to be sent to the Forensic Medicine Directorate. 26.  On 7 October 1994 the applicant submitted another petition to the Prosecutor’s office in Adana and repeated the contents of his previous petition. He also described the physical features of the police officers in this petition. 27.  According to a medical report prepared by the Forensic Medicine Directorate in Adana, the applicant’s left jawbone had been broken. The report was based on an examination of the applicant as well as of x-rays. The report concluded that the fracture did not constitute a danger to life but would prevent the applicant from working for 25 days. 28.  The following information appears from the documents submitted by the Government. 29.  It appears from this decision that the Adana Prosecutor, after having received the applicant’s petitions, had decided on an unspecified date that he lacked jurisdiction to prosecute the police officers and had forwarded the investigation file to the Adana Administrative Council in order to obtain an authorisation to prosecute the police officers. 30.  On 24 November 1994 the Adana Administrative Council, which was presided over by the deputy Governor of Adana and consisted of six civil servants, found that there was insufficient evidence to open an investigation and decided to decline authorisation for the prosecution of Yaşar Soyyiğit, Hacı Kara, Mustafa Duman and Kadri Dursun, police officers who worked for the anti-terrorism branch of the Adana Police who had allegedly intimidated and ill-treated the applicant on 5 October 1994. 31.  The Administrative Council based its decision on the fact that the applicant, who claimed to have been ill-treated on 5 October 1994, had not asked for his transfer to the Forensic Medicine Directorate until 7 October 1994.  It appears from this decision that the investigation file had been forwarded to the Administrative Council by the Legal Affairs Department of the Adana Police Headquarters, together with a letter drawn up by that department on 18 November 1994. 32.  On 7 December 1994 the Disciplinary Board of the Adana Police decided not to impose any disciplinary measures on the police officers due to a lack of evidence establishing that they had committed the acts complained of. In this decision the applicant was reported as having stated that he had been beaten up by the police officers and that he had been given a medical report showing that he was unable to work for 25 days. The applicant had no complaints against anyone. The applicant’s brother apparently told the Disciplinary Board that his brother had been taken away from the café by the four officers but that he also did not have any complaints against anyone. 33.  In the decision of the disciplinary board, Yaşar Soyyiğit, one of the four police officers, was reported as having stated that he and his colleagues had carried out an identity check in the café during which they were suspicious about the applicant. They had asked him a number of questions in the café and left. They had not beaten him up. The remaining three police officers apparently confirmed the statement given by Yaşar Soyyiğit. 34.  On 31 May 1996 the Council of State quashed the Adana Administrative Council’s decision declining authorisation for the prosecution of the four police officers in so far as it concerned the offence of ill-treatment and upheld the decision not to grant authorisation to prosecute them for the allegation of intimidation. The Council of State further held that the four police officers should be tried before the Adana Criminal Court of First Instance. According to the Council of State, the medical report proved that the applicant had been ill-treated by the four police officers as alleged. 35.  The decision of the Council of State was forwarded to the Adana Prosecutor’s office on 7 August 1996. On 8 August 1996 the Adana Prosecutor forwarded the decision to the Adana Criminal Court of First Instance and asked that court to take the necessary action. 36.  On 11 August 1996 a preliminary hearing was held before the Ninth Chamber of the Adana Criminal Court of First Instance (hereinafter “the trial court”). The court decided to summons the defendants for the next hearing on 14 November 1996 and further decided to obtain the defendants’ identity cards and documents showing their criminal records. 37.  On 12 August 1996 the Adana Prosecutor sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice’s International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate (hereinafter “the Directorate”) and informed the Directorate of the decisions referred to above. The Prosecutor added that the criminal proceedings were pending before the trial court under case-file no. 1996/818 and that a hearing was scheduled for 14 November 1996. In this letter the Prosecutor referred to a letter sent by the Directorate to his office on 7 June 1996 and a reply sent by his office on 13 June 1996. 38.  On 21 August 1996 the trial court asked the Adana Prosecutor to obtain the defendants’ identity cards before the hearing on 14 November 1996. 39.  On 27 August 1996 the Directorate sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and referred to the application lodged by the applicant with the Commission. The Directorate informed the Ministry of the decisions referred to above and added that the criminal proceedings were pending before the trial court under case-file no. 1996/818. The Directorate also referred to a letter sent by the Ministry on 31 May 1996 and their reply of 26 June 1996. 40.  On 5 September 1996 the anti-terrorist branch forwarded to the trial court the identity document of one of the defendants, Yaşar Soyyiğit. 41.  On 14 November 1996 the hearing resumed before the trial court. Only two of the defendants, namely Yaşar Soyyiğit and Hacı Kara, were present in the court room. According to postal receipts, the remaining two defendants had also been summonsed. 42.  Both Mr Soyyiğit and Mr Kara told the trial court that they had gone to the café on the day in question and checked the identity card of the applicant. When they had established that he was not wanted by the authorities for any offence, they had returned the identity card to the applicant. They had not beaten him up. The defendants confirmed the accuracy of the statements they had made during the preliminary investigation. 43.  The trial court, noting that all defendants except Yaşar Soyyiğit had since been posted elsewhere, decided to send letters rogatory to the courts in whose jurisdiction the two absent defendants were living and asked those courts to take statements from them. The trial court also decided to send letters to the Registry Office for Births, Marriages and Deaths to ask for the birth registry records of the defendants. The trial court, noting that the applicant had “inadvertently not been summonsed”, decided to summons him for the next hearing on 29 January 1997. 44.  On 9 December 1996 the Karakoçan Criminal Court of First Instance, acting on the letter rogatory from the trial court, took a statement from Mustafa Duman, one of the two defendants who had failed to attend the hearing before the trial court on 14 November 1996. Mr Duman told the court that neither he nor any of his colleagues had ill-treated the applicant. According to Mr Duman, the applicant had been a PKK member and it was for this reason that he had made the allegations of ill-treatment against the police. 45.  On 25 December 1996 the Akçakale Criminal Court of First Instance, also acting on the letter rogatory from the trial court, took a statement from Kadri Dursun, the fourth defendant. Mr Dursun told the court that he did not remember the incident which, in any event, was just an allegation. He did not even know the applicant. 46.  During the hearing that was held before the trial court on 29 January 1997, the applicant confirmed the accuracy of the contents of his statement taken at the Police Headquarters previously. He further informed the trial court that he wanted to press charges against the defendants. The applicant’s brother Suphi Dizman also confirmed the accuracy of the contents of his statement taken at the Police Headquarters previously and added that the four police officers had beaten up his brother and broken his jaw as a result. 47.  The trial court adjourned the hearing until 27 March 1997 on account of the failure of the Akcakale court to forward Kadri Dursun’s statement in time. 48.  The hearings on 27 March, 4 June and 15 September 1997 had to be postponed on account of the failure of the authorities to submit to the trial court the identity card of Kadri Dursun and the criminal records of Mustafa Duman. 49.  At the hearing on 17 November 1997 the prosecutor was given additional time until 29 December 1997 to submit his observations. 50.  A final hearing took place on 29 December 1997. The defendants did not attend this hearing. The Prosecutor argued that, other than the applicant’s statement, there was no evidence to prove the allegation of ill-treatment. Furthermore, the applicant had obtained the medical report two days after the alleged event. The Prosecutor recommended to the trial court that the defendants be acquitted. 51.  The trial court, noting that the defendants had “vehemently denied the allegations” against them and taking into account the “fact that the medical report was issued two days after the alleged events”, concluded on 29 December 1997 that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the applicant’s injury had been caused by the defendants, and acquitted them. 52.  According to postal receipts submitted by the Government, the decision of the trial court was communicated to the defendants in March 1998.


5.  The applicant was born in 1949 and lives in Bad Dürheim, Germany. She was born and grew up in Schwarzenberg (Austria), but moved to Germany when she married. Her father held shares as a member of the Alpe Rotenbach Agricultural Association (Agrargemeinschaft - hereafter “AA”). 6.  The AA is a public law body, which owns several plots of land in Schwarzenberg. Membership of the AA is expressed in shares which comprise 86 grazing rights (Weiderechte) and ten hut rights (Hüttenrechte). 7.  After their father’s death in 1993, the applicant and her four sisters inherited his property. In the subsequent succession proceedings, the Bezau District Court transferred the title to a share of the deceased’s property to the applicant (Einantwortung) which included three and three-quarters grazing rights and one hut right of the AA Rotenbach. She also inherited three grazing rights relating to another AA, the Alpe Obere, from her father. 8.  On 14 April 1994 the Bregenz District Agricultural Authority (Agrarbezirksbehörde - DAA) rejected, according to the statutes of the AA, the applicant’s requests to be granted the necessary permits to make use of her grazing rights. These decisions were based on the fact that the applicant did not have her ordinary residence (ordentlicher Wohnsitz) in one of the court districts of Bezau, Dornbirn or Bregenz. The Land Vorarlberg has altogether six court districts. 9.  On 29 September 1994 and 3 October 1994, the Vorarlberg Regional Land Reform Board (Landesagrarsenat - “the Regional Board”) dismissed the applicant’s appeals. 10.  The Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s joint complaint for lack of prospect of success. Subsequently, the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint on 23 May 1996 because she did not fulfil the criteria set out in the statutes of the AA. 11.  At the beginning of 1997 the applicant sold the three grazing rights relating to the Alpe Obere to Mr Z., another member of this AA. 12.  On 10 December 1997 the applicant requested the DAA to hold that the provision of the statutes of the AA concerning the inheritance of grazing and hut rights was void and that no authoritative permit was necessary for the enjoyment of these rights. In the alternative she requested the DAA to grant her the permit. 13.  On 15 December 1997 the DAA rejected the applicant’s alternative request as res judicata, because it had already decided on the issue on 14 April 1994. The DAA did not decide on the two main requests. 14.  On 30 June 1998 the Regional Board, after having held a hearing, dismissed her appeal against this decision. 15.  On 7 October 1998 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the complaint. 16.  On 16 December 1999 the Administrative Court quashed the Regional Board’s decision, holding that European Community Law should be taken into account following Austria’s accession to the European Union. Furthermore, the DAA should have decided first on the applicant’s main requests, before being competent to decide on the alternative request. 17.  Subsequently, the Regional Board gave a decision on 21 June 2000, but failed to serve this new decision on the applicant. 18.  Thereupon, on 15 December 2000, the applicant filed a request for transfer of jurisdiction (Devolutionsantrag). 19.  On 7 March 2001 the Supreme Land Reform Board (Oberster Agrarsenat – Supreme Board) granted the applicant’s request for transfer of jurisdiction and quashed the DAA’s decision of 15 December 1997, because the DAA had not been competent to decide on the alternative request prior to the main request. 20.  Due to the DAA’s and the Reform Board’s failure to render new decisions, the applicant filed two further requests for transfer of jurisdiction on 27 September 2001and 18 December 2002. 21.  On 24 March 2003 the applicant’s counsel requested access to the applicant’s files at the Supreme Board. This request was met, with the exception of two documents. One concerned a legal expert opinion from the Auditor-General’s Department (Finanzprokuratur) to the Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt), concerning different proceedings initiated by the applicant against the State. The second document was a preparatory report by the Regional Board prior to one of its sessions. 22.  On 4 June 2003 the Supreme Board, after hearing the applicant’s counsel, again granted the transfer of jurisdiction and thus found itself competent to adjudicate the case. It rejected the applicant’s main requests put forward on 10 December 1997. After having declared the alternative request a res non judicata, the Supreme Board dismissed the request, because it found that the statutory provisions of the AA were not discriminatory under national or European Community law. It held that limiting the right to property according to the owners’ ordinary residence was in the common interest and constituted a pressing need in order to guarantee the good administration and cultivation of the land. Finally, the Supreme Board also dismissed the applicant’s request for inspection of two documents in the file. It reiterated that the first document, a legal opinion prepared by the Auditor-General’s Department and addressed to the Legal Service in the Federal Chancellery, concerned civil proceedings pending between the applicant and the Republic of Austria. It was in essence advice by the legal representative, namely the Auditor-General’s Department, to a party to the civil proceedings which it represented and for this reason confidential. The second document could not be inspected because, being a draft for a decision to be deliberated on by the Regional Board, it was covered by the confidentiality of deliberations (Beratungsgeheimnis).
On 23 July 2003 the applicant filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against the decision (Bescheid) of the Supreme Board of 4 June 2003 and, on 4 September 2003, the Constitutional Court granted suspensive effect to the complaint. 23.  The Supreme Board submitted observations on 18 September 2003. 24.  On 24 November 2003 the applicant replied to the observations. 25.  On 3 December 2003 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s request to be granted access to the two documents, for the same reasons as had been given by the Supreme Board. The Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s complaint for lack of prospects of success on 23 February 2004. It found that the decision of the Supreme Board did not breach the applicant’s constitutional rights. It was not unreasonable that the members of an AA found it necessary for the purpose of the common administration of their alp to provide in the statutes adopted by them a requirement of close residence of all its members. Subsequently, on the applicant’s request, the Constitutional Court transferred the case to the Administrative Court. 26.  The Administrative Court invited the applicant on 27 April 2004 to supplement her complaint and, on 11 June 2004 the applicant did so. The Supreme Board submitted observations on 3 August 2004. 27.   On 7 July 2005 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint. It found that the Supreme Board had acted correctly when rejecting the requests for a declaratory decision as that matter could also have been decided in proceedings on the applicant’s request of transfer of grazing rights. As to the decision on the alternative request, the Administrative Court found that the request for granting transfer of the grazing rights was not inadmissible as res judicata, because, following the accession of Austria to the European Union, the authorities had to take their decision not only on the basis of domestic but also EU law. Assuming that the transfer of shares of an AA was covered by the freedom of movement of capital, restriction of this freedom was justified if it pursued an aim in the general interest and applied in a non-discriminatory manner. 28.  Referring to the case-law of the European Court of Justice, the Administrative Court found that a requirement as to residence as laid down in the AA’s statutes was not a priori discriminatory in nature as it was intended to achieve the specific objectives of preserving agricultural communities, viable farms and the promotion of reasonable use of the available areas. AAs and the structure of cultivation created by them were means to achieve these objectives as they secured an efficient and reasonable cultivation and use of the available land. The active common use by several persons entitled to do so was a particular feature of an AA and it could function properly and in accordance with its aim, only with the active participation of its members. Such participation became all the more difficult the greater the distance between the land of the AA on the one hand and the place of residence of the entitled person on the other. In such circumstances, also a feeling of affinity for the community property and an understanding for necessary investments as well as other interests could be lost. 29.  The Administrative Court further considered that, for ensuring the proper administration and running of an AA, a less strict means for achieving this aim than a residence clause for members was not conceivable. Finally, the Administrative Court found that the fact that the person acquiring the right, but who was refused a permit by the agricultural authority in case of inheritance, had to transfer his or her share right at the usual local estimated value to persons entitled to an acquisition struck a fair balance between compensation for the material value of his/her share right and the public interest in securing that the use the land could be exercised within the agricultural community.
This decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 1 August 2005.


7.  On 17 August 1999 a burglary was committed and, among other items, a television and a video recorder were stolen. 8.  A preliminary investigation was opened against two other suspects on 17 August 1999 and against the applicant on 28 August 1999. On the same day the applicant confessed to having committed five burglaries with his accomplices between 29 January and 20 August 1999. 9.  On 31 August 1999 the applicant was charged with committing burglary on 17 August 1999 with his accomplices. 10.  The applicant gave another four statements to the investigator confessing to the other burglaries and providing additional information on how they had been perpetrated. 11.  On 17 September 1999 the preliminary investigation into the burglary of 17 August 1999 was joined to the preliminary investigations into the other four burglaries. 12.  On 7 October 1999 the charges against the applicant were amended to include the other four burglaries. 13.  The preliminary investigation was concluded on 15 October 1999 and on 21 December 1999 the Pazardzhik district public prosecutor’s office issued an indictment against the applicant and his two accomplices for the five burglaries. 14.  The Pazardzhik District Court conducted eleven hearings in the case, the last of which was held on 30 September 2004. 15.  The Court has not been informed of any subsequent developments in or of the outcome of these proceedings. 16.  On 26 August 1999 the police, with the approval of the public prosecutor’s office, searched the apartment in which the applicant and one of his accomplices had been living. The applicant had been renting the said apartment under a lease dated 2 March 1999. 17.  The search and seizure protocol indicates that the search was conducted in the presence of two witnesses. Various items were seized including three cameras, a hi-fi system, a dining set, gloves and a wrench. 18.  On 28 August 1999, under an order issued by an investigator and approved by the public prosecutor’s office, the applicant was arrested and detained for twenty-four hours beginning at 5 p.m. The grounds for his detention were that he was suspected of having committed the burglary on 17 August 1999 because the stolen television and a wrench that had allegedly been used to perpetrate the offence had been found in his apartment, and he had attempted to abscond. 19.  On 29 August 1999 the public prosecutor’s office extended the applicant’s preliminary detention for another two days until 5 p.m. on 31 August 1999. 20.  The applicant was placed in pre-trial detention as part of the decision of 31 August 1999 to charge him and his accomplices with the burglary on 17 August 1999 (see paragraph 9 above). That decision was issued by an investigator and was confirmed later in the day by the public prosecutor’s office. In ordering the applicant’s pre-trial detention, the investigator referred to his alleged lack of a permanent address, the fact that he had committed a number of other burglaries and, in general terms, the risk that he might abscond, re-offend or obstruct the investigation. 21.  The applicant’s pre-trial detention was confirmed in the decision of 7 October 1999 to amend the charges against him (see paragraph 12 above). That decision was issued by an investigator without any indication that it was subsequently confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office. In ordering the applicant’s pre-trial detention, the investigator referred to the lack of a permanent address, the fact that he had committed a number of other burglaries and, in general terms, his personality, the gravity of the offences and the risk that he might abscond. 22.  The report of 15 October 1999 concluding the preliminary investigation (see paragraph 13 above) indicated that the applicant was in pre-trial detention. 23.  In his submissions to the Court, the applicant stated that he had appealed against the decision to order pre-trial detention on 8 October 1999. In his appeal, he had argued, inter alia, that there was no risk of him obstructing the investigation as it had effectively been completed, that he had made a full confession, that he had a permanent address and that his detention had not been ordered by a court, in violation of the Convention. In his submissions to the Court, the applicant further claimed that, because of a delay in scheduling a hearing for the examination of his appeal, on 18 October 1999 he had filed a complaint to that effect with the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice. This purportedly led to a hearing being scheduled for the very next day, 19 October 1999, to which the applicant was summoned at very short notice, while his counsel had found out about it only by chance and had not had time to prepare for the hearing or to call witnesses. 24.  The Government, on the other hand, presented the Court with a copy of the applicant’s appeal dated by the Pazardzhik District Investigation Service as having been deposited only on 18 October 1999. 25.  On 19 October 1999 the appeal was examined by the District Court, which dismissed it on the grounds, inter alia, of the applicant’s prior criminal record and lack of employment, the gravity of the offences and the fact that he did not appear to have a permanent address, as he had been living in rented apartments in different cities and could not provide the permanent address of his next of kin. 26.  On 5 November 1999 the applicant filed another appeal against his detention and requested that bail be set. He maintained that his continued detention was in violation of the Convention, that he had a permanent address and that there was no risk that he would abscond, obstruct the investigation or re-offend. 27.  A report from the Pazardzhik Prison governor dated 9 November 1999 was presented to the District Court which certified that the applicant had thus far been detained for a period of two months and twelve days calculated from 28 August to 10 November 1999. 28.  The District Court examined the applicant’s appeal on 10 November 1999. At the hearing the applicant presented a copy of his rental agreement and called a witness, who informed the court that he would put the applicant up and pay his bail. Taking this into account, the District Court found in favour of the applicant and ordered his release on bail of 400 Bulgarian levs. The release was to be effected once a recognizance had been provided. In reaching its decision the court referred, inter alia, to the fact that the applicant had been rehabilitated in respect of his previous convictions, that he had an address at which he could be contacted and that there was insufficient evidence that he might abscond, obstruct the investigation or re-offend. As evidenced by a bank receipt, the recognizance was deposited on 22 December 1999. 29.  The indictment of 21 December 1999 (see paragraph 13 above) indicated that the applicant had been in pre-trial detention since 31 August 1999 and that recognizance had still not been provided. 30.  A communiqué from the Pazardzhik Prison governor, dated 27 December 1999, was sent to the District Court to certify that the applicant had been released on 21 December 1999. However, the original text of the communiqué indicated 22 December as the release date which had been changed to 21 December by hand. 31.  The applicant said that he had been detained at the Pazardzhik Regional Investigation Service detention facility from 28 August to 31 October 1999 where the cells were small, overcrowded and below street level. There was no natural light or fresh air and a strong, unbearable smell in the cells. Quite often there were rodents and cockroaches. A bucket was provided for sanitary needs. There was no hot water or soap. The applicant was not allowed out of his cell for exercise. The food provided was of insufficient quantity and substandard. The applicant was not allowed to read newspapers or books.
(b)  Pazardzhik Prison 32.  The applicant stated that he was detained at the Pazardzhik Prison for about two months from 1 November 1999 onwards where the conditions were slightly better than in the Pazardzhik Regional Investigation Service detention facility. Similarly, though, the food was insufficient and of the same inferior quality; the cells were small and overcrowded; the light was poor and a bucket was provided for sanitary needs. Limited exercise was provided in the prison yard.
(c)  Declaration 33.  The applicant’s description of the conditions at the above facilities is corroborated by the signed declaration of another detainee, Mr R. Dobrev. 34.  On 18 April 1998 the applicant was arrested in a block of flats in the town of Montana where a burglary had been committed. He was questioned by the police and released. 35.  At the time, the applicant was living in Montana and so was able to give the authorities his address in that town. In the summer of 1998 he moved to Plovdiv. 36.  On 11 February 1999 the authorities opened a preliminary investigation against the applicant in relation to the burglary in Montana. 37.  On 15 October 1999 the authorities charged the applicant with the burglary in Montana and ordered that he be placed in pre-trial detention. The decision was issued by an investigator and confirmed later in the day by the public prosecutor’s office. In ordering the applicant’s pre-trial detention, the investigator referred to his “personality”. As the authorities were unable to find the applicant at his Montana address, an arrest warrant for his detention was issued on the same day, 15 October 1999. 38.  The preliminary investigation in relation to the burglary in Montana was suspended on 18 October 1999. 39.  On 23 May 2000 the applicant was arrested in Plovdiv on the basis of the Montana arrest warrant. He was then transferred to the Montana Regional Investigation Service. 40.  The preliminary investigation in relation to the burglary in Montana was resumed on 29 May 2000. It is unclear when the applicant was formally charged. 41.  The preliminary investigation was completed on an unspecified date and on 5 June 2000 the investigator in charge forwarded the case file to the public prosecutor’s office with a recommendation for the applicant to be indicted for the burglary in Montana. 43.  In a decision of 22 June 2000 the Montana Regional Court found in favour of the applicant and released him on condition that he did not leave his place of residence without the authorisation of the public prosecutor’s office. The decision became final and the applicant was released on 26 June 2000. 44.  On 11 September 2000 the Montana district public prosecutor’s office discontinued the preliminary investigation against the applicant in respect of the Montana burglary for lack of evidence. The restriction imposed on the applicant not to leave his place of residence without the authorisation of the public prosecutor’s office was also lifted. 45.  The decision of the public prosecutor’s office was confirmed by the Montana District Court on 21 September 2000. 46.  The applicant was detained at the Montana Regional Investigation Service detention facility from 23 May to 26 June 2000. 47.  He described the cells as overcrowded and lacking natural light and fresh air. The food was of insufficient quantity and substandard. He was not allowed to read newspapers or books or to go out of his cell for exercise.


5.  The applicant was born in 1957 and lives in Bijeljina. 6.  From 1979 until 1992 she worked as an accountant in a socially-owned catering company (“the company”) in Bijeljina, in what is today the Republika Srpska. During the 1992-95 war the company dismissed all its employees of Bosniac and Croat origin, including the applicant. The relevant decision reads as follows:
“Given the special nature of the services performed by the company, all employees of Bosniac and Croat origin should no longer come to work from 22 July 1992”. 7.  Following unsuccessful civil proceedings pursued by the applicant against the company, on 4 May 2000 she appealed to the Human Rights Chamber (a domestic human-rights body set up under Annex 6 to the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace). 8.  In 2002 the company was privatised. 9.  On 27 June 2007 the Constitutional Court (which inherited the cases of the Human Rights Chamber) ordered the Republika Srpska (one of the two Entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina) the following: first, to secure the applicant’s reinstatement within three months of the date of delivery of that decision; second, to pay her outstanding salary for the period from 13 December 1996 (when the applicant initiated civil proceedings against the company) until 27 June 2007, together with default interest at the statutory rate and all work-related benefits, as well as to continue to pay the applicant her salary and all work-related benefits until her reinstatement; and third, to pay the applicant 20 convertible marks (BAM) per working day starting from the date of delivery of that decision until her reinstatement. The Republika Srpska was to pay default interest on the above amounts at the annual rate of ten percent from the expiry of the three-month period until settlement. 10.  On 23 August 2007 the Republika Srpska Government transmitted the decision of 27 June 2007 to the company for enforcement. On 25 September 2007 the company informed the Republika Srpska Government that the decision could not be enforced because the applicant’s post no longer existed. It claimed, furthermore, that it was not its responsibility to enforce the decision since it had not been a party to the proceedings before the Constitutional Court. On 23 October 2007 the Republika Srpska informed the company that, in accordance with Rule 56 of the Rules of the Constitutional Court (see paragraph 15 below), it was indeed the company’s duty to enforce the decision of 27 June 2007. 11.  On 15 June 2010 the Republika Srpska paid the applicant BAM 16,807.47 in respect of the third order from the Constitutional Court’s decision for the period until 10 June 2010 (the principal debt in the amount of BAM 13,380 and default interest on that sum in the amount of BAM 3,427.47). It would appear that it has continued to pay the amount of BAM 20 per working day since then. 12.  On 8 December 2010 the Constitutional Court held that the third order from its decision of 27 June 2007 had been enforced. It further held that the first order had not been enforced, but that its non-enforcement was justified. In this connection, it relied on the reasoning which the company had provided to the Republika Srpska Government (see paragraph 10 above). Lastly, the Constitutional Court did not say anything as regards the second order. 13. At its session of 9 March 2011 the Republika Srpska Government concluded that it was the company’s responsibility to enforce the Constitutional Court’s decision of 27 June 2007, and not the responsibility of the Republika Srpska.


5.  The applicant was born in 1961 and lives in Chervonograd, Lviv region, Ukraine. 6.  On 30 November 1998 several schools organised a collective visit by pupils to a local cinema, which was owned by the municipal company E., for a film showing. The applicant's daughter, Ms Galyna Igorivna Krivova, born in 1985, was among the pupils who visited that cinema. While the first group of pupils was still watching the film, another group of pupils for the next showing entered the auditorium. As a result of a lack of control of entry to the auditorium during the film, there was a stampede in which four children were trampled to death and fourteen children, including the applicant's daughter, received varying degrees of injury. The applicant's daughter, in particular, was diagnosed with, inter alia, severe post-traumatic hypoxic damage to the central nervous system (посттравматичне постгіпоксичне ураження центральної нервової системи важкого ступеню), a right sided pneumothorax, and other injuries. According to the applicant, her daughter was in a coma for two months. 7.  On 17 January 1999 the applicant's daughter was classified as temporarily Category 1 disabled. Three years later, on 17 January 2002, she was classified as permanently disabled. 8.  The applicant's daughter underwent inpatient medical treatment at least until 18 February 1999, after which she periodically had medical treatment and rehabilitation therapy. 9.  By a judgment of 13 March 2004 the Chervonograd Town Court (“the Town Court”) declared the applicant's daughter incapacitated. Apparently that judgment became final and on 29 April 2004 the Chervonograd Town Council appointed the applicant as the legal guardian of her disabled daughter. 10.  At the present time the applicant's daughter still suffers the consequences of post-traumatic consequences and needs medical assistance and nursing. 11.  On 30 November 1998 the Prosecutor's Office instituted criminal proceedings and on an unspecified date indicted S., the head of the E. company (it appears from the submitted documents that criminal proceedings against other persons were also instituted but were subsequently abandoned for various reasons). 12.  On 2 December 1998 a medical expert reported on the aforesaid injuries to the applicant's daughter and identified them as serious. 13.  Meanwhile, on 1 December 1998 a special administrative committee composed of nine experts was set up to investigate the accident of 30 November 1998. On 10 December 1998 that committee drew up a report which recommended that six persons be dismissed and five others subjected to disciplinary sanctions. 14.  According to the applicant, the pre-trial investigation was completed by 22 September 2000 and the case was transferred to the Town Court. 15.  On 20 March 2001 the applicant lodged a civil claim against S., seeking compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage. Five other claims were also lodged with the court by other victims. 16.  On 10 October 2003 the Town Court found S. guilty of abuse of authority and forgery and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment. The court also banned S. from holding managerial positions for one year. As to the civil claims, the court allowed them in part, awarding, in particular, the applicant 15,000 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH; about 2,464.91 Euros (EUR) at the material time) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be paid by S. 17.  On 27 April 2004 the Lviv Regional Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”) quashed that judgment because of procedural shortcomings of the trial before the first-instance court. On 1 July 2004, having held a re-trial, it found S. guilty of forgery in office (he had forged the documents stating that he had taken necessary accident prevention measures and instructed his subordinates) and negligence that had had serious consequences, finding that the cinema personnel had not been instructed and lacked relevant expertise, the auditorium had not been properly equipped and the cinema tickets had been sold without indication of time, row and seat. The court thus sentenced S. to five years' imprisonment and banned him from holding managerial positions for three years. However, in view of the Amnesty Act, the court exempted S. from these punishments. Finally, the court awarded the applicant UAH 143,556.69 (about EUR 22,771.80) in respect of pecuniary damage and UAH 12,000 (about EUR 1,903.51) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be paid by Chervonograd Town Council, as well as UAH 6,000 (about EUR 951.75) in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be paid by S.
On the last-mentioned day the Court of Appeal issued a special ruling (окрема постанова) informing its head and the head of State Judges' Administration of the delays in the case caused by the first-instance court. 18.  On 18 January 2005 the Supreme Court of Ukraine amended the judgment of 1 July 2004, replacing the amnesty with statutory limitation, as the reason for S.'s exemption from the punishment. The court also quashed the judgment in part related to the civil claims, casting doubts on the liability of Chervonograd Town Council. Accordingly, it remitted that matter for fresh consideration. 19.  It appears from the documents submitted that, at this stage of the proceedings, the applicant and another civil claimant requested the Court of Appeal to join to the proceedings a number of legal persons (such as the schools which had organised the pupils' collective visit to the cinema, the E. company, the local department of education, etc.). For these reasons, on 31 March 2005 the Court of Appeal decided to remit the case to the Town Court. 20.  Subsequently, a clinic which had treated the applicant's daughter brought its claim against the defendants and joined the proceedings; the other claimants (some other victims of the accident) withdrew their claims as being settled extra-judicially. In the course of the proceedings the claimants modified their claims on several occasions. 21.  On 31 March 2008 the Town Court found in part for the applicant and other civil claimants. In particular, it ordered the Chervonograd Town Council, the education and culture departments of the Chervonograd Town Executive Committee and S. to pay the applicant, who was acting on her own behalf and on behalf of her daughter, in the specified proportions the total amount of UAH 85,411.97 (about EUR 11,033.40 at the material time) in respect of the care, medical, legal and other expenses she had incurred from the date of the accident to 1 April 2008 and 175% of the statutory minimum salary[1] after 1 April 2008, monthly. Additionally, the court awarded the applicant the total amount of UAH 58,500 (about EUR 7,556.96 at the material time) in respect of non-pecuniary damage to be paid by Chervonograd Town Council and the education and culture departments of the Chervonograd Town Executive Committee. The court also awarded damages to other victims of the accident, as well as to the clinic in reimbursement of medical and other expenses for treating the applicant's daughter. 22.  On 4 March 2009 the Court of Appeal allowed the defendants' appeals in part and quashed the judgment in part concerning the reimbursement to the clinic of medical and other expenses for treating the applicant's daughter because it had been claimed by the applicant, not the clinic, and the applicant's legal expenses regarding the publication in a newspaper of details of the court's hearings; consequently, it remitted these parts of the case for fresh examination. It also reduced the awards to other victims of the accident and upheld the remainder of the judgment. 23.  On 14 August 2009 the Supreme Court of Ukraine rejected the requests for leave to appeal in cassation lodged by the Chervonograd Town Council and the education and culture departments of the Chervonograd Town Executive Committee. 24.  Apparently, the proceedings in the remitted part are still pending before the first-instance court. 25.  On 6 July 2009 the State Bailiffs' Service instituted proceedings to enforce the judgment of 31 March 2008, as amended on 4 March 2009. 26.  The Chervonograd Town Council and the education and culture departments of the Chervonograd Town Executive Committee requested adjournment of the enforcement for six months, referring to a lack of relevant funds. On 28 September 2009 the Town Court allowed these requests. 27.  On 1 December 1998 the victims of the accident were paid ex gratia by the local authorities the total amount of UAH 30,000, out of which the applicant was paid UAH 1,500 (about 394.74 United States Dollars at the material time). She was further paid:
- on 26 January 1999 – UAH 2,000 (about EUR 438.54);
- on 5 March 1999 – UAH 12,000 (about EUR 2,789.21);
- on 23 September 1999 – UAH 238 (about EUR 50.51);
- on 2 September 2004 – UAH 2,000 (about EUR 300.39).


4.  The applicant was born in 1949 and lives in Warszawa. 5.  On 9 June 1993 the applicant lodged with the Warszawa District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) an application for division of matrimonial property. She paid the relevant court fees on 9 November 1993. 6.  Between 9 June 1993 and 21 February 2003, the District Court scheduled 28 hearings, 6 of which were adjourned due to the failure of the applicant’s husband to appear; only two hearings were scheduled in 1996, no hearing was scheduled between 8 December 1997 and 15 June 1999 and two hearings were scheduled in 2000. 7.  On 5 March 2003 the Warszawa District Court delivered a partial decision (postanowienie częściowe) on the parties’ respective shares in the matrimonial property. 8.  Between 4 August 2004 and 16 April 2008, the District Court scheduled 13 hearings, 3 of which were adjourned. No hearing was held in 2006. 9.  On 23 June 2008 the Warszawa District Court gave a decision. The applicant appealed. The proceedings are pending before the second-instance court. 10.  On 1 June 2006 the applicant lodged with the Warszawa Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) a complaint under section 5 of the Law on 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki) (“the 2004 Act”) which entered into force on 17 September 2004. 11.  She sought a ruling declaring that the length of the proceedings before the Warszawa District Court had been excessive and an award of just satisfaction in the amount of 10,000 Polish zlotys (PLN) (approx. 2,500 euros (EUR)). 12.  On 4 August 2006 the Warszawa Regional Court gave a decision. The court held that the 2004 Act did not have retroactive effect and, consequently, examined the applicant’s claim only in respect of the period between the entry into force of the 2004 Act on 17 September 2004 and the date on which the complaint had been lodged. The court found that, during that part of the proceedings, there had been some periods of inactivity for which the District Court had been responsible. The court awarded the applicant PLN 2,000 (approx. EUR 526 euros) in just satisfaction.


8.  The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Turkey. 9.  On 26 July 1995 the Vorarlberg Federal Police Directorate (Sicherheitsdirektion) issued a residence prohibition against the applicant who was then living in Austria. On 5 March 1996 the applicant filed a complaint with the Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) and requested the Administrative Court to grant suspensive effect to his complaint. At the same date he filed an application for re-instatement into the proceedings as the legal time-limit for filing a complaint had expired. 10.  Meanwhile, on 29 February 1996 the Bregenz District Administrative Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) issued a provisional penal order against the applicant, imposing a fine under the Aliens Act, as he had not complied without unreasonable delay with the residence prohibition issued against him on 26 July 1995 and had been unlawfully staying in Austria. 11.  The applicant, assisted by counsel, filed an objection (Einspruch) against this decision. 12.  On 29 April 1996 the District Administrative Authority issued a penal order (Straferkenntnis) confirming its previous decision and imposing a fine of approximately 200 euros (EUR) on the applicant. 13.  On 15 May 1996 the applicant appealed to the Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat - IAP). He submitted that he had commissioned his counsel to file a complaint against the residence prohibition but that the latter had accidentally not done so in time. He had now filed a complaint against the residence prohibition with the Administrative Court and had requested that suspensive effect be granted upon this complaint. He argued that until the Administrative Court’s decision upon this latter request he was still allowed to stay in Austria. The applicant also requested that an oral hearing be held in which he, his counsel and a representative of the District Administrative Authority should be heard. 14.  On 2 October 1996 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s application for re-instatement into the proceedings concerning the residence prohibition and rejected the applicant’s complaint as belated. 15.  On 14 February 1997 the applicant was expelled to Turkey. 16.  On 21 May 1997 the IAP summoned the applicant and his counsel to an oral hearing in the administrative criminal proceedings concerning the fine under the Aliens Act scheduled for the afternoon of 11 June 1997. The summons, which indicated that the applicant could either appear in person or send his counsel, was addressed to the applicant’s counsel. It stated that the hearing would be conducted in the applicant’s absence if he failed to appear. 17.  On the morning of 11 June 1997 the applicant’s counsel informed the IAP that the applicant, in complying with the residence prohibition, had meanwhile moved to Turkey and could therefore not participate in the hearing in the afternoon. Referring to the applicant’s rights under Article 6 of the Convention he requested that the hearing should be adjourned sine die. 18.  On the afternoon of 11 June 1997 the hearing took place in the absence of the applicant but in the presence of his counsel, who informed the IAP that he had not informed the applicant of the hearing as he considered this to be the IAP’s task. Referring to the applicant’s rights under Article 6 of the Convention, counsel requested again an oral hearing in the presence of the applicant. 19.  On 18 July 1997 the IAP quashed the penal order insofar as it concerned the charge of having stayed in Austria without a valid residence permit, but maintained the conviction as regards the offence of not having complied with a residence prohibition without undue delay and reduced the fine to approximately EUR 110. It noted that the applicant was only guilty of the offence of not complying with a residence prohibition because the other offence could only be committed if no residence prohibition had been issued. As regards the request for the adjournment of the hearing, the IAP found that the applicant’s interests had been taken care of by his counsel and that his presence had therefore not been necessary, all the more as the appeal concerned questions of law and not of fact. 20.  On 12 August 1997 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court in which he complained inter alia that the IAP had convicted him in absentia. 21.  On 27 November 1997 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s case for lack of prospect of success and transmitted the case to the Administrative Court. 22.  On 19 May 1998 the applicant supplemented his complaint to the Administrative Court. He submitted inter alia that the IAP had breached procedural requirements as it should have heard him in person - in which case he would have stated as a defence that he had been promised orally by the Vorarlberg Public Security Authority to tolerate his further stay in Austria. 23.  On 25 August 1998 the IAP submitted its observations in reply. It stated, inter alia, that in the proceedings before it neither the applicant nor his counsel had ever relied on an undertaking given by the Public Security Authority so the IAP had no reason to explore this avenue, which moreover, was in contrast to other statements made in the proceedings. 24.  On 1 July 1999 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint. As regards the complaint that the IAP had held its hearing in the applicant’s absence, the Administrative Court found that it could only quash a decision if an essential procedural defect had occurred. Whether a procedural defect was essential had to be shown by the complainant. The applicant had failed to produce such evidence. In his appeal the applicant had argued that it was common administrative practice that a person who had filed a complaint with the Administrative Court against a residence prohibition and had requested suspensive effect to his complaint was allowed to stay in Austria until the Administrative Court had decided on this latter request. Such an argument did not concern a statement of facts which would make it necessary that its author be heard in person. Moreover there was nothing to show that the applicant could not have instructed his counsel even after having left Austria. Thus, there was no essential procedural defect. This decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 26 July 1999.


9.  The applicant is a Polish national who was born in 1944 and lives in Wieliczka, Małopolska Province, in Poland. 10.  The eastern provinces of pre-war Poland were (and in dated usage still are) called “Borderlands” (“Kresy”). They included large areas of present-day Belarus and Ukraine and territories around Vilnius in what is now Lithuania.
Later, when after the Second World War Poland's eastern border was fixed along the Bug River (whose central course formed part of the Curzon line), the “Borderlands” acquired the name of “territories beyond the Bug River” (“ziemie zabużańskie”).
Those regions had been invaded by the USSR in September 1939. 11.  Following agreements concluded between the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego) and the former Soviet Socialist Republics of Ukraine (on 9 September 1944), Belarus (on 9 September 1944) and Lithuania (on 22 September 1944) (“the Republican Agreements” – “umowy republikańskie”), the Polish State took upon itself the obligation to compensate persons who were “repatriated” from the “territories beyond the Bug River” and had to abandon their property there. Such property is commonly referred to as “property beyond the Bug River” (“mienie zabużańskie”). 12.  The Polish government estimated that from 1944 to 1953 some 1,240,000 persons were “repatriated” under the provisions of the Republican Agreements. At the oral hearing, the parties agreed that the vast majority of repatriated persons had been compensated for loss of property caused by their repatriation.
In that connection, the Government also stated that, on account of the delimitation of the Polish-Soviet State border – and despite the fact that Poland was “compensated” by the Allies with former German lands east of the Oder-Neisse line – Poland suffered a loss of territory amounting to 19.78%. 13.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 14.  After the Second World War, the applicant's grandmother was repatriated from Lwów (now Lviv in Ukraine).
On 19 August 1947 the State Repatriation Office (Państwowy Urząd Repatriacyjny) in Cracow issued a certificate attesting that she had owned a piece of real property in Lwów and that the property in question consisted of approximately 400 sq. m of land and a house with a surface area of 260 sq. m. 15.  On 11 June 1968 the Cracow District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) gave a decision declaring that the applicant's mother had inherited the whole of her late mother's property. 16.  On an unknown later date the applicant's mother asked the mayor of Wieliczka to enable her to purchase the so-called right of “perpetual use” (prawo użytkowania wieczystego) of land owned by the State Treasury (see also paragraph 66 below). 17.  In September 1980 an expert from the Cracow Mayor's Office made a report assessing the value of the property abandoned by the applicant's grandmother in Lwów. The actual value was estimated at 1,949,560 old Polish zlotys (PLZ) but, for the purposes of compensation due from the State, the value was fixed at PLZ 532,260. 18.  On 25 March 1981 the mayor of Wieliczka issued a decision enabling the applicant's mother to purchase the right of perpetual use of a plot of 467 sq. m situated in Wieliczka. The fee for the right of perpetual use was PLZ 392 per year and the duration was set at a minimum of forty and a maximum of ninety-nine years. The total fee for use, which amounted to PLZ 38,808 (PLZ 392 x 99 years) was offset against the compensation calculated by the expert in September 1980.
In June 2002 an expert commissioned by the government established that the value of this transaction corresponded to 2% of the compensation to which the applicant's family was entitled (see also paragraph 35 below). 19.  The applicant's mother died on 3 November 1989. On 29 December 1989 the Cracow District Court gave a decision declaring that the applicant had inherited the whole of his late mother's property. 20.  In 1992, on a date that has not been specified, the applicant sold the property that his mother had received from the State in 1981. 21.  On 15 September 1992 the applicant asked the Cracow District Office (Urząd Rejonowy) to grant him the remainder of the compensation for the property abandoned by his grandmother in Lwów. He stressed that the value of the compensatory property received by his late mother had been significantly lower than the value of the original property. 22.  In a letter of 16 June 1993, the town planning division of the Cracow District Office informed the applicant that his claim had been entered in the relevant register under no. R/74/92. The relevant part of that letter read as follows:
“We would like to inform you that at present there is no possibility of satisfying your claim. ... Section 81 of the Land Administration and Expropriation Act of 29 April 1985 [Ustawa o gospodarce gruntami i wywłaszczaniu nieruchomości[2]] became, for all practical purposes, a dead letter with the enactment of the Local Self-Government Act of 10 May 1990. [The enactment of that Act] resulted in land being transferred from the [Cracow branch of the] State Treasury to the Cracow Municipality. Consequently, the Head of the Cracow District Office who, under the applicable rules, is responsible for granting compensation, has no possibility of satisfying the claims submitted. It is expected that new legislation will envisage another form of compensation. We should accordingly inform you that your claim will be dealt with after a new statute has determined how to proceed with claims submitted by repatriated persons.” 23.  On 14 June 1994 the Cracow Governor's Office (Urząd Wojewódzki) informed the applicant that the State Treasury had no land for the purposes of granting compensation for property abandoned in the territories beyond the Bug River. 24.  On 12 August 1994 the applicant filed a complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny), alleging inactivity on the part of the government in that it had failed to introduce in Parliament legislation dealing with claims submitted by repatriated persons. He also asked for compensation in the form of State Treasury bonds. 2.  Facts after 10 October 1994
(a)  Events that took place up to 19 December 2002, the date on which the Court declared the application admissible 25.  On 12 October 1994 the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the applicant's complaint. It found no indication of inactivity on the part of the State authorities because “the contrary transpired from the fact that the applicant had received replies from the Cracow District Office and the Cracow Governor's Office”. 26.  On 31 August 1999, in connection with the entry into force of the Cabinet's Ordinance of 13 January 1998 (see also paragraphs 51-52 below), the Cracow District Office transmitted the applicant's request of 15 September 1992 for the remainder of the compensation, and the relevant case file, to the mayor (Starosta) of Wieliczka. Meanwhile, following a reform of the local administrative authorities, the former Cracow Province (Województwo Krakowskie) – in which the Wieliczka district is situated – had been enlarged and renamed “Małopolska Province” (Województwo Małopolskie). 27.  On 11 April 2002 the mayor of Wieliczka organised a competitive bid for property situated in Chorągwica being sold by the State Treasury. The bid was entered by seventeen persons, all of whom were repatriated persons or their heirs. The applicant did not participate in the auction. 28.  On 5 July 2002 the Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich), acting on behalf of repatriated persons, made an application under Article 191 of the Constitution, read in conjunction with Article 188, to the Constitutional Court (Trybunał Konstytucyjny), asking for legal provisions that restricted the possibility of satisfying their entitlements to be declared unconstitutional (see also paragraphs 50, 55, 60 and 70-71 below).
(b)  Events that took place on and after 19 December 2002 29.  On 19 December 2002 the Constitutional Court heard, and granted, the Ombudsman's application (see also paragraphs 79-87 below). The Constitutional Court's judgment took effect on 8 January 2003. 30.  On 8 January 2003 the Military Property Agency issued a communiqué, which was put on its official website[3] and which read, in so far as relevant, as follows:
“The Constitutional Court, in its judgment of 19 December 2002, declared that the provisions relating to the realisation of the Bug River claims by, inter alia, the Military Property Agency were unconstitutional.
However, the implementation of the court's judgment requires that the Land Administration Act 1997, the Law of 30 May 1996 on the administration of certain portions of the State Treasury's property and the Military Property Agency, as well as the Law of 25 May 2001 on the reconstruction, technical modernisation and financing of the Polish army in the years 2001-06, be amended.
It is also necessary to amend the Law of 15 February 1995 on income tax from legal persons, in respect of the proceeds received by the agency upon satisfying the Bug River claims.
In the circumstances, the Military Property Agency will be able to organise auctions for the sale of immovable property after the amendments to the existing legislation have been made.
Auctions will be advertised in the press ... and on the [agency's] website.”
According to information made available on the agency's website, in 2002 it had in its possession two categories of property. The first was immovable property no longer used for any military purposes, which was normally sold at auctions. It comprised 13,800 hectares of land and 4,500 buildings with a total surface area of 1,770,000 sq. m. This property included military airports, testing grounds, rifle ranges, hospitals, barracks, offices, recreation and sports centres, buildings designated for social and cultural activities and various other buildings (fuelling stations, workshops, warehouses, etc.). The second category was property that was only temporarily not used by the army. It comprised 650 hectares of land and buildings with a total surface area of 100,000 sq. m. 31.  On 8 January 2003 the State Treasury's Agricultural Property Agency (Agencja Własności Rolnej Skarbu Państwa), a body which at that time administered the State Treasury's Agricultural Property Resources (Zasoby Własności Rolnej Skarbu Państwa) (see also paragraph 91 below), issued a similar communiqué, which was put on its official website[4] and which read as follows:
“On 8 January 2003 the Constitutional Court's judgment of 19 December 2002 concerning the constitutionality of the provisions governing compensation for the Bug River property came into force.
As a consequence of the Court's judgment, it is necessary to amend the provisions relating to the land administration. The judgment does not by itself create a new legal regime and cannot constitute a basis for offsetting the value of the property abandoned outside the State's border against the price of the State Treasury's agricultural property. The principles, conditions and procedure in that respect should therefore be determined. Such actions have already been taken by the Office for Dwellings and Town Development and the Ministry for the Treasury.
In the circumstances, this agency will desist from organising auctions for the sale of immovable property held among its resources, except for small plots of agricultural property.
The agency's decision is inspired by the need to ensure that the Bug River claimants have their claims satisfied on conditions that are equal for all claimants.” 32.  By the end of 2003 neither of the above-mentioned agencies had resumed auctions. On the date of adoption of this judgment, the Military Property Agency website still contained the – unchanged – communiqué of 8 January 2003 on the suspension of auctions.
On 2 February 2004, two days after the entry into force of new legislation on the Bug River claims (see paragraphs 114-19 below), the Agricultural Property Agency (Agencja Nieruchomości Rolnych), a body which had in the meantime replaced the State Treasury's Agricultural Property Agency (see also paragraph 91 below) removed the communiqué of 8 January 2003 from its website and added an announcement entitled “Information for the Bug River people” (“Informacja dla zabużan”), providing a detailed explanation of the operation of the new statute. 33.  Meanwhile, in the spring and summer of 2003, during the process of preparing a bill designed to settle the “Bug River claims” (“roszczenia zabużańskie”; hereafter “the Government Bill” – see also paragraphs 111-13 below), the government estimated the number of claimants and the value of the claims. According to the government, there were 4,120 registered claims, of which 3,910 were verified and regarded as meeting the statutory conditions. The registered claims were valued at three billion new Polish zlotys (PLN). There were also 82,740 unverified claims pending registration, of which 74,470 were likely to be registered. The anticipated value of the unverified claims was PLN 10.45 billion. The anticipated total number of entitled persons was 78,380. As the parliamentary debate over the Government Bill – a debate which was widely discussed throughout the Polish media – progressed, the number of Bug River claims started to grow, since many new claims were being registered. 34.  The statistical reports prepared by the government, in particular the Ministry for the Treasury (Ministerstwo Skarbu Państwa) and the Ministry for Infrastructure (Ministerstwo Infrastruktury), have to date not addressed the question of how many of the Bug River claimants have ever obtained any compensation and, if so, whether it was full or partial, and how many of them have not yet received anything at all.
The idea of keeping a register of Bug River claims emerged in the course of the preparation of the Government Bill, and such a register is to be kept in the future. Nevertheless, the need to collect the relevant data had already been perceived by the Minister for Infrastructure in July 2002[5], when he replied to a question by J.D., a member of parliament, concerning, in the MP's words, “the final discharge of the Polish State's obligations towards persons who, after the Second World War, had abandoned their immovable property beyond the eastern border”. In his reply, the Minister stated, inter alia:
“In reply to the question relating to the number of unsatisfied claims, it has to be said that it was estimated by the Cabinet's Office [Urząd Rady Ministrów] at the beginning of the 1990s that there were about 90,000 [such claims]. At present it is very difficult to make such an estimation. ... In practice, every legal successor [of a Bug River claimant] could, and can, obtain a certificate – at present, a decision – [confirming the right to] a share in the abandoned property. What should be the criteria according to which the number of satisfied and unsatisfied claims is to be estimated? Should it be the number of applications made, including [several] applications by legal successors regarding one property abandoned by one owner (testator), or should it be the number of properties abandoned beyond the State's borders?
It is also difficult to estimate the number of persons whose entitlement has been satisfied, especially as the entitlement can be enforced throughout the country and it often happens that it is satisfied partially in different provinces until it has been fully settled. This situation creates conditions in which the entitled persons may abuse their rights – a fact of which governors and mayors have notified us. They accordingly suggest that a register ... of the certificates issued confirming the entitlement to ... compensatory property be kept. At present, however, there is no single, comprehensive system for the registration of certificates and decisions entitling claimants to [compensatory property].
Accordingly, the answer to the deputy's question as to the form in which the [Bug River claims] are to be satisfied and as to the possible legal solutions depends on reliable information on the number of unsatisfied claims. If it emerged that the number was significant and that not all claims could be satisfied under the applicable laws, other legislative solutions would have to be found – which, however, would be particularly difficult in view of the economic and financial problems of the State.” 35.  On 12 June 2003 the Government produced a valuation report prepared by an expert valuer commissioned by them. That report had been drawn up on 14 June 2002. The value of the property that the applicant's grandmother had had to abandon was estimated at PLN 390,000. The expert stated that the applicant's family had so far received 2% of the compensation due. 36.  On 28 October 2003 the mayor of Wieliczka organised a competitive bid for property situated in Chorągwica and Niepołomice, in the Małopolska Province, that was being sold by the State Treasury. The reserve prices were PLN 150,000 and PLN 48,000 respectively. The bid was entered by several Bug River claimants. The first property was sold for PLN 900,000, the second for PLN 425,000. The applicant did not participate in those auctions. 37.  On 30 January 2004, by virtue of the Law of 12 December 2003 on offsetting the value of property abandoned beyond the present borders of the Polish State against the price of State property or the fee for the right of perpetual use (Ustawa o zaliczaniu na poczet ceny sprzedaży albo opłat z tytułu użytkowania wieczystego nieruchomości Skarbu Państwa wartości nieruchomości pozostawionych poza obecnymi granicami Państwa Polskiego – “the December 2003 Act”), the State's obligations towards persons who, like the applicant, have obtained some compensatory property under the previous statutes are considered to have been discharged (see also paragraph 116 below). 38.  On 30 January 2004 fifty-one members of parliament from the opposition party, “Civic Platform” (Platforma Obywatelska), applied to the Constitutional Court, challenging a number of the provisions of the December 2003 Act (see also paragraph 120 below).


4.  On 25 June 2004 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of theft of documents and death threat and later charged with several counts of murder and robbery. While in police custody, he was allegedly subjected to beatings. 5.  On 9 July 2004 the applicant was placed in remand prison IZ-27/1 in Khabarovsk. 6.  After an initial period of detention in ordinary cells of the prison, on 18 July 2005 the applicant was transferred to a special section designed for detention of persons sentenced to life imprisonment. The applicant stayed in several cells of that section until his departure to a correctional colony on 19 December 2007. 7.  The parties disagreed on many aspects of the material conditions of the applicant’s detention during that period. 8.  In the Government’s submission, the applicant was accommodated in four cells: 9.  All cells measured 8.1 sq. m and had 2 sleeping places. The applicant stayed in them either alone or with another detainee, but the design capacity was never exceeded. 10.  Each cell had a window covered by metal bars which allowed sufficient access to natural light and fresh air. Two light bulbs, one for daytime and another for night-time lighting were installed in the cells. Running water was available at all times. Toilet pans were located at between 1 and 1.3 m from beds and dining tables and separated from the rest of the cells by a 1.5 meter-high brick partition. The applicant was allowed daily hour-long outdoor exercise. He could take a shower and wash his clothing once a week. 11.  In support of their position, the Government produced a number of certificates and statements issued by the director of remand prison IZ-27/1 on 7 July 2010 showing the numbers of the cells where the applicant stayed, the frequency of outdoor exercise and visits to the shower, as well as descriptions of the cells, their equipment and sanitary installations. The certificates were accompanied by copies of the applicant’s cell record, the prison population register and the schedules of outdoor exercise and sanitary measures covering the entire period of the applicant’s detention. 12.  Further to the Court’s request, the Government submitted a floor plan of the facility, containing indications of the cell surface. 13.  The applicant disputed the Government’s submissions concerning the cells. He provided the following information in that regard: 14.  According to the applicant, the cells presented the following characteristics:
The applicant did not provide any information about the number of sleeping places in the cells. 15.  All cells were located in the semi-basement of the remand prison. They were poorly lit and ventilated. Metal shutters on the windows blocked access to natural light and fresh air. Heating did not function. Drinking water was available only on request from the prison guards. The toilet pan was not separated from the living area. The courtyard for outdoor exercise was very small. 16.  To corroborate his claims, the applicant submitted statements by two detainees from the adjacent cells who also stated that the applicant had been ill-treated by prison guards. 17.  On 25 July 2006 the Supreme Court of Russia found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment. 18.  On 30 May 2006 the applicant’s mother complained to the regional prison authority about the conditions of his detention. In response to the complaint, on 27 June 2006 the authority admitted that the cell where the applicant was held had to be repaired and directed the management of the prison to transfer the applicant to another cell. 19.  On 2 August 2006 the applicant complained to the regional prosecutor about the conditions of his detention. He claimed, in particular, that there were metal shutters on windows, that the toilet pan was not separated from the rest of the cell and that the heating was too weak. Following an inquiry into the applicant’s allegations, on 19 August 2006 the district prosecutor concluded that “the [remand prison] cells [were being] renovated and properly maintained” and refused to open a criminal investigation into the matter. The applicant complained to a court. 20.  On 18 September 2006 the Kirovskiy District Court of Khabarovsk dismissed the applicant’s complaint against the prosecutor’s decision of 19 August 2006. The applicant appealed against the decision of 18 September 2006, but provided no further information about the outcome of these proceedings. 21.  On 9 October 2006 the applicant’s mother lodged another complaint with the regional prison authority, claiming, in particular, that the conditions of his detention had not improved. On 13 November 2006 the authority replied that the applicant’s cell had been recently renovated and satisfied the legal standards and that the applicant had no complaints in that regard.


6.  The applicant is the chairman of the association “Civil Society for Bulgarian Interests, National Dignity, Union and Integration – for Bulgaria” („Гражданско общество за български интереси, национално достойнство, единение и обединение – за България“ – “the association”). 7.  The association was founded on 19 December 1996 in Plovdiv. At a meeting on that date the founders adopted its articles and elected its management bodies. The applicant was elected as its chairman. 8.  The association's articles read, as relevant:
“1.  [The association] is a Bulgarian patriotic non‑profit organisation. It shall be DEMOCRATIC in form and NATIONAL in content.
OBJECT: mass, historically and morally enlightening, societal and political, cultural and educational, scientific and research, sport and technical, publishing, advertising, charitable and all other types of activities and services which are allowed (not prohibited) under the [Persons and Family Act of 1949] in respect of non‑profit associations. 2.  [The association] is founded with the aims of: uplifting the Bulgarian spirit; protecting the Bulgarian interests and creating a wealthy, prosperous and patriotic nation; elevating, developing and preserving the Bulgarian national dignity; uniting the Bulgarian identity within and outside the boundaries of the promised Bulgarian land, under the flag of historical truth; protecting and restoring the coat of arms of the Bulgarian Kingdom as a coat of arms of Bulgaria. 3.  [The association] is for the creation of a people's court to judge those responsible for the gravest economic, spiritual, moral and demographic crisis of the Bulgarian society, Bulgarian banking and Bulgarian statehood since 9 September 1944, in particular the period 1994, 1995, 1996 and the following years. ... 4.  [The association] is for a wide discussion ... of the illegal trampling and repealing of our first constitution after our liberation in 1878, the most democratic Constitution of Tarnovo and the imposition of the present [Constitution]...
[The association] is for the reinstatement (possibly with amendments) of the unlawfully abolished 'CONSTITUTION OF TARNOVO'...
[The association] is for ... changing the form of government of Bulgaria, for the returning of H.M. KING SIMEON II to the motherland and the throne. ... 8.  ... The core of the [association's] activity shall be the spiritual unification of all Bulgarians, contacts with and consolidation of the Bulgarian Diaspora, establishment of sincere relations with ... all Bulgarians outside Bulgaria, and, in the international relations – point one shall be: abolition (opening) of the border between Bulgaria and Macedonia...” 9.  On an unspecified later date the association submitted to the Plovdiv Regional Court an application for registration. 10.  The Plovdiv Regional Court refused the application in a judgment of 6 June 1997. It held:
“[According to] clause 2 of [its articles], [the association] intends to protect and restore the coat of arms of the Bulgarian Kingdom as a coat of arms of Bulgaria. According to clause 3 of the articles, the association is for the establishment of a 'people's court to judge those responsible for the gravest economic, spiritual, moral and demographic crisis of the Bulgarian society, Bulgarian banking and Bulgarian statehood since 9 September 1944, in particular the period 1994, 1995, 1996 and the following years'. Clause 4 of the articles provides for a debate on the repealing of the Constitution of Tarnovo and the adoption of the [C]onstitution [of 1991] which is presently in force.
The goals which have been enumerated thus far are sufficient to refuse the association's registration. They are clearly political in nature and are characteristic of a political party, whose registration is to be carried out under the Political Parties Act [of 1990].” 11.  The applicant, acting in his capacity of chairman of the association, appealed to the Supreme Court of Cassation. He argued, inter alia, that the association's aims were not political, but goals which could be pursued by every citizen. 12.  Following an amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure of 1952 providing that the judgments of the regional courts were no longer appealable before the Supreme Court of Cassation, but before the newly established courts of appeals, on 1 April 1998 the Supreme Court of Cassation forwarded the applicant's appeal to the newly created Plovdiv Court of Appeals. 13.  On 10 March 1999 the Plovdiv Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's judgment. It held as follows:
“The articles of [the association] contain provisions which are contrary to the ... Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. For instance, clause 2 of the articles provides for the restoration of the coat of arms of the Bulgarian Kingdom as the country's coat of arms. Clause 4 provides for a change of the form of government from republic to monarchy and for the restoration of the Constitution of Tarnovo [of 1879]. Clause 8 of the articles – abolition of the border between Bulgaria and [the former Yugoslav Republic of] Macedonia. These goals, as formulated in the above-cited clauses, run counter to Articles 1, 2 § 2 and 164 of the Constitution. Moreover, the association indeed has political goals, whereas by Article 12 § 2 of the Constitution associations may not pursue political goals and carry out political activities that are characteristic solely of political parties.” 14.  The applicant appealed on points of law to the Supreme Court of Cassation. He argued that the lower court had incorrectly held that the association's aims were contrary to the Constitution. Furthermore, the association did not pursue political aims, because it was not aspiring to accede to power. The courts' refusal to register it was an infringement of its founders' freedom of expression. 15.  On 17 May 1999 the Supreme Court of Cassation directed the applicant to specify the grounds on which he sought the quashing of the judgment below. In line with these instructions, the applicant submitted additional observations. He reiterated his contention that the association's aims were not political, because it was not seeking to accede to power through elections or otherwise, or exercise it. Its aims were characteristic of the civil society and were to be achieved through other, non‑political means. Furthermore, the association's articles did not provide for the creation of a people's court, it did not in fact object to the new coat of arms of Bulgaria and was not seeking to change the form of government from republic to monarchy. These were erroneous findings of the lower court. Finally, the association was seeking to achieve the spiritual union of all Bulgarians, not the abolition of the border between Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 16.  On 11 October 1999 the Supreme Court of Cassation upheld the Plovdiv Court of Appeals' judgment in the following terms:
“The [lower court] correctly found that the goals set out in clauses 2, 3 and 4 of the association's articles have a certain political tenor and are characteristic of a political party, whose registration is to be carried out under the Political Parties Act [of 1990]. These goals are contrary to Articles 1, 2 § 2 and 12 § 2 [of the Constitution of 1991].”


5.  The applicant was born in 1930 and lived in Puhoi. 6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 7.  The applicant deposited money in three different accounts in the Savings Bank ('the Bank'), which was, during Soviet times, State-owned. 8.  In 1994 Parliament adopted Decision no. 201-XIII on the indexing of citizens' savings in the Savings Bank of Moldova” (“the 1994 decision”) whereby persons who had reached the age of 60 by 1 January 1994 and who had savings in their accounts in the Bank on 2 January 1992 were entitled to recover a part of their deposits at the rate of one Moldovan leu (MDL) for one Soviet rouble for the first thousand roubles deposited in each account. 9.  On 16 February 1995 the Government adopted Decision no. 108, whereby it created a Commission charged with establishing the amount of compensation to be transferred by the Ministry of Finance (“the Ministry”) by the 25th day of each month to the Bank for compensation purposes, on the basis of the allocations made for that purpose in the State budget for the relevant year. 10.  The applicant had more than a thousand roubles in each of his three accounts in the Bank and he claimed accordingly MDL 3,000 (the equivalent of 750 United States dollars (USD)). On 7 June 2000 he received MDL 570 after the Ministry of Finance (“the Ministry”) transferred money to the Bank for compensation purposes. He continued to request the remaining amount and to complain to various authorities. 11.  On 8 November 2001 he initiated court proceedings against the Bank and the Ministry to recover the remaining amount and seeking compensation for the late payment (since the value of the money was depreciating because of high inflation) and for non-pecuniary damage caused by having to wait for the payment (the applicant was recognised as second-degree disabled and had a monthly State pension of MDL 89). Both defendants accepted that the applicant had a right to obtain the outstanding amount of compensation, and stated that the delay in paying was due to the failure to include in the State budget the allocations for that purpose. According to the Ministry, during 1995-1997 it transferred to the Bank 26% of the money necessary to pay the compensation in full to all those affected by the 1994 decision. However, the State budget did not allocate any further funds during 1998-2000, while an additional 7% of the total amount was allocated in the budget for the year 2001. The applicant did not receive any compensation in 2001. 12.  On 4 March 2002 the Centru District Court partly accepted the applicant's claim. It found that the main responsibility for the delay in paying his outstanding compensation lay with the Ministry, which had not transferred the necessary money to the Bank. It ordered the Bank to pay the applicant MDL 266 and the Ministry to pay him MDL 2,163, which constituted the remaining amount due under the 1994 decision (a total of MDL 2,429, or EUR 210 at the time). The court rejected the claim for compensation in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage because there was no law dealing with such claims. 13.  In an appeal, the applicant expressly requested the court, on the basis of Article 4 of the Constitution, to apply directly Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and Article 13 of the Convention as regards the absence of domestic remedies. 14.  On 7 May 2002 the Chişinău Regional Court upheld the judgment of 4 March 2002, repeating the reasoning of the first-instance court in rejecting the claim for compensation in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage. 15.  In an appeal, the applicant repeated his arguments advanced before the lower courts and relied in addition on Article 6 of the Civil Code (see paragraph 18 below). 16.  On 3 September 2002 the Court of Appeal also upheld the lower courts' judgments and confirmed their reasoning in rejecting the claim of compensation in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, because it “had no support in law”. That judgment was final. On 29 July 2004 the outstanding amount was transferred to the applicant's account.


4.  The applicant was born in 1937 and lives in Budapest. 5.  On 11 March 1996 the applicant brought an action before the Pest Central District Court seeking the termination of the common ownership of real estate belonging to him and his divorced wife. 6.  At the subsequent hearings on 27 March, 12 June, 29 June and 21 October 1997 and 26 May 1998, the applicant extended his claims to include the allocation of other items of the matrimonial property. He was repeatedly invited to give better particulars of his claims. 7.  At the hearing on 22 October 1998 the District Court suspended the proceedings pending the outcome of expropriation proceedings concerning one of the real properties at issue. 8.  On the applicant’s procedural appeal, on 14 January 1999 the Budapest Regional Court ordered that the proceedings be resumed. Subsequently, hearings were held on 9 September 1999, 6 January and 11 April 2000. On the latter date the District Court appointed a valuation expert. The expert filed his report on 1 August 2000. 9.  Further hearings took place on 12 September 2000, 9 January and 4 October 2001. On 25 January 2002 another valuation expert was appointed. 10.  The court held additional hearings on 12 February, 26 November 2002, 20 March, 10 July 2003, 9 March, 24 July, 4 November 2004, 4 January and 14 April 2005. On the latter date it again invited the applicant to give better particulars of his claims. 11.  The proceedings are still pending. 12.  On 23 May 1997 the Budapest and Pest County Health Insurance Fund issued a payment order against the applicant concerning unpaid social-security contributions. Subsequently the applicant brought an action in the Pest Central District Court challenging the lawfulness of the administrative decision. 13.  On 3 May 1999 the court observed that, due to a change of legislation, the respondent was replaced by the Tax Authority. On 11 January 2000 the Budapest Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s procedural appeal. He filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court which he withdrew on 27 September 2000. 14.  The court held hearings on 28 March and 5 December 2001. On 5 April 2002 an expert accountant was appointed. The expert presented his opinion on 28 August 2002. 15.  Further hearings took place on 2 October and 28 November 2002. 16.  On 22 January 2003 the District Court dismissed the applicant’s action, holding that the payment order had been issued lawfully. 17.  On 11 April 2003 the applicant appealed. 18.  On 26 January 2004 the Budapest Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal. 19.  On 14 April 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant’s petition for review.