4.  The applicants live in Kuusjoki, Perniö, Tuohittu and Humppila respectively. 5.  The first applicant and Mr Lehtonen were from 1989 to 1991 members of the board of directors of a local bank which subsequently went bankrupt. On 30 December 1993 the successor property management company of the bank, which was owned by the Finnish State, initiated civil proceedings before the Salo District Court (käräjäoikeus, tingsrätten), claiming compensation from the first applicant and Mr Lehtonen. The company claimed that the first applicant and Mr Lehtonen along with other persons had caused the bank damage exceeding 134 million euros (EUR) through accepting loan applications and neglecting their duty to supervise the acts of the management. Later the amount of damages claimed was lowered to EUR 90 million. 6.  The District Court held preparatory meetings in the case on 8 March 1994, 8 November 1995, 9-10 January 1996 and 25 January 1996. On 5 February 1996 the court gave an interlocutory judgment concerning succession issues and the application of the statute of limitations. During the preparatory meetings the parties agreed to wait for the outcome of other proceedings which were closely related to the case and could provide additional information for its resolution. After the preparatory meetings the case was processed only in writing. The judge responsible for the case was changed a number of times and the parties, despite several attempts, were not able to settle the case. 7.  During the District Court proceedings the first applicant and Mr Lehtonen, among others, requested that the proceedings be terminated and that the complaints of the successor company be either rejected or dismissed without examining the merits. They maintained that, according to the Convention, proceedings should be terminated within a reasonable time. That rule had not been complied with in their case and the proceedings should therefore be discontinued. 8.  On 9 March 1996 Mr Lehtonen died and his estate, comprising his wife and two daughters, continued the case on his behalf (hereafter the second applicant). 9.  On 29 June 2004 the District Court decided to accept the applicants’ request and dismissed the case without examining the merits. The court stated that from the point of view of procedural economy it would be wise to await the outcome of the related proceedings which, however, had lasted longer than expected and were still pending. The case was very complex and it was expected that a judgment would only be rendered in a few years’ time. The applicants had tried to accelerate the proceedings by proposing a settlement on several occasions. The proposals had all been rejected by the successor company. The court concluded that the length of the proceedings was already excessive, that the proceedings could not be accelerated and that the only effective remedy was to dismiss the case without examining the merits. 10.  The successor company appealed to the Turku Appeal Court (hovioikeus, hovrätten), which on 29 November 2004 quashed the District Court decision and referred the case back to the District Court. The court found that Finnish law did not give a possibility to reject or dismiss a case without examining the merits in a situation where the proceedings had exceeded a reasonable time. Neither the Convention nor the European Court required that in such cases the proceedings should be terminated. The successor company had, as a separate legal person, according to Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and the Finnish Constitution, a right to have its case considered by a court. This meant that it had a right to have a final decision in the case even if the length of the proceedings had already been excessive. 11.  On 12 April 2005 the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus, högsta domstolen) refused leave to appeal. 12.  On 13 June 2005 the District Court made a proposal for the settlement of the case. According to the terms of the settlement, the applicants, along with other persons, were to pay EUR 17,000 each to the plaintiff who would then receive a total sum of EUR 297,000 from the defendants. It was acknowledged in the settlement that the proceedings in the case had been unreasonably long. In part IV of the settlement it was, however, stipulated that
 “[t]he District Court proposes that after an agreement is reached the defendants would commit not to take any legal action in the European Court of Human Rights regarding the unreasonable length of the proceedings.” 13.  The proposal was accepted by the successor company on 17 June 2005 and by the applicants on 21 June 2005. On 22 June 2005 the District Court issued a decision confirming the settlement. No appeal lay against this decision. 14.  The Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman (eduskunnan apulaisoikeusasiamies, riksdagens biträdande justitieombudsman) had already found on 19 June 2003 that the proceedings had exceeded a reasonable time.


9.   Krone Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, a limited liability company with its registered office in Vienna, is the owner of the daily newspaper Neue Kronenzeitung published by Mediaprint Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co. KG (“the publisher”). 10.  On 9 and 11 December 1994 the Salzburg edition of the Neue Kronenzeitung published an advertisement for subscriptions to the newspaper in which it compared its monthly subscription rates with those of another regional newspaper, the Salzburger Nachrichten. According to the advertisement, the Neue Kronenzeitung was “the best” local newspaper. 11.  On 13 December 1994 the Salzburger Nachrichten applied to the Salzburg Regional Court (Landesgericht) for a preliminary injunction (einstweilige Verfügung) under sections 1 and 2 of the Unfair Competition Act (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb) against the applicant company and the publisher. It requested that the applicant company and the publisher be ordered to refrain from publishing the advertisement. 12.  On 29 December 1994 the Salzburg Regional Court issued a preliminary injunction against the applicant company and the publisher to preserve the status quo during the proceedings. On appeal by the applicant company and the publisher, the Linz Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) quashed the Regional Court's decision. The court stated, inter alia, that the two newspapers were competitors in the same market and for the same readership. On 23 May 1995 the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof), on appeal by the Salzburger Nachrichten, issued a preliminary injunction. The court found that the advertisement was misleading. It considered that the Salzburger Nachrichten was a “quality newspaper” and the Neue Kronenzeitung was not, and that this difference was not necessarily known to readers. Furthermore, in the particular circumstances of the case, calling the Neue Kronenzeitung “the best” local newspaper amounted to disparagement of the Salzburger Nachrichten. 13.  In the main proceedings which followed, the Salzburg Regional Court ordered the applicant company and the publisher to refrain from publishing the advertisement as long as it did not provide at the same time information which made it possible to avoid any generally pejorative value statement or any other risk of misleading readers. Secondly, it ordered them not to refer to the sales price of the Salzburger Nachrichten as “expensive”. Thirdly, it ordered them to refrain from comparing the sales prices of the two newspapers unless they indicated at the same time the differences in their respective reporting styles, in particular as regards coverage of foreign or domestic politics, economy, culture, science, health, environmental issues and law, and referred also to the Neue Kronenzeitung as an entertainment-orientated communications medium and the Salzburger Nachrichten as a medium mainly geared to information. Lastly, it ordered them to publish the decision. 14.  On 21 March 1997 the Linz Court of Appeal, allowing in part an appeal by the applicant company and the publisher, confined the third branch of the injunction to the order that the applicant company and the publisher refrain from comparing the sales prices of the two newspapers without indicating the differences in their reporting styles as regards coverage of foreign or domestic politics, economy, culture, science, health, environmental issues and law. It confirmed the lower court's decision as to the remaining branches of the injunction. The court considered that it was a matter of common knowledge that both newspapers were competing in the same market. As to the differences in quality between the newspapers and the argument that readers were not familiar with these differences, the Linz Court of Appeal referred to the Supreme Court's decision of 23 May 1995. 15.  On 28 April 1997 the applicant company and the publisher lodged an appeal on points of law against this decision, relying on Article 10 of the Convention. 16.  On 13 May 1997 the Supreme Court declared their appeal on points of law inadmissible. The decision was served on the parties on 16 June 1997.


5.  The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Łόdź, Poland. 6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows. 7.  On 10 June 1992 Mr Andrzej Kern, at that time the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, notified the Regional Prosecutor that a certain Mr Gąsior and Mrs Izabela Malisiewicz-Gąsior had kidnapped his 17-year-old daughter, M.K. However, Mr Gąsior and Mrs Malisiewicz‑Gąsior submitted that the allegation was false as M.K. had in fact run away from home and had only been accompanied by their son Maciej who had been her boyfriend for a long time. M.K. had previously run away from home on several occasions because of conflicts with her parents.
On the same day the Łódź Regional Prosecutor initiated an investigation into the allegations of kidnapping against Mr Gąsior and Mrs Malisiewicz‑Gąsior. On 10 and 11 June 1992 the prosecutor issued a warrant authorising the search of their flat and the tapping of their telephone. They were arrested and remanded in custody. In August 1992 the case was taken over by the Poznań Regional Prosecutor who discontinued the criminal proceedings against them, finding that the allegations of kidnapping had been groundless. Disciplinary proceedings were brought against both prosecutors who had instituted the criminal proceedings. 8.  On 29 June 1992 Mr A. Kern had made a statement on public television in which he said that his daughter had been kidnapped and asked for assistance in finding his child. 9.  The case concerning the alleged kidnapping of M.K. received wide coverage in the media. 10.  The applicant owns a publishing house named “Westa-Druk” which publishes the weekly magazine “Angora”. 11.  On 16 August 1992 the applicant published in “Angora” an interview with Mr Michał Plisecki, a lawyer who at the material time represented Mr Gąsior and Mrs Izabela Malisiewicz-Gąsior in the criminal proceedings concerning the alleged kidnapping. The article was entitled: “If it had been quiet” and was in the form of questions put by a journalist and answers given by Mr M.P. The article, in so far as relevant, read as follows:
“‘A[ngora]’:-I have brought you fresh news from Łódź: the arrest warrant against [Maciej Gąsior] has been quashed, the children however have not come back home. M.P. [Michał Plisecki]:- I do not want to – publicly – go into the details concerning the issuing and quashing of the arrest warrant. Allow me not to comment on it because I would have been forced to use very blunt language. I would refer to another issue: if it is true that [M.K.’s] parents - after an unsuccessful attempt to place her in a psychiatric clinic –left her alone, under the care of her grandmother somewhere in the countryside, then should I – as a parent – be shocked by such behaviour? There is no other conclusion from the above fact: they simply do not love her. It is not that they do not understand her, because this is proved by their behaviour as a whole, but that the wish to separate [M.K.] from the world is in the interests of those people. Mr Kern’s statement that he suspected that his daughter had been spying on him while she was dating Maciej and in particular the statement by the mother of [M.K.] that her daughter had been serving as a mattress for Maciej – this is terrifying! That was probably the reason why the Member of Parliament Mr Kołodziejczyk, who represents the interests of all citizens, decided to apply to the family court to solve the tragic problem of [M.K.] and the Kern family. If I may give my private opinion, I also believe that one should think over how to arrange [M.K.’s] future life.
(...)
‘A’:- So, if it was not for journalists, it would have been different? Maybe quieter? M.P. If it had been quieter, then from my point of view, and after Mr Kern’s having publicised the case in a certain context, I do not exclude the possibility that my client [Mrs Malisiewicz-Gąsior] would still have been in the detention centre. I do not exclude the possibility that Mr Gąsior would have been arrested too. The fact that my clients are free is due to the pressure of public opinion.
(...)
‘A’:- You have said: ‘M.K. ran away from home’. But it has been said that it was an abduction or kidnapping. M.P. The prosecutor and his deputy know that [M.K.] ran away from home. It has been proved by witnesses (...) [M.K.] had asked Maciej to accompany her and that is what happened. This is not a crime!
‘A’:- The Helsinki Committee [for Human Rights], the Ombudsman, the President... M.P. ... let me add: the Political Group Porozumienie Centrum. Recently the Group made an appeal for assistance for Mr Kern - turning to the Ministers of Justice and of Internal Affairs – in the private matter of Mr Kern. I believe that since Mr Kern has abused power and has caused such unlawfulness and it has been supported by this Political Group, it means that Porozumienie Centrum supports these kinds of methods involving aggressive behaviour.
 ‘A’: -You have said: Mr Kern has abused power. Is it a question or a statement? M.P.:-He has obviously abused power because as the Speaker of the Sejm he had access to the media and gave false information; the fact that he is a liar I can prove – if necessary – in court. I authorise you to print this text. If Mr Kern says that he is not a liar, I will prove the contrary in court!
‘A’:-What do you think about the fact that the Member of Parliament Mr Kołodziejczyk applied to the Łódź District Court? M.P.:- It is for the court to decide, in every family case, with which parent the child should stay. In such cases both the parents and the child often undergo psychological and psychiatric examination – obviously upon a decision of a court. This is a typical case; the court is to decide on the family matter of Mr and Mrs Kern. Therefore, both the parents and [M.K.] should undergo the relevant examination. This is usual, routine procedure. That, in turn, proves how diligently Mr Kołodziejczyk approached this case. [M.K.] had turned to him for help, placed trust in him. In consequence he contacted, as I know, many people, me included, but I could not dispel his doubts. I then turned (sic!) [he turned] to specialists – psychologists. He was told by them that before they could make any decision they should talk with both the child and the parents. Then, very tactfully, he asked the Speaker [of the Sejm] Mr Chrzanowski to pass these suggestions to Mr Kern. Only after Mr Kern had refused, did Mr Kołodziejczyk do what any honest and respectable person would have done: he informed a court that in the Kern family bad things were happening. It is a lie that Mr Kołodziejczyk ordered the examination by specialists. He cannot order it! He only asked for appropriate action to be undertaken. (...)” 12.  Subsequently, and in connection with the above interview, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Mr Michał Plisecki by the local Bar Council. On 24 June 1995 the High Disciplinary Court (Wyższy Sąd Dyscyplinarny) found that Mr Michał Plisecki had breached the rules of professional conduct and reprimanded him. The court reiterated that the lawyers between themselves (Mr Plisecki, Mr Kern and his wife were all members of the Bar) should follow the rules of politeness and friendliness. The court found that Mr Plisecki had breached those rules and had failed to express his critics in a restraint manner. 13.  On 8 August 1995 Mr Kern, his wife and his daughter M.K., (“the plaintiffs”) lodged against the applicant’s publishing house “Westa-Druk” a civil claim for protection of their personal rights. They maintained that the press had played a major role in the case involving their family as they “presented the facts and judgments tendentiously, causing de facto damage to the plaintiffs.” The plaintiffs further sought an award of PLN 28,000 in compensation and an order requiring the defendant to publish the following apologies:
“We apologise to the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, Mr A. Kern, his wife Mrs  Zofia Pstrągowska-Kern and his daughter [M.K.] for grossly violating their personal rights by having published the article ‘If it had been quiet’, in Angora (...), in particular, by uncritically quoting the totally irresponsible statements of Mr Michał Plisecki in which he:
- said of A. Kern that he ‘had obviously abused power’ and ‘caused unlawfulness’ in connection with the investigation conducted by the Łódź Regional Prosecutor into the alleged kidnapping of his daughter,
- said that Mr Kern had been providing the media with untrue information and called him a liar,
- imputed to Mr and Mrs Kern the wish to place their daughter in a psychiatric clinic, called their parenting skills into question and stated without any reason that the parents and [MK] should ‘undergo psychiatric and psychological examination.’
We express our regret over the harm done to the injured party”. 14.  On 15 May 1998 the Łódź Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) gave judgment for the plaintiffs. The court ordered the applicant to publish apologies as sought in the statement of claim and awarded the plaintiffs compensation in part, i.e. PLN 8,500. The court stated, inter alia:
“...One should agree with [the applicant] that, being the publisher, he had the right to inform the readers about important circumstances concerning [A. Kern] who at the material time held one of the highest positions in the State. Therefore, publishing such information was not illegal despite the fact that it affected the plaintiffs’ personal rights that are protected by law. The article, however, includes not only information but also statements that damaged their reputation; i.e. their good name. The statement that Mr and Mrs Kern had made an unsuccessful attempt to place their daughter in a psychiatric clinic, that they do not understand and love her and that her separation from the world is in her interest, disparaged their parenting skills, and questioned their moral values.
The information that the family should have been examined by psychologists and psychiatrists had also harmed them in the eyes of others.
It concerns in particular the parents of Ms [M.K.] who at that time held important positions and the state of their mental health should not have been an object of public discussion. Finally, calling Mr Kern a liar and stating that he had abused power, obviously harmed his good name and exposed him to the loss of trust of his voters and of the leaders of the party of which he was a member. Therefore, the [applicant’s] actions were ... illegal because they breached the good name and reputation of the plaintiffs.
The court did not agree with the [applicant’s] opinion that [since] he was not the author of the quoted statements, he was not obliged to check the truthfulness of the information included in the interview with Michał Plisecki...” 15.  On 27 July 1998 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Łódź Court of Appeal. He alleged, inter alia, that the court had infringed his freedom of expression in breach of Article 10 of the Convention, as it had overstepped the margin afforded to it and violated the principle of proportionality between the legitimate aim pursued and the measures applied. The interference with his right was particularly striking as the case concerned a politician who should have been more tolerant of criticism. The applicant further argued that Mr Kern himself had made public information concerning his private life by giving statements concerning the alleged kidnapping of his daughter in the television and the press. 16.  Mr Michał Plisecki, who joined the proceedings as an intervener (interwenient uboczny), also lodged an appeal. 17.  On 26 January 1999 the Łódź Court of Appeal found that the applicant had sullied the good name of the plaintiffs. It amended the judgment in so far as the text of the apology to be published was concerned and increased the sum to be paid by the applicant to all plaintiffs by way of costs and expenses to PLN 3,316. It upheld the remainder of the judgment. The applicant was to publish the following apology:
“We apologise to Mr Kern, his wife Mrs Zofia Pstrągowska-Kern and daughter [M.K]. for breaching their personal rights by the publication entitled «if it had been quiet» in particular by citing the statements made by the lawyer M.P. in which he referred to the plaintiffs’ parenting skills and gave his opinion as to their family life, and called the first plaintiff a liar.” 18.  The appellate court stated:
“...The Regional Court based its judgment on the following findings:
In 1992 a strong conflict erupted between [M.K.] and her parents on the ground of her contacts with Maciej. [M.K.] regarded Izabela Malisiewicz-Gąsior as a person friendly to her and a moral authority. That influenced the loosening of her relationship with her parents. Finally, in June 1992 [M.K.] left with Maciej. She did not inform her parents of her whereabouts and did not contact them.
The plaintiff, Mr Kern, in a television address made an appeal for help in finding his daughter; he also informed the Łódź District Prosecutor that a crime has been committed under Article 188 of the Criminal Code.
The District Prosecutor instituted proceedings on charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment of M.K. In the course of these proceedings Mrs Malisiewicz –Gąsior was arrested and the apartment and house of Gąsior’s family was searched. The defence counsel of Mrs Malisiewicz-Gąsior was Mr M.P.” 19.  The Court of Appeal found that the statement that Mr Kern had abused power was within the justifiable bounds of criticism since public opinion was particularly sensitive to all aspects of abuse of power, and the opinion about Mr Kern was given by a professional i.e. a lawyer; therefore, it did not require verification by the publisher. The allegation of abuse of power was also justified given the extraordinary actions undertaken by Mr Kern in a private matter. Following the case-law of the European Court relating to Article 10 of the Convention, a politician should show more tolerance when exposed to criticism than private persons. Then the court stated as follows:
“It is a different matter, however, with regard to the allegation that Mr Kern was a liar. It is obvious that this description does not have the character of a legal opinion. What is more, the context of the statement does not clarify in relation to what case the plaintiff was alleged to have lied. It was thus a generality suggesting regular untruthfulness on the part of the plaintiff. The explanations for this statement provided by Mr Michał Plisecki later in the course of trial cannot be of particular importance since the published text, and in the form in which it reached the readers, did not include them. This description should then be considered as an ordinary and unjustified epithet [epitet]. In this case the publisher cannot be discharged of the responsibility for besmirching the plaintiff’s good name either on the ground that the author of the statement was a lawyer, because he had not spoken as a professional, or because of the fact that publication was in the form of an interview as, unlike radio or television interviews, it was not a live broadcast and the publisher had the means, by acting with due diligence, to prevent the breach of the plaintiff’s personal rights by this statement. Moreover, it cannot be inferred from the fact that the plaintiff held a public function, so that he agreed there should be a wider limit of permissible criticism of him, or from the fact that he himself made a public appeal for help in finding his daughter, that he had agreed to publication of all free opinions and comments on this subject, including those breaching his personal rights. Given the above described character of the statement, it should be regarded as an evaluation (ocenna) that cannot be verified as true or false and in any case cannot [be seen] as a negative assessment of the plaintiff’s actions within the meaning of Article 41 of the Press Law. In this case the publisher is not protected by Article 10 of the Convention as paragraph 2 of this Article limits the right of freedom of expression when protecting, inter alia, the reputation of others.
For these reasons the Court of Appeal considered the appeals of the [applicant] and the intervener manifestly ill-founded.
Both appeals are equally unjustified in what they say about the judgment referring to a breach of the first plaintiff’s personal rights by statements about his family life.
Neither the fact that the first plaintiff had himself introduced the events of his private life into the public sphere by making the address for help in finding his daughter (even if one can consider such an appeal as agreement to publication of information from a private sphere within the meaning of Article 14(6) of the Press Law) nor the fact that as a person holding a public function he was a subject of particular interest to the press authorised the publisher to breach his personal rights by putting into question his mental health and parenting skills.
One cannot infer that the plaintiff waived his right to legal protection by the fact that he had subjected himself to public comments on his family matters. It should be underlined that information concerning family life, and even unfavourable comment, does not have to breach personal rights. In this publication the limits of fair criticism and cultural expression had been overstepped. As with the allegation that the first plaintiff was a liar, the publisher is not protected by the fact that he had been quoting the statements of a lawyer who was obliged to exercise strict control over what he said, because matters concerning the family life of the first plaintiff did not have the nature of a legal opinion and the interview itself was not broadcast “live”.
Moreover, commenting in this manner on the plaintiff’s family life was not covered by a socially justified interest and did not concern the political activity of the plaintiff.
In addition it should be said that entering into issues concerning the family sphere, in particular the relationship between parents [and children], if only because of the impossibility to verify the assessments made in this respect, is always unlawful, even if the information given is true (see judgment of the Supreme Court, 11/03/1986).” 20.  The applicant and the intervener each lodged cassation appeals with the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy). 21.  On 11 October 2001 the Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeals and ordered the applicant to pay Mr Kern PLN 3,800 for costs and expenses. It agreed with the assessment of the lower courts that in the present case the interference with the freedom of press was justified by the need to protect the reputation of the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court also dismissed the applicant’s arguments that his intention was to report on a case that had shocked the majority of public opinion. The court was of the opinion that publishing an article in which the lawyer of the other party subjectively analysed very delicate family matters and offered categorical judgments on their causes, was not the right way to protect a justified public interest. 22.  It appears that subsequently the judgment was enforced in so far as the payment of compensation was concerned. As regards the publishing of the apologies, the enforcement proceedings are pending.


4.  All forty-three applicants are Ukrainian nationals who live in the Lugansk Region. They are represented by Mr Nikolay Kozyrev. 5.  The forty-two applicants (see Annex) are/were employees or relatives of employees of State-owned mining companies. During 1999 - 2003 the Krasny Luch Court rendered decisions the applicants’ favour concerning the recovery of salary and/or social benefits arrears, which were enforced in full in 2004 - 2005 with the exception of the judgment in favour of Mr Korniyenko, which remains unenforced (see Annex for details). 6.  Some of the applicants attempted to claim compensation against the Bailiffs’ Service for the delay in the enforcement of the judgments given in their favour, however, these attempts have been to no avail. 7.  After the institution of the Convention proceedings, Mr Boiko Vladimir Ivanovich, Mr Bakushev Valentin Ivanovich, and Mr Butorin Viktor Nikolayevich died. Their widows, Mrs Boiko Valentina Iosifovna, Mrs Bakusheva Tamara Trofimovna, and Butorina Irina Nikolayevna, informed the Court that they wished to pursue the applications of their late husbands. 8.  The 43rd applicant, Mrs Melnikova Inessa Gennadiyevna, is a former employee of the collective agricultural enterprise “Krasnoluchsky” (KSP). The decision given by the Krasny Luch Court on 26 December 2001 ordering KSP to pay her UAH 3,519 in salary arrears was enforced in full on 4 April 2007.


5.  The applicant was born in 1958 and lives in Rudnik. 6.  On 6 July 1995 the Zamość District Court declared the company “Wojewódzkie Przedsiębiorstwo Przemysłu Mięsnego” insolvent and appointed the applicant (a practising lawyer) as an insolvency trustee. Judge M.B was appointed as an insolvency judge. 7.  On 9 August 2000, the court discharged M.B. from his position and appointed M.S as the new insolvency judge. 8.  On 6 September 2000 the applicant asked the insolvency judge to determine the amount of his remuneration. 9.  At the hearing held on 9 October 2000 the question of payment of the applicant's expenses was examined. The hearing was adjourned since the court decided to wait for an opinion from an expert accountant. 10.  On 11 September 2001 the applicant asked to be granted an advance payment on his remuneration. The insolvency judge – M.S. – submitted that the applicant had already been granted an advance payment of 6,000 Polish zlotys (PLN) and he had already obtained PLN 8,650. In addition, he had obtained, for his alleged expenses, a total of PLN 45,668.32. 11.  At the hearing held on 5 October 2001 the Zamość District Court sitting as a panel composed of three judges, including judge M.S., granted the applicant an advance payment of PLN 6,000. 12.  On 8 April 2002 the applicant applied to the District Court in Zamość and requested the sum of PLN 577,292 as payment for his eight years of trustee duties. 13.  M.S., the insolvency judge, in her submissions to the court (przedstawienie), asked it to grant the applicant remuneration in a lower amount, namely PLN 317,989. She submitted that the applicant had been responsible for a lengthy and expensive liquidation proceedings. She also requested the offsetting of the sum of PLN 200,600 that had already been paid to the applicant in the form of advance payments. 14.  At the hearing held on 28 September 2004 the court heard evidence from the applicant. On 30 September 2004 the Zamość District Court at a session held in camera granted the applicant's request in part, and awarded him 317,989. The sum of PLN 266,318.82 already paid to the applicant was offset from the amount. The bench that gave this decision was composed of three professional judges including both M.B and M.S. 15.  On 18 October 2004 the applicant appealed against this decision. He disagreed with the court's decision in general terms. He further argued that the proceedings had been invalid since the insolvency judge, M.S., had acted both as a claimant and as a member of the court, which called into question the court's impartiality. 16.  On 5 January 2005 the Lublin Regional Court at a session held in camera dismissed the applicant's appeal. The court considered that the first-instance court had correctly calculated the trustee's remuneration, in particular because the applicant was responsible for delays in the proceedings. It referred to the fact that the applicant was heard at the hearing held on 28 September 2004 and he was able to present his arguments. In the court's opinion, judge M.S. was entitled to sit on the bench of the commercial court deciding on the applicant's remuneration, given that the Insolvency Act did not provide for any limitations in this respect. 17.  The applicant filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. 18.  On 3 March 2005 the Lublin Regional Court rejected his cassation appeal as inadmissible in law. 19.  On 16 March 2005 the applicant appealed against this decision. On 14 September 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal confirming that a second-instance court's decision on trustee's remuneration could not be the subject of an appeal. 20.  Meanwhile, on 10 February 2005 the applicant asked to be paid further partial remuneration in the amount of PLN 66,945 for the period between 7 June 2003 and 6 February 2005. 21.  On 20 December 2005 the Zamość District Court held a hearing in that case. The panel of judges was composed of three professional judges, including judge M.S. The applicant challenged judge M.S. In reply, on 24 March 2006 the Lublin Regional Court ordered judge M.S. to withdraw from the panel. The court noted that the insolvency judge, who had already made her submission regarding the applicant's remuneration, would have pre-conceived notions about the issues in the case. 22.  On 27 April 2006 the Zamość District Court granted the applicant partial remuneration in the amount of PLN 22,000. 23.  On 9 October 2007 the Zamość District Court declared the liquidation procedure to be terminated.


6.  The applicant was born in 1958 and lives in Charlottenlund. 7.  At the beginning of the 1990s a new concept called “tax asset stripping cases” (selskabstømmersager) came into existence in Denmark. It covered a criminal activity by which the persons involved committed aggravated debtor fraud by buying up and selling numerous inactive solvent private limited companies within a short period and, for the sake of their own profit, “stripping” the companies of assets, including deposits earmarked for payment of corporation tax. The persons involved were usually intricately interconnected and collaborated in their economic criminal activities, which concerned very large amounts of money. According to surveys made by the customs and tax authorities, approximately one thousand six hundred companies with a total tax debt exceeding two billion Danish kroner (DKK) were stripped in the period from the late 1980s until 1994. Following a number of legislative amendments, the trade in inactive, solvent companies largely ceased in the summer of 1993. 8. At the relevant time the applicant was part owner of a private limited stockbrokers company ([B] & [the applicant] A/S] - hereafter “the company”). 9.   On 18 January 1994 he learnt that the tax authorities were about to check the company’s accounts for the years 1989 to 1992. On 6 May 1994 the tax authorities informed the applicant that the question of whether any criminal liability had occurred would be decided on later. The tax authorities also reported various potential co-offenders to the police. 10. During 1994, 1995 and at the beginning of 1996 the police carried out an investigation comprising, among other things, discovery orders against banks, international letters of request, search warrants and numerous interviews of witnesses. 11. On 17 June 1996, the Copenhagen City Court (Københavns Byret – hereafter “the City Court”), sitting in camera, granted the police a warrant to search the premises of the applicant’s business and those of the company. 12.   On 2 July 1996 the search was carried out by the police. 13.  From July 1996 to February 1998 various investigative steps were taken, also relating to five co-accused in the case, for example searches in Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden, numerous interviews in Denmark and abroad, international letters of request, a request to Interpol, fifteen discovery orders and an order prohibiting the disclosure of the applicant’s name. Moreover, on 19 March 1997 a request for an accountant’s report was made and material for that purpose was obtained, including statements of account, cheque vouchers and so on. 14.  On 12 February 1998 the applicant was officially charged and interrogated by the police. 15.  On 25 June 1998 an indictment was submitted to the City Court, according to which the applicant (and five co-accused, A, B, H, N and R) were charged with “tax asset stripping” committed jointly. The applicant was charged on forty-four counts out of a total of fifty-nine, committed between 26 June and 3 November 1992. His responsibility related to an amount of DKK 87,000,000, equal to approximately 11,600,000 euros (EUR) out of the total tax amount evaded in the case which came to approximately EUR 19,000,000. The indictment related to eighty different companies and six banks in Denmark and abroad. 16.  Between July 1998 and 10 March 1999, fifteen pre-trial hearings were held and the draft of the accountant’s reports was submitted. On the former date, the case was set down for trial on 15 March 1999. 17.  Between 15 March 1999 and 31 January 2001, a total of 119 hearings were held. The applicant, the five co-accused and more than seventy witnesses were heard, including state-registered public accountants. Statements of accounts and a considerable amount of other documentary evidence were also produced. The court records comprised 1,330 pages. The closing speeches were held over ten days in November 2000 and January 2001. 18.  By a judgment of 6 April 2001, which ran to 220 pages, the City Court convicted the applicant in accordance with the indictment. The co-accused were also convicted. The applicant was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. In addition, the sum of DKK 3,600,000 was seized, and he was deprived for an indefinite period of the right to establish a private limited company or a company or an association requiring public approval, or to become a manager and/or member of a director’s board of such companies. 19.  The City Court dismissed the applicant’s claim that the length of the proceedings had been at variance with Article 6 of the Convention stating the following:
“The City Court finds no reason to criticise the prosecution’s decision to join the criminal proceedings against the [applicant and the five co‑accused]. Accordingly, and having regard to the mutual connection between the cases and their character, the City Court finds no violation of Article 6 of the Convention, although there were longer periods of inactivity during one part of the case, while investigation was going on in another part of the case. In this connection [the City Court] notes that the complexity of the acts carried out by [the applicant and the five co-accused] partly when buying and “stripping” the companies for assets, partly when writing off projects abroad, necessitated an investigation of an extraordinary scope. In the City Court’s opinion there were no longer periods, whether before the police, the prosecution or the City Court, during which no part of the case proceeded. It must be emphasised that due to the nature and scope of the charges, the cases against [the applicant] and [the co-accused B and R] could not proceed before the cases against [H, N and A] [had been heard]. [Finally], in view of the character and complexity of the case, [the City Court] considers that the total length of the proceedings did not in itself constitute a breach of the said provision of the Convention.” 20.  On 15 May 2001 the applicant and the five co-accused appealed against the judgment to the High Court of Eastern Denmark (Østre Landsret - “the High Court”). 21.  After that date, twelve preparatory hearings were held, including one on 13 September 2001 during which the trial was scheduled with numerous fixed dates to commence on 24 September 2002. Counsel for the applicant and the co-defendants jointly replied that they only had very limited possibilities to appear during the autumn of 2002. 22.  Thus, although the trial commenced on 24 September 2002, most of the hearings took place in 2003 and 2004. A total of about 90 hearings were held in the case. In February and March 2004 the appeal hearings had to be postponed because a co-defendant fell ill. For the same reason the High Court changed the order of some of the hearings. The Court records comprised 861 pages. The closing speeches were held over ten days in April, May, and June 2004. 23.  On 28 September 2004 the High Court upheld the City Court’s judgment. As regards the length of the proceedings, it stated:
“In the assessment of whether the proceedings have been concluded within a reasonable time, the starting point ... concerning the [applicant] was on 12 February 1998, when he was charged ...
 [The High Court] upholds the City Court’s judgment and its reasoning with regard to the question of whether Article 6 of the Convention has been violated ...
The appeal proceedings were scheduled and carried out without any unreasonable delay. On 13 September 2001 the trial was scheduled to take place on fixed dates as from 12 August 2002. A number of hearing dates in the autumn 2002 and the beginning of 2003 had to be cancelled because some counsel were occupied [with other cases], for which reason the [present] case was delayed. To avoid any further delay caused by impossibilities to appear, the trial, which commenced on 24 September 2002, proceeded in a proper, but not completely suitable order.” 24.  In the period from 7 to 12 October 2004, the applicant and the co‑defendants requested that the Leave to Appeal Board (Procesbevillingsnævnet) grant them leave to appeal to the Supreme Court (Højesteret). Three of the defendants stated in their petitions that they would submit supplementary comments, which were received on 17 December 2004. In January 2005 the cases were sent to the prosecution, which gave its opinion on 29 March 2005. The applicant and the co‑defendants gave their comments in reply and at a meeting on 5 August 2005 the Leave to Appeal Board decided to refuse the requests. Letters of refusal were not sent out, however, as on 9 August 2005 counsel for one of the co-defendants stated that he wanted to submit supplementary comments in the light of a recent judgment in a similar case. 25.  Thereafter, due to an error, nothing happened in the case until 2 May 2006, when the police telephoned the Leave to Appeal Board and drew attention to the case. Subsequently, on his request, counsel for the relevant co-defendant who had wanted to submit supplementary comments did so on 2 and 13 June 2006. The applicant and the co-defendant were informed on 21 June 2006 that their requests for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court had been refused. At the same time the Leave to Appeal Board apologised for the length of the proceedings before it.


9.  The first applicant, the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, is an autonomous Orthodox Church having canonical jurisdiction in the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The other applicants are Moldovan nationals who are members of the eparchic council of the first applicant. They are: Mr Petru Păduraru, Archbishop of Chişinău, Metropolitan of Bessarabia and living in Chişinău; Mr Petru Buburuz, prosyncellus, living in Chişinău; Mr Ioan Eşanu, protosyncellus, living in Călăraşi; Mr Victor Rusu, protopresbyter, living in Lipnic, Ocniţa; Mr Anatol Goncear, a priest living in Zubreşti, Străşeni; Mr Valeriu Cernei, a priest living in Sloveanca, Sângerei; Mr Gheorghe Ioniţă, a priest living in Crasnoarmeisc, Hânceşti; Mr Valeriu Matciac, a priest living in Chişinău; Mr Vlad Cubreacov, member of the Moldovan parliament and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and living in Chişinău, Mr Anatol Telembici, living in Chişinău; and Mr Alexandru Magola, Chancellor of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, living in Chişinău. 10.  On 14 September 1992 the applicant natural persons joined together to form the applicant Church – the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia – a local, autonomous Orthodox Church. According to its articles of association, it took the place, from the canon-law point of view, of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia which had existed until 1944.
In December 1992 it was attached to the patriarchate of Bucharest. 11.  The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia adopted articles of association which determined, among other matters, the composition and administration of its organs, the training, recruitment and disciplinary supervision of its clergy, the ecclesiastical hierarchy and rules concerning its assets. In the preamble to the articles of association the principles governing the organisation and operation of the applicant Church are defined as follows:
“The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is a local, autonomous Orthodox Church attached to the patriarchate of Bucharest. The traditional ecclesiastical denomination ‘Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia’ is of a historically conventional nature and has no link with current or previous political situations. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia has no political activities and will have none in future. It shall carry on its work in the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia shall have the status of an exarchate of the country. According to canon law, communities of the Moldovan diaspora may also become members. No charge shall be made for the accession of individual members and communities living abroad.
In the context of its activity in the Republic of Moldova, it shall respect the laws of the State and international human rights law. Communities abroad which have adhered for the purposes of canon law to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia shall establish relations with the authorities of the States concerned, complying with their legislation and the relevant provisions of international law. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia shall cooperate with the authorities of the State in the sphere of culture, education and social assistance. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia does not make any claim of an economic or any other kind against other Churches or religious organisations. The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia maintains ecumenical relations  with other Churches and religious movements and considers that fraternal dialogue is the only proper form of relationship between Churches.
Priests of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia working in Moldovan territory shall be Moldovan citizens. When nationals of foreign States are invited to come to Moldova to carry on a religious activity or citizens of the Republic of Moldova are sent abroad for the same purpose, the legislation in force must be complied with.
Members of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia shall be citizens of the Republic of Moldova who have joined together on a voluntary basis to practise their religion in common, in accordance with their own convictions, and on the basis of the precepts of the Gospel, the Apostolic Canons, Orthodox canon law and Holy Tradition.
Religious services held in all the communities of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia shall include special prayers for the authorities and institutions of the State, couched in the following terms: ‘We pray, as always, for our country, the Republic of Moldova, for its leaders and for its army. May God protect them and grant them peaceful and honest lives, spent in obedience to the canons of the Church.’ ” 12.  To date, the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia has established 117 communities in Moldovan territory, three communities in Ukraine, one in Lithuania, one in Latvia, two in the Russian Federation and one in Estonia. The communities in Latvia and Lithuania have been recognised by the State authorities and have legal personality.
Nearly one million Moldovan nationals are affiliated to the applicant Church, which has more than 160 clergy.
The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia is recognised by all the Orthodox patriarchates with the exception of the patriarchate of Moscow. 13.  Pursuant to the Religious Denominations Act (Law no. 979-XII of 24 March 1992), which requires religious denominations active in Moldovan territory to be recognised by means of a government decision, the applicant Church applied for recognition on 8 October 1992. It received no reply. 14.  It made further applications on 25 January and 8 February 1995. On a date which has not been specified the Religious Affairs Department refused these applications. 15.  On 8 August 1995 the applicant Petru Păduraru, relying on Article 235 of the Code of Civil Procedure (which governs judicial review of administrative acts contrary to recognised rights), brought civil proceedings against the government in the Court of First Instance of the Buiucani district of Chişinău. He asked for the decisions refusing to recognise the applicant Church to be set aside. The court ruled in his favour and, on 12 September 1995, ordered recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. 16.  On 15 September 1995 the Buiucani public prosecutor appealed against the Buiucani Court of First Instance’s decision of 12 September 1995. 17.  On 18 October 1995 the Supreme Court of Justice set aside the decision of 12 September 1995 on the ground that the courts did not have jurisdiction to consider the applicant Church’s application for recognition. 18.  On 13 March 1996 the applicant Church filed a fresh application for recognition with the government. On 24 May 1996, having received no reply, the applicants brought civil proceedings against the government in the Chişinău Court of First Instance, seeking recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. On 19 July 1996 that court gave judgment against the applicants. 19.  On 20 August 1996 the applicants again filed an application for recognition, which went unanswered. 20.  The applicants appealed to the Chişinău Municipal Court (Tribunal municipiului) against the judgment of 19 July 1996. In a judgment of 21 May 1997, against which no appeal lay, the Municipal Court quashed the impugned judgment and allowed the applicants’ claim. 21.  However, following a reform of the Moldovan judicial system, the file was sent to the Moldovan Court of Appeal for trial de novo. 22.  On 4 March 1997 the applicants again applied to the government for recognition. On 4 June 1997, not having received any reply, they referred the matter to the Court of Appeal, seeking recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, relying on their freedom of conscience and freedom of association for the purpose of practising their religion. The resulting action was joined to the case already pending before the Court of Appeal. 23.  In the Court of Appeal the government alleged that the case concerned an ecclesiastical conflict within the Orthodox Church in Moldova (the Metropolitan Church of Moldova), which could be resolved only by the Romanian and Russian Orthodox Churches, and that any recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia would provoke conflicts in the Orthodox community. 24.  The Court of Appeal allowed the applicants’ claim in a decision of 19 August 1997. It pointed out, firstly, that Article 31 §§ 1 and 2 of the Moldovan Constitution guaranteed freedom of conscience and that that freedom should be exercised in a spirit of tolerance and respect for others. In addition, the various denominations were free to organise themselves according to their articles of association, subject to compliance with the laws of the Republic. Secondly, it noted that from 8 October 1992 the applicant Church, acting pursuant to sections 14 and 15 of the Religious Denominations Act, had filed with the government a number of applications for recognition, but that no reply had been forthcoming. By a letter of 19 July 1995 the Prime Minister had informed the applicants that the government could not consider the application of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia without interfering with the activity of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. The Court of Appeal further noted that while the applicant Church’s application for recognition had been ignored, the Metropolitan Church of Moldova had been recognised by the government on 7 February 1993, as an eparchy dependent on the patriarchate of Moscow.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the government’s argument that recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova made it possible to satisfy the wishes of all Orthodox believers. It pointed out that the term denomination was not to be reserved for catholicism or orthodoxy, but should embrace all faiths and various manifestations of religious feelings by their adherents, in the form of prayers, ritual, religious services or divine worship. It noted that from the point of view of canon law the Metropolitan Church of Moldova was part of the Russian Orthodox Church and therefore dependent on the patriarchate of Moscow, whereas the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was attached to the Romanian Orthodox Church and therefore dependent on the patriarchate of Bucharest.
The Court of Appeal held that the government’s refusal to recognise the applicant Church was contrary to the freedom of religion, as guaranteed not only by the Religious Denominations Act but also by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 5 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to all of which Moldova was party. Noting that the representative of the government had taken the view that the applicant Church’s articles of association complied with domestic legislation, the Court of Appeal ordered the government to recognise the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and to ratify its articles of association. 25.  The government appealed against the above decision on the ground that the courts did not have jurisdiction to try such a case. 26.  In a judgment of 9 December 1997 the Supreme Court of Justice set aside the decision of 19 August 1997 and dismissed the applicants’ action on the grounds that it was out of time and manifestly ill-founded.
It noted that, according to Article 238 of the Code of Civil Procedure, one month was allowed for an appeal against a government decision alleged to infringe a recognised right. The time allowed began to run either on the date of the decision announcing the government’s refusal or, if the they did not reply, one month after the lodging of the application. The Supreme Court of Justice noted that the applicants had submitted their application to the government on 4 March 1997 and lodged their appeal on 4 June 1997; it accordingly ruled their action out of time.
It went on to say that, in any event, the government’s refusal of the applicants’ application had not infringed their freedom of religion as guaranteed by international treaties, and in particular by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, because they were Orthodox Christians and could manifest their beliefs within the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, which the government had recognised by a decision of 7 February 1993.
The Supreme Court of Justice considered that the case was simply an administrative dispute within a single Church, which could be settled only by the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, since any interference by the State in the matter might aggravate the situation. It held that the State’s refusal to intervene in this conflict was compatible with Article 9 § 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lastly, it noted that the applicants could manifest their beliefs freely, that they had access to Churches and that they had not adduced evidence of any obstacle whatsoever to the practice of their religion. 27.  On 15 March 1999 the applicants again applied to the government for recognition. 28.  By a letter dated 20 July 1999 the Prime Minister refused on the ground that the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was not a religious denomination in the legal sense but a schismatic group within the Metropolitan Church of Moldova.
He informed the applicants that the government would not allow their application until a religious solution to the conflict had been found, following the negotiations in progress between the patriarchates of Russia and Romania. 29.  On 10 January 2000 the applicants lodged a further application for recognition with the government. The Court has not been informed of the outcome of that application. 30.  Since the adoption of the Religious Denominations Act, the government has recognised a number of denominations, some of which are listed below.
On 7 February 1993 the government ratified the articles of association of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, attached to the patriarchate of Moscow. On 28 August 1995 it recognised the Orthodox Eparchy of the Old Christian Liturgy of Chişinău, attached to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Old Liturgy, whose head office was in Moscow.
On 22 July 1993 the government recognised the “Seventh-Day Adventist Church”. On 19 July 1994 it decided to recognise the “Seventh-Day Adventist Church – Reform Movement”.
On 9 June 1994 the government ratified the articles of association of the “Federation of Jewish (Religious) Communities” and on 1 September 1997 those of the “Union of Communities of Messianic Jews”. 31.  Since it was first set up, the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia has regularly applied to the Moldovan authorities to explain the reasons for its creation and to seek their support in obtaining official recognition. 32.  The government asked several ministries for their opinion about whether to recognise the applicant Church.
On 16 October 1992 the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs informed the government that it was favourable to the recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia.
On 14 November 1992 the Ministry of Financial Affairs informed the government that it could see no objection to the recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia.
On 8 February 1993 the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection declared that it was favourable to the recognition of the applicant Church.
In a letter of 8 February 1993 the Ministry of Education emphasised the need for the rapid recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia in order to avoid any discrimination against its adherents, while pointing out that its articles of association could be improved upon.
On 15 February 1993 the Secretariat of State for Privatisation stated that it was favourable to the recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, while proposing certain amendments to its articles of association. 33.  On 11 March 1993, in reply to a letter from the Bishop of Bălţi, writing on behalf of the Metropolitan of Bessarabia, the Moldovan parliament’s Cultural and Religious Affairs Committee noted that the delay in registering the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was aggravating the social and political situation in Moldova, even though its actions and articles of association complied with Moldovan legislation. The committee therefore asked the government to recognise the applicant Church. 34.  A memorandum from the Religious Affairs Department, dated 21 November 1994, summarised the situation as follows:
“For nearly two years an ecclesiastical group known under the name of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia has been operating illegally in Moldovan territory. No positive result has been obtained in spite of our sustained efforts to put a stop to its activity (discussions between members of the so-called Church, priests, Mr G.E., Mr I.E. ..., representatives of the State and believers from the localities in which its adherents are active, Mr G.G., Minister of State, and Mr N.A., Deputy Speaker; all the organs of local and national administrative bodies have been informed of the illegal nature of the group, etc.).
In addition, although priests and adherents of the Church have been forbidden to take part in divine service, for failure to comply with canon law, they have nevertheless continued their illegal activities in the churches and have also been invited to officiate on the occasion of various public activities organised, for example, by the Ministries of Defence and Health. The management of the Bank of Moldova and the National Customs Service have not acted on our request for liquidation of the group’s bank accounts and strict supervision of its priests during their numerous crossings of the border.
The activity of the so-called Church is not limited to attracting new adherents and propagating the ideas of the Romanian Church. It also has all the means necessary for the work of a Church, it appoints priests, including nationals of other States ..., trains clergy, builds churches and many, many other things.
It should also be mentioned that the group’s activity (more political than religious) is sustained by forces both from within the country (by certain mayors and their villages, by opposition representatives, and even by some MPs) and from outside (by decision no. 612 of 12 November 1993 the Romanian government granted it 399,400,000 lei to finance its activity ...
The activity of this group is causing religious and socio-political tension in Moldova and will have unforeseeable repercussions ...
The Religious Affairs Department notes:
(a)  Within Moldovan territory there is no territorial administrative unit with the name of Bessarabia which might justify setting up a religious group named ‘Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia’. The creation of such a group and recognition of its articles of association would constitute a wrongful anti-State act – a negation of the sovereign and independent State which the Republic of Moldova constitutes.
(b)  The Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was set up to take the place of the former Eparchy of Bessarabia, founded in 1925 and recognised by Decree no. 1942 promulgated on 4 May 1925 by the King of Romania. Legal recognition of the validity of those acts would imply recognition of their present-day effects within Moldovan territory.
(c)  All Orthodox parishes in Moldovan territory have been registered as constituent parts of the of the Orthodox Church of Moldova (the Metropolitan Church of Moldova), whose articles of association were ratified by the government in its decision no. 719 of 17 November 1993.
In conclusion: 1.  If nothing is done to put a stop to the activity of the so-called Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, the result will be destabilisation not just of the Orthodox Church but of the whole of Moldovan society. 2.  Recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia (Old Style) and ratification of its articles of association by the government would automatically entail the disappearance of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova.” 35.  On 20 February 1996, following a question in Parliament asked by the applicant Vlad Cubreacov, a Moldovan MP, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote a letter to the Speaker explaining the reasons for the government’s refusal to recognise the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. He said that the applicant Church was not a denomination distinct from the Orthodox Church but a schismatic group within the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and that any interference by the State to resolve the conflict would be contrary to the Moldovan Constitution. He pointed out that the political party to which Mr Cubreacov belonged had publicly expressed disapproval of the Supreme Court of Justice’s decision of 9 December 1997, that Mr Cubreacov himself had criticised the government for their refusal to recognise “this phantom metropolitan Church” and that he continued to support it by exerting pressure in any way he could, through statements to the media and approaches to the national authorities and international organisations. The letter ended with the assertion that the “feverish debates” about the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia were purely political. 36.  On 29 June 1998 the Religious Affairs Department sent the Deputy Prime Minister its opinion on the question of recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia.
It pointed out in particular that not since 1940 had there been an administrative unit in Moldova with the name “Bessarabia” and that the Orthodox Church had been recognised on 17 November 1993 under the name of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, of which the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was a “schismatic element”. It accordingly considered that recognition of the applicant Church would represent interference by the State in the affairs of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, and that this would aggravate the “unhealthy” situation in which the latter Church was placed. It considered that the articles of association of the applicant Church could not be ratified since they merely “reproduce[d] those of the Orthodox Church of another country”. 37.  On 22 June 1998 the Ministry of Justice informed the government that it did not consider the articles of association of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia to be contrary to Moldovan legislation. 38.  By letters of 25 June and 6 July 1998 the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Financial Affairs again informed the government that they could see no objection to recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. 39.  On 7 July 1998 the Ministry of Education informed the government that it supported recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. 40.  On 15 September 1998 the Cultural and Religious Affairs Committee of the Moldovan parliament sent the government, for information, a copy of a report by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, which showed that on 1 January 1998 there were at least four different Orthodox Churches in Russia, some of which had their head offices abroad. The Committee expressed the hope that the above-mentioned report would assist the government to resolve certain similar problems, particularly the problem concerning the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia’s application for recognition. 41.  In a letter sent on 10 January 2000 to the applicant Vlad Cubreacov, the Deputy Attorney-General expressed the view that the government’s refusal to reply to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia’s application for recognition was contrary to the freedom of religion and to Articles 6, 11 and 13 of the Convention. 42.  In a decision of 26 September 2001 the government approved the amended version of Article 1 of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova’s articles of association, worded as follows:
“The Orthodox Church of Moldova is an independent Church and is the successor in law to ... the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. While complying with the canons and precepts of the Holy Apostles, Fathers of the Church and the Ecumenical Synods, and the decisions of the Universal Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church of Moldova operates within the territory of the State of the Republic of Moldova in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force.” 43.  In a letter received by the Court on 21 September 2001 the President of the Republic of Moldova expressed his concern about the possibility that the applicant Church might be recognised. He said that the issue could be resolved only by negotiation between the Russian and Romanian patriarchates, since it would be in breach of Moldovan legislation if the State authorities were to intervene in the conflict. Moreover, if the authorities were to recognise the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, this would have unforeseeable consequences for Moldovan society. 44.  In its Opinion no. 188 (1995) to the Committee of Ministers on Moldova’s application for membership of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe noted the Republic of Moldova’s willingness to fulfil the commitments it had entered into when it lodged its application for membership on 20 April 1993.
These commitments, which had been reaffirmed before the adoption of the above-mentioned opinion, included an undertaking to “confirm complete freedom of worship for all citizens without discrimination” and to “ensure a peaceful solution to the dispute between the Moldovan Orthodox Church and the Bessarabian Orthodox Church”. 45.  In its annual report for 1997 the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights criticised the Moldovan government’s refusal to recognise the Metropoltitan Church of Bessarabia. The report stated that as a result of this refusal many churches had been transferred to the ownership of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. It drew attention to allegations that members of the applicant Church’s clergy had been subjected to physical violence without receiving the slightest protection from the authorities. 46.  In its 1998 report the Federation criticised the Religious Denominations Act, and in particular section 4 thereof, which denied any protection of the freedom of religion to the adherents of religions not recognised by a government decision. It pointed out that this section was a discriminatory instrument which enabled the government to make it difficult for the adherents of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia to bring legal proceedings with a view to reclaiming church buildings which belonged to them. In addition, the report mentioned acts of violence and vandalism to which the applicant Church and its members were subjected. 47.  The applicants reported a number of incidents during which members of the clergy or adherents of the applicant Church had allegedly been intimidated or prevented from manifesting their beliefs. 48.  The Government did not dispute that these incidents had taken place. 49.  In 1994 the assembly of Christians of the village of Gârbova (Ocniţa) decided to join the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. The Metropolitan of Bessarabia therefore appointed T.B. as the parish priest. 50.  On 7 January 1994, when T.B. went to the church to celebrate the Christmas mass, the mayor of Gârbova, T.G., forbade him to enter. When the villagers came out of the church to protest, the mayor locked the door and, without further explanation, ordered T.B. to leave the village within twenty-four hours. 51.  The mayor summoned a new assembly of the Christians of the village on 9 January 1994. On that date he informed the villagers that T.B. had been stripped of his post as the village priest because he belonged to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. He introduced a new parish priest who belonged to the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. The assembly rejected the mayor’s proposal. 52.  The mayor called a new assembly of the Christians of the village on 11 January 1994. On that date he introduced to the villagers a third priest, also from the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. He was likewise rejected by the assembly, which expressed its preference for T.B. 53.  In those circumstances, S.M., the chairman of the parish council, was summoned by the mayor and the manager of the local collective farm, who urged him to persuade the villagers to accept T.B.’s removal from office. The chairman of the parish council refused. 54.  On 13 January 1994 S.M. was arrested on his way to church. He was pinned down by five policemen, then thrown into a police van and taken first to the town hall, where he was savagely beaten. He was then taken into police custody at Ocniţa police station, where he was upbraided for showing favour to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. He was not informed of the reasons for his arrest. He was released after being detained for three days. 55.  Following these incidents T.B. left the parish. 56.  In a letter of 20 May 1994 the vice-president of the provincial council for the province (raion) of Făleşti rebuked G.E., priest of the parish of Saint Nicholas and a member of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, for having celebrated the Easter service on 9 May 1994 in the town cemetery, that being an act contrary to the Religious Denominations Act because the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was illegal. For the same reason he was forbidden to conduct divine service in future whether inside a church or in the open air. The vice-chairman of the provincial council warned G.E. not to implement a plan he had to invite priests from Romania to attend divine service on 22 May 1994, given that he had not first obtained official authorisation, as required by section 22 of the Religious Denominations Act. 57.  In November 1994 G.E. was fined 90 lei (MDL) for officiating as a priest of an unrecognised Church, the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. The Court of First Instance upheld the penalty, but reduced the amount of the fine to MDL 54 on the ground that G.E. did not hold any office within the Church concerned. 58.  On 27 October 1996, before the beginning of divine service in the parish church, several persons, led by a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, violently assaulted G.E., drawing blood, and asked him to join the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. They also attacked the priest’s wife, tearing her clothes. 59.  G.E. managed to escape into the church, where the service was taking place, but he was pursued by his assailants, who began to fight with the congregation. A policeman sent to the scene managed to persuade the aggressors to leave the church. 60.  On 15 November 1996 the parish meeting published a declaration expressing the parishioners’ indignation about the acts of violence and intimidation to which members of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia were subjected, requested the authorities to cease to condone such acts and demanded official recognition for their Church. 61.  On 6 June 1998 the applicant Petru Păduraru, Metropolitan of Bessarabia, received two anonymous telegrams warning him not to go to Făleşti. He did not lodge any complaint about this. 62.  On 11 July 1994 the applicant Ioan Eşanu, priest of the parish of Saint Alexander, was summoned by the president of the Călăraşi provincial council to a discussion about the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia.
That discussion was also attended by the mayor of Călăraşi, the secretary of the provincial council and the parish clerk. The president of the provincial council criticised the applicant for his membership of the applicant Church, which made him a fellow-traveller of those who supported union with Romania. He then gave him one week to produce a certificate attesting to recognition of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, failing which he would have to leave the parish. 63.  In a letter of 24 November 1994 to the Metropolitan of Bessarabia, V.B., a Romanian national, priest of the parish of Cania, reported that he was under intense pressure from the authorities of the province of Cantemir, who had upbraided him for belonging to the applicant Church. 64.  On 19 January 1995 V.B. was summoned to the police station in Cantemir, where he was served with a government decision cancelling his residence and work permits and ordering him to leave Moldovan territory within seventy-two hours and to hand over the permits concerned to the relevant authorities. 65.  On 5 April 1995 Vasile Petrache, priest of the parish of Saint Nicholas, informed the Metropolitan of Bessarabia that the windows of the church, which was affiliated to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, had been broken during incidents that had taken place on the nights of 27 to 28 March and 3 to 4 April 1995. 66.  A similar attack occurred in the night of 13 to 14 May 1995. Vasile Petrache lodged a complaint on each occasion, asking the police to intervene in order to prevent further attacks taking place. 67.  In the night of 3 to 4 September 1996 a grenade was thrown by unknown persons into the house of the Metropolitan of Bessarabia, causing damage. The applicant lodged a complaint about this at the police station in Chişinău. 68.  In autumn 1999, after the death of Vasile Petrache, the Metropolitan of Bessarabia appointed the applicant Petru Buburuz as the parish priest of Saint Nicholas.
Following that appointment the church of Saint Nicholas was occupied by representatives of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, who locked it and prevented the adherents of the applicant Church from entering. They also took possession of the parish documents and seal. 69.  On 8 December 1999 the police issued a summons against Petru Buburuz for organising a public meeting in front of Saint Nicholas’s church on 28 November 1999 without first obtaining the authorisation required for public meetings. 70.  On 28 January 2000 Judge S. of the Buiucani Court of First Instance discontinued the proceedings on the ground that the applicant had not organised a meeting but had merely celebrated a mass in his capacity as priest at the request of about a hundred believers who were present. Judge S. also noted that the mass had been celebrated on the square, as the church door had been locked. 71.  In the night of 3 to 4 September 1996 a grenade was thrown into the house of P.G., a member of the clergy of the applicant Church. On 28 September 1996 P.G. was threatened by six persons unknown to him. He immediately lodged a criminal complaint. 72.  In a letter of 22 November 1996 to the President of Moldova, the Minister of the Interior expressed his regret about the slow progress of the investigations into P.G.’s complaints and informed him that on that account disciplinary penalties had been imposed on the police officers responsible for the inquiry. 73.  In a report of 22 June 1998 to the Metropolitan of Bessarabia the parish clerk complained of the actions of one M., a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, who was trying, with the help of the mayor of Bălţi, to oust P.B., a priest of the applicant Church, and have the village church closed.
No complaint was lodged with the authorities on this subject. 74.  On 23 August 1999, according to the applicants, Police Captain R., claiming to be acting on the orders of his superior officer, Lieutenant-Colonel B.D., placed seals on the door of the church of Cucioaia (Ghiliceni) and forbade V.R., a priest of the applicant Church, who regularly officiated there, to enter and continue to conduct divine service. After a complaint by the people of the village, the applicant Vlad Cubreacov wrote to the Prime Minister on 26 August 1998 to ask him for an explanation.
The incident was also reported in the 26 August 1998 issue of the newspaper Flux.
The Government asserted that following the above complaint the Ministry of the Interior ordered an inquiry. The inquiry showed that it was not a policeman but a member of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, Archdeacon D.S., who had placed the seals on the church door. 75.  On 11 April 1998, at about midnight, the parish priest was woken by persons unknown to him who were trying to force open the presbytery door. He was threatened with death if he did not give up the idea of creating a new parish in Cahul. 76.  On 13 April 1998 he was threatened with death by one I.G., a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. On the same day he complained to the police. 77.  After leaving the Metropolitan Church of Moldova in July 1997 to join the applicant Church, the priest of the parish of Mărinici and his family received threats on a number of occasions from various priests of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. The windows of his house were broken and, on 2 February 1998, he was attacked in the street and beaten by strangers, who told him not to meddle with “those things” anymore. 78.  The parish priest consulted a forensic physician, who issued a certificate detailing the injuries that had been inflicted on him. He subsequently lodged a criminal complaint with the Cecani police. 79.  The Moldovan newspapers regularly reported incidents described as acts of intimidation against the clergy and worshippers of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia. 80.  On 6 December 1998 one V.J., a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova, and other persons accompanying him broke open the door of the village church and occupied it. When the parish priest, V.S., a member of the applicant Church, arrived to take the Sunday service he was prevented from entering. The stand-off continued until the villagers belonging to the applicant Church arrived on the scene. 81.  In a report sent to the Metropolitan of Bessarabia on 2 February 2001, N.A., priest of the parish of Leova, stated that the church in Leova had suffered acts of vandalism and that he himself and other parishioners had been the target of public acts of intimidation and death threats from one G.C., a priest of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova. Such acts were repeated on a number of further occasions without any protection being offered by the municipal council to parishioners who were members of the applicant Church. 82.  The Christians of the village of Floreni joined the applicant Church on 12 March 1996 and formed a local community of that Church on 24 March 1996. They also had a chapel built where mass could be celebrated. 83.  On 29 December 1997 the government adopted decision no. 1203, granting the Metropolitan Church of Moldova a right of use in respect of the land on which the chapel built by the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia was situated. That decision was confirmed by a decree of 9 March 1998 issued by the Floreni municipal council. 84.  Following a request by the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia for the right to use the land concerned, in view of the fact that its chapel was built on it, the National Land Registry replied to the Church’s adherents in the parish of Floreni that “the local public authorities [were] not able to adopt such a decision since the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia [had] no recognised legal personality in Moldova”. 85.  On 17 February 2000 the Metropolitan of Bessarabia asked the government Committee for Humanitarian Aid to authorise entry into Moldovan territory of goods to the value of 9,000 United States dollars (USD) sent from the United States, and to classify the goods concerned as humanitarian aid. That request was refused on 25 February 2000. 86.  On 25 February 2000 the applicant Vlad Cubreacov asked the committee to inform him of the reasons for its refusal. He pointed out that the gift (of second-hand clothes), sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had been given a transit visa by the Ukrainian authorities, who accepted that it was a humanitarian gift. However, the goods had been held up by the Moldovan customs since 18 February 2000, so that the addressee was obliged to pay USD 150 per day of storage. The applicant repeated his request for the goods to be allowed to enter Moldovan territory as a humanitarian gift. 87.  On 28 February 2000 the Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova authorised the entry of this humanitarian gift into Moldovan territory. 88.  Vasile Petrache, a priest of the applicant Church, was refused a retirement pension on the ground that he was not a minister of a recognised denomination.