6.  The applicant was born in 1926 and lives in Belgrade. 7.  The general pension system of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter “the SFRY”) was set up on the principle of territoriality. This meant that each federal entity, namely the six republics (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro) and two autonomous provinces (Vojvodina and Kosovo), had their own pension funds, which were independent of federal government and were responsible for the collection of contributions and the payment of pensions to all individuals who had been working on the territory of the respective republic or province. The pension system was based on the “pay-as-you-go” model and the principle of inter-generational solidarity, which was essentially based on the payment of mandatory contributions during the years of employment and then receiving the pension by instalments once retired. 8.  The military pension system differed, in that it was centralised at the federal level. On 1 January 1973 under, at the relevant time, the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (Zakon o mirovinskom i invalidskom osiguranju vojnih obveznika) a federal pension fund was established for employees of the Yugoslav People’s Army (hereinafter “the YPA”) with its registered headquarters in Belgrade. Contributions to this fund were paid from the federal budget, and the fund then paid pensions to military pensioners, irrespective of the location of their military service or where they lived once retired. 9.  On 25 June 1991 the Croatian Parliament (Sabor Republike Hrvatske) declared Croatia independent of Yugoslavia, and on 8 October 1991 all relations between Croatia and the SFRY federal Government were dissolved. The SFRY Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act was incorporated into the Croatian legal system by the Military Personnel Federal Pension, Invalidity Insurance and Child Support Legislation (Acceptance in the Republic of Croatia as Republic Law) Act (Zakon o preuzimanju saveznih zakona iz oblasti mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja i doplatka za djecu vojnih osiguranika koji se u Republici Hrvatskoj primjenjuju kao republički zakoni), enacted by the Parliament on 26 June 1991. 10.  On 23 July 1992 the Government of Croatia enacted a decree on “Pension and Invalidity Rights of Persons Whose Active Military Service in the YPA Terminated Prior to 31 December 1991” (Uredba o ostvarivanju prava iz mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja osoba kojima je prestalo svojstvo aktivne vojne osobe u bivšoj JNA do 31. prosinca 1991.; hereinafter: “the Military Pensions Decree”). The Military Pensions Decree laid down conditions for recognition of the right to advance payments of pensions (akontacija) to former YPA military personnel, provided that they had terminated their military service prior to 31 December 1991, but had not obtained pension rights prior to that date, and that they met all the necessary conditions to be granted a pension under the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraph 8 above). The Military Pensions Decree set out three additional complementary conditions: (1) residence in Croatia, (2) Croatian nationality, and (3) that the person concerned had made himself available for service in the Croatian army prior to 31 December 1991 and was not suspected of an offence against Croatia. The Croatian Republic Workers’ Pension and Invalidity Insurance Fund (Republički fond mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja radnika Hrvatske; hereinafter “the Republic Workers’ Fund”) was assigned to make the necessary arrangements under this Decree. 11.  On the same day the Government of Croatia also enacted a decree on “Payment of Pensions to Former SFRY Republic Pension Beneficiaries” (Uredba o isplati mirovina korisnicima koji su mirovinu ostvarili u republikama bivše Socijalističke Federativne Republike Jugoslavije). Under that decree all residents of Croatia who had been granted pensions in other republics of the former SFRY, except Slovenia, which had at the time also dissolved its relations with the SFRY federal government, were entitled to payment of their pensions by Croatia. The Republic Workers’ Fund was ordered to pay pensions from the collected contributions which Croatia was not paying to pensioners residing in other republics of the former SFRY due to the ending of financial transfers. 12.  On 6 October 1993 the Croatian Parliament enacted the Yugoslav People’s Army Personnel Pensions Act (Zakon o ostvarivanju prava iz mirovnskog i invalidskog osigurnja pripadnika bivše JNA), which set aside the 1992 Decree (see paragraph 10 above) and part of the 1991 transitional legislation (see paragraph 9 above). Under this Act Croatia assumed responsibility for payment of YPA military pensions obtained prior to 8 October 1991, and for the granting of pensions to YPA military personnel whose service in Croatia had terminated prior to 31 December 1991. 13.  Former YPA military personnel who had obtained pension rights under the former SFRY pension regime prior to 8 October 1991 had the right to have their pension paid by Croatia if their pension from the former federal fund was no longer being paid. Two further conditions were laid down: residence in Croatia and that the person concerned was not being prosecuted for certain criminal offences against Croatia, listed in section 2 of the Act. The Republic Workers’ Fund was tasked with enforcement of the Act. 14.  The Act was set aside by the Pension Insurance Act (Zakon o mirovinskom osiguranju), which was enacted on 10 July 1998 and came into force on 1 January 1999. In the period relevant to this case it was amended several times (see paragraphs 50-53 below). The Pension Insurance Act regulated the compulsory pension insurance scheme on the basis of the principle of inter-generational solidarity (section 2 § 1). It established the Croatian Pension Fund (Hrvatski zavod za mirovinsko osiguranje), which was tasked with the management of pension affairs (section 6) thus replacing the previous Republic Workers’ Fund (section 187 §§ 1 and 3). Accordingly, the Croatian Pension Fund was tasked with the collection of pension contributions and payment of pensions and with the observance of obligations under international agreements on pensions (section 130). Under the Pension Insurance Act payment of pensions abroad was possible only under either an international agreement or a reciprocal agreement (section 88). 15.  The Pension Insurance Act also provided that funds for payment of pensions to YPA military pensioners should be secured in the State’s budget, and that the necessary contributions should be paid to the Croatian Pension Fund on a monthly basis (section 152 § 1). For all Croatian nationals the Pension Insurance Act recognised pensionable years of employment in the period prior to 8 October 1991 under the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraphs 8 and 9 above) as pensionable years of employment (section 186). 16.  By an amendment of 29 November 2001 the pensions of, inter alia, YPA military pensioners were reduced and the Croatian Pension Fund was ordered to set the amended levels of their pensions. 17.  On 15 September 1997 Croatia and the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro) signed a Social Insurance Treaty (Ugovor o socijalnom osiguranju), hereinafter “the Social Insurance Treaty”), which came into force on 1 May 2003. The Social Insurance Treaty listed the relevant domestic legislation to which it was applicable, namely health insurance and health protection legislation; pension and invalidity insurance legislation; legislation on work-related accidents and work-related illnesses; and unemployment benefits. It was applicable to all persons in the two countries who had rights and duties under the relevant domestic legislation. The right to payment of a pension abroad existed irrespective of the place of residence of the pension beneficiaries within one of the contracting States. The Republic Workers’ Fund was designated the competent liaison authority in Croatia concerning all pension issues (see paragraph 54 below). 18.  According to the Government, after the dissolution of the former SFRY, Serbia maintained a dual pension system for civilian and military pensioners, and stopped paying YPA military pensions to pensioners residing in Croatia. Only in January 2012 was a pension reform carried out in Serbia which had the effect of integrating the military pension fund into the civilian pension and invalidity insurance fund. On an unspecified date the Serbian authorities informed the Croatian pension authorities of this change. They also indicated that they would pay what formerly were military pensions to pensioners residing abroad under the relevant treaties on social insurance or reciprocal agreements. 19.  On 29 June 2001 the republics of the former SFRY signed the Agreement on Succession Issues (Ugovor o pitanjima sukcesije, hereinafter “the Succession Agreement”), which came into force on 2 June 2004 (see paragraph 55 below). 20.  Annexe E to the Succession Agreement dealt with pensions. It was based on the principle of acquired rights, in that rights acquired under one system must be acknowledged and respected in another. Article 1 established the said principle in respect of the pension rights acquired under the former republics’ pension regime (see paragraph 7 above), while Article 2 dealt with military pensions under the former federal regime (see paragraph 8 above). The latter provision stipulated that the State which had recognised the right to payment of the pensions to former SFRY military personnel should continue to pay pensions to all its nationals, irrespective of their place of residence. In cases where a person was a national of more than one republic of the former SFRY, the pension should be paid by the State where that person resided. This pension payment regime differed from the regime established for civilian pensions under Article 1 of Annexe E to the Succession Agreement, which provided that the State which had recognised the pension rights and which paid the pensions should continue with the payments entirely irrespective of the nationality or place of residence of the pension beneficiaries. 21.  The applicant served as a military officer in the YPA between 1941 and 1979, when he retired. On 16 May 1979 the SFRY federal pension fund for retired YPA employees authorised the applicant’s entitlement to a military pension. At that time the applicant was residing in Dubrovnik, Croatia. 22.  On 19 June 1992 the applicant requested the Dubrovnik office of the Republic Workers’ Fund (Republički fond mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja radnika Hrvatske, Područna služba u Dubrovniku) to recognise his entitlement to a military pension under the new Croatian legislation. The applicant substantiated his request by submitting evidence of his place of residence in Croatia at an address in Dubrovnik, evidence of Croatian citizenship, and a document from the Dubrovnik Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Dubrovniku), confirming that no criminal proceedings against him had been instituted. 23.  On 7 July 1992 the Dubrovnik Office of the Republic Workers’ Fund recognised the applicant’s entitlement to a military pension, as established under the former SFRY Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraph 47 below). It found that the applicant had Croatian citizenship and a place of residence in Croatia, and that the competent domestic authorities had not instituted criminal proceedings against the applicant for any offence against Croatia. 24.  On 12 December 1992, acting ex officio, the Dubrovnik Office of the Republic Workers’ Fund established the amount of the applicant’s pension under the Military Pensions Decree. The pension was to be paid to the applicant as long as the necessary requirements existed. 25.  On 6 May 1994 the Military Social Insurance Fund of the then Federal Yugoslav Republic Army in Belgrade, Serbia, ordered that payment of the applicant’s military pension should be stopped, on the grounds that they had been informed by the Croatian authorities that the applicant had been granted a pension in Croatia. 26.  According to the applicant, in October 1998 he visited his son in Belgrade, Serbia, and decided to stay with his son for a longer period. He continued to receive payments of his pension through a representative in Dubrovnik. 27.  On 9 June 2003 the applicant informed the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund (Područna služba u Dubrovniku Hrvatskog zavoda za mirovinsko osiguranje) that he had changed his place of residence to Belgrade, Serbia, and requested that his pension be paid to his new address. He submitted evidence of residence in Belgrade and details of his bank account in Serbia. 28.  On 30 September 2003 the Croatian Pension Fund stopped payment of the applicant’s pension. It found that the Social Insurance Treaty with Serbia did not cover YPA military pensions, and that there was no reciprocal agreement with Serbia in that respect, as required under the relevant domestic law, for the payment of pensions abroad. Pension payments were stopped with effect from 1 October 2003. 29.  On 16 December 2003 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund (Žalbeno vijeće Upravnog vijeća Hrvatskog zavoda za mirovinsko osiguranje) arguing that there was no legal ground for his pension to be stopped. He contended that when his pension rights had been recognised under the Military Pensions Decree he had obtained the right to receive the pension from the Republic Workers’ Fund, and that his status was therefore equal to that of other old-age pensioners. He also complained that he had not been able to obtain his pension in Serbia, since payment of his pension there had been stopped on the grounds that his entitlement to a pension had been recognised in Croatia. Finally, the applicant explained that the pension which had been stopped was his only income. 30.  On 17 March 2004 the applicant lodged an administrative action in the Administrative Court (Upravni sud Republike Hrvatske) complaining that the Croatian Pension Fund had failed to decide on his appeal against the first-instance decision of the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund. 31.  In his administrative action the applicant reiterated that by recognising his entitlement to a pension under the Military Pensions Decree he had the same status as all other pensioners in Croatia who had been receiving pensions from the Croatian Pension Fund. He explained that he had submitted his request for payment of the pension to Serbia under the Social Insurance Treaty and that the stopping of his pension had been unlawful. The applicant also complained that he and his wife had no other financial means now that his pension had been discontinued. 32.  The Administrative Court invited the applicant to substantiate his action further on 18 March 2004. The applicant complied with this request, and submitted a supplemented administrative action on 3 September 2004, reiterating his previous arguments. 33.  On 5 October 2004 the applicant changed his place of residence to his old address in Dubrovnik and the following day he informed the Dubrovnik Office of the Croatian Pension Fund, asking for payment of his pension to be resumed. The applicant also pointed out that the Croatian Pension Fund had never decided on his appeal against the decision to stop the payment of his pension. 34.  The Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund dismissed the applicant’s appeal against the first-instance decision of the Dubrovnik Office of the Croatian Pension Fund as ill-founded on 24 November 2004, endorsing the reasoning of the first-instance decision. 35.  On 10 January 2005 the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund resumed payment of the applicant’s pension. It found that the applicant had changed his place of residence to Croatia, and that all other requirements under the relevant domestic law had been met. The payment of the applicant’s pension was to be resumed with effect from 1 November 2004. 36.  On 12 April 2006 the Administrative Court invited the applicant to explain whether he wanted to pursue his administrative action of 17 March 2004, since the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund had decided on his appeal in the meantime. 37.  On 13 November 2006 the applicant informed the Administrative Court that he wanted to pursue his administrative action. Moreover, he indicated that he wanted to extend it to the second-instance decision of the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund of 24 November 2004. The applicant again argued that the change of his place of residence had not warranted in any respect, legal or factual, stopping the payment of his pension, and that therefore depriving him of his pension for the period between 1 October 2003 and 31 October 2004 had been unlawful. 38.  On 8 March 2007 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s administrative action as ill-founded. The relevant part of the decision reads:
“The reasoning of the impugned decision, and of the first-instance decision, is based on the fact that the plaintiff’s request for payment of the recognised military pension which he had obtained as a YPA employee prior to 8 October 1991 had been refused, because he had a place of residence in Serbia ... and the Social Insurance Treaty between the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia did not cover military pensions of former YPA military personnel obtained through the military [pension] fund prior to 8 October 1991. Between the Republic of Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro there is no reciprocal agreement in payment of military pensions, so the [plaintiff’s] pension cannot be paid in Serbia ...
In view of what is discernible from the case file this court finds that there has been no breach of law to the detriment of the plaintiff.
In this specific case the reasons adduced by the respondent body and the first-instance body are valid. This court finds that it was correctly held by the respondent body that it was not possible for military pensions to be paid abroad ... since it was impossible under either the Treaty or Croatian pension legislation. Payment of a pension abroad is possible under an international treaty or on the basis of a reciprocal agreement, which is not the situation in the present case.” 39.  On 11 May 2007 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske). He contended that there had been no legal ground for stopping payment of thirteen of his pension instalments, and that his change of place of residence should not have had any adverse effects on his pension rights. In his view this had created an inequality before the law. 40.  The applicant supplemented his constitutional complaint on 5 June 2007, reiterating his previous arguments. 41.  On 11 March 2010 the Constitutional Court declared the applicant’s constitutional complaint inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded. The decision of the Constitutional Court was served on the applicant on 21 May 2010. 42.  On 24 February 2012 the applicant informed the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund that he had changed his place of residence to Belgrade, and asked for the pension to be paid to him in Serbia. 43.  On 27 February 2012 the information submitted by the applicant was registered in the information system of the Croatian Pension Fund. Since March 2012 the applicant’s pension has been paid to him in Belgrade, Serbia.


7.  The applicant was born in 1921 and lives in Michałowice, Poland. 8.  In 1976 the applicant’s former wife lodged with the Pruszków District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) an action against the applicant in which she sought the distribution of the common property of their marriage. 9.  Up to 30 April 1993, the Pruszków District Court held eighty-four hearings in the case. 10.  Between 9 July 1993 and 7 April 1995 six hearings took place. During that period the parties filed pleadings with the trial court on eighteen occasions. 11.  During the hearing held on 17 May 1995 the applicant made threats against the plaintiff’s counsel. 12.  Between 11 June and 7 September 1995 the District Court held four hearings and received seven memorials from the parties. One of the memorials submitted by the applicant included a list of forty-one questions to the plaintiff. 13.  On 14 September 1995 the applicant made a request to the Ombudsman that the case be transferred to another court. He also threatened that he would blow himself up with a grenade in the courtroom if his case were not decided in 1996. 14.  On 12 March 1996 the President of the Pruszków District Court decided that, in view of the threats made by the applicant against the court and the plaintiff’s counsel, police officers should be present in the courtroom during the hearing scheduled for the next day. However, on 13 March 1996 the hearing was postponed because counsel for the plaintiff failed to attend. 15.  According to the Government, the hearing fixed for 24 April 1996 was cancelled because on 27 March 1996 the applicant had challenged the presiding judge. The challenge was subsequently dismissed. The applicant submitted that the hearing had been adjourned because the plaintiff’s counsel had been absent. 16.  On 2 July 1996 the applicant challenged all the judges of the Pruszków District Court, but subsequently he withdrew the challenge. 17.  On 8 January 1997 the applicant asked the Vice-President of the Warsaw Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) to transfer the case-file to the Pruszków District Court immediately. He pointed out that the Regional Court had decided his procedural request on 25 November 1996 and the case-file had been lying since then in the archives of the Regional Court. As a result, no judicial activity had taken place during that period. On 22 January 1997 the applicant visited the registry of the Warsaw Regional Court and repeated his complaint of 8 January 1997. 18.  On 6 February 1997 the Vice-President of the Warsaw Regional Court informed the applicant that his complaint was well-founded and apologised to him for the delay in returning the case-file to the Pruszków District Court. He also advised the applicant that on 5 February 1997 the case-file had been transmitted to the District Court and a copy of the Regional Court’s decision of 25 November 1996 had been sent to him. 19.  On 28 May 1997 the applicant filed with the trial court three requests concerning an expert witness and the disputed property. 20.  Hearings took place on 28 May, 30 June and 6 August 1997. During the first of these hearings, the plaintiff replied to forty-one questions submitted by the applicant in 1995. 21.  On 12 August 1997 the applicant filed with the trial court written pleadings concerning the distribution of the property. 22.  On 22 August 1997 the Pruszków District Court ordered the applicant to allow the plaintiff access to a water supply on the contested property. The applicant appealed. 23.  On 31 October 1997 the applicant requested the Pruszków District Court to transmit the case-file to the Warsaw Regional Court so that it could decide his appeal against a procedural decision taken by the District Court. On 12 November 1997 the applicant renewed his request in a letter addressed to the Vice-President of the Warsaw Regional Court. He also threatened that he would commit suicide in the courtroom and set fire to the court building if the proceedings in his case were not concluded speedily. 24.  Between 16 July 1998 and 26 May 1999 the District Court held four hearings and issued one decision. During that time, the court received written pleadings on six occasions. 25.  On 3 April 2000 the applicant filed with the District Court written pleadings setting out his terms for a settlement of the case. 26.  On 27 November 2000 the applicant challenged all the judges of the Pruszków District Court. 27.  The proceedings are apparently still pending.


5.  The applicant was born in 1925 and lives in Przemyśl. 6.  During the Second World War the applicant was subjected to forced labour on a farm owned by a German family B. in Leutz (currently Lucień in Poland). 7.  On an unspecified date she submitted a request for compensation to the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation. 8.  On 17 April 2002 the Polish-German Reconciliation Foundation awarded the applicant financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1,124.84. It considered that the applicant's persecution fell under the 4th category. This category comprised persons who had been deported to Germany and subjected to forced labour. The amount was to be paid in two instalments, the first one in the sum of PLN 2,823 to be paid from 24 April to 8 May 2002. 9.  On 29 July 2004 the Foundation gave a decision confirming payment of the second instalment, in the amount of PLN 1,247, to be paid from 6 August to 20 August 2004. 10.  On 25 October 2004 the Director of Veterans' Office gave a decision by which he confirmed that the applicant complied with the conditions set out in the applicable domestic law for obtaining the status of a veteran on the strength of her imprisonment in the concentration camp Gross-Rosen in January and February 1945. 11.  On 27 October 2005 the Przemyśl Regional Court gave a judgment by which it confirmed that the applicant satisfied the requirements which the applicable laws attached to the grant of war veteran status and that she was permanently and totally unable to work. It further stated that the applicant's health made it impossible for her to live independently. The court referred to medical reports prepared for the purposes of the proceedings and to a unanimous medical opinion given by a medical panel of the Social Insurance Authority which had also confirmed that the applicant's disability had been caused by her stay in the German concentration camp during the Second World War. 12.  On 22 June 2006 the Foundation refused to award further payment to the applicant for her internment in the concentration camp, finding that the available evidence, in particular written statements submitted by witnesses, was insufficient proof that the applicant had been imprisoned there. The applicant appealed. 13.  The Foundation, by a decision of 4 July 2006, refused to allow her appeal, reiterating the arguments on which it had relied in its first‑instance decision. 14.  On 25 July 2002 the Oleśnica District Court rejected the applicant's statement of claim under Article 189 of the Code of Civil Procedure by which she had requested recognition (ustalenie) that she had been working as a forced labourer in Leutzen during the war, at a farm belonging to family B. The court had regard to a resolution of the Supreme Court of 5 October 2001 (III CZP 46/01), by which the latter court had held that civil courts lacked jurisdiction to examine any claims concerning forced labour during the Second World War and that it could not be accepted that such jurisdiction could be based on Article 189 of the Civil Code. 15.  The applicant appealed. By a decision of 14 August 2002 the Wroclaw Regional Court upheld the contested decision, fully sharing the conclusions of the first-instance court. On an unspecified later date the Regional Court refused to grant her legal aid for the purposes of lodging a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. 16.  On 5 February 2008 the Warsaw District Court dismissed the applicant's action by which she claimed PLN 70,000 from the State Treasury as compensation for the State's failure to legislate in order to provide for social insurance entitlements to persons who during the Second World War had been subjected to forced labour and persecution in various factual contexts. The court observed that the applicant was entitled to various social insurance payments arising out of her bad health; in particular, she received a war veteran's benefit and a disability benefit granted to her under the universally applicable provisions of social insurance laws. Moreover, no national or international regulations obliged the Polish State to enact legislation addressing specifically the compensation rights of persons who had suffered during the Second World War and providing for special entitlements for them. 17.  On 12 March 2009 the Warsaw Court of Appeal upheld this judgment.


5.  The applicant was born in 1964 and lives in the Lipetsk Region. 6.  From 20 May 2008 to 17 July 2008 the applicant was held in the IZ‑44/1 remand prison in the Kostroma Region in connection with the criminal proceedings against him. 7.  According to the applicant, the three cells in which he was held were severely overcrowded. Cell no. 5 measured eight square meters, was equipped with four sleeping places and accommodated up to seven inmates. Cell no. 7 also offered eight square meters of floor surface, was designed for six detainees but housed up to seven inmates. Finally, cell no. 25 measured twenty-four square meters, had fourteen sleeping places and accommodated up to twenty-five persons. 8.  According to the Government, the applicant had been held in cells nos. 7 and 25. Cell no. 7 measured 14.3 square meters and accommodated three detainees, while cell no. 25 measured 29.2 square meters and housed up to seven detainees. The applicant had an individual sleeping place in both cells. 9.  In support of their submissions the Government provided certificates issued by the remand prison governor in June 2012, written statements by prison warders signed on 13 and 18 June 2012, undated photographs, and pages from the prison population register which recorded, for each day, the number of sleeping bunks and the number of inmates in each cell, and the total number of inmates in the remand prison. 10.  On 20 October 2008 the applicant sent his first letter to the Court. It contained, in particular, his complaint about allegedly appalling conditions of his detention in the IZ-44/1 remand prison. 11.  By letter of 14 November 2008 the Registry sent an application package to the applicant, informing him as follows:
“You must send the duly completed application form and any necessary supplementary documents to the Court as soon as possible and at the latest within six months of the date of the present letter. No extension of this period is possible. If the application form and all the relevant documents are not sent within the above period, the file opened will be destroyed without further warning.” 12.  On 4 May 2009 the applicant dispatched the application form which reached the Registry on 10 August 2009.


5.  The applicant was born in 1973 and lives in İzmir. 6.  On the night of 31 May 2001, at around midnight, police officers from the anti‑terrorist branch of the İzmir police conducted an operation to arrest a number of persons suspected of participating in an illegal demonstration. To that end, a group of police officers arrived at the two-storey house where the applicant and his uncle Sabri Selvi lived. The police officers were looking for the applicant’s uncle, who was suspected of having been involved in the aforementioned illegal demonstration. 7.  According to the applicant’s version of events, the applicant, who lived on the first floor of the building, heard some noise coming from the second floor, where his uncle lived. He opened his flat door to see what was going on. He saw some persons in civilian clothes and asked them who they were. They asked the applicant to show his identity card. The applicant showed them his identity card, but when he asked them to show their identity cards as well the persons concerned, who turned out to be police officers in civilian clothes, they became angry and complained of the fact that everyone asked to see their identity cards. They then chased the applicant into his flat, beat him up and swore at him. After arresting the applicant, they prepared an arrest report which they forced him to sign. 8.  The arrest and search report dated 31 May 2001, which was signed by six police officers, a witness, the applicant and his uncle Sabri Selvi, stated the following:
“...Wearing police identification vests and having taken security precautions, we knocked on the door of the flat in question. We told the man who opened the door that we were police officers and that we wanted to carry out a search of the flat. With the agreement of the occupant, who said ‘You may search’, we entered the flat.
Following the identity check, having realised that the man [who opened the door] was ... Sabri Selvi, we arrested him. In his presence, we conducted a search of the [flat] and found no evidence of involvement in crime. When asked whether any damage was caused to anything in the flat due to the search, the arrestee said ‘None’. As we were about to leave the flat together with the arrestee, a person called Yahya Selvi... attacked Deputy Superintendent Ramazan Oral and started hitting him while swearing and saying things like ‘You cannot take anyone away from here; I f..k your mothers and wives’. We overpowered Yahya Selvi by force, arrested him and took him with the other person to police headquarters for investigation...” 9.  On 31 May 2001 at about 2 a.m. the applicant was taken to the Atatürk Hospital, where he was examined by a doctor. In his report, the doctor noted the presence of swelling on the applicant’s face. The same day at 12.30 p.m. a statement was taken from the applicant at police headquarters. In his statement, the applicant admitted that he had attacked the police officers while they were conducting a search of his house. He explained that he had been angered by the fact that the police officers had arrived to arrest his uncle at night. He also stated that he had not been subjected to any form of ill‑treatment during his detention in police custody and that he had not given his statement to the police under duress. At about 2 p.m. the applicant was again taken to the Atatürk Hospital. The doctor who examined the applicant prepared a report identical to the previous one. 10.  On 31 May 2001 police officers took statements from Deputy Superintendent Ramazan Oral, who complained that he had been attacked by the applicant. He also requested them to institute criminal proceedings against the applicant. At 2 a.m. on the same day Ramazan Oral underwent a medical examination at the Atatürk Hospital. The doctor who examined Mr Oral noted in his report the presence of a swelling measuring 25 x 35 x 05 mm on the left chin and at ear level, and hyperaemic scratches measuring 10 x 25 mm on Mr Oral’s left arm. He prescribed three days’ sick leave on account of the injuries. 11.  The same day, the applicant’s legal representative submitted a request to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s office in Bornova, seeking information about the whereabouts of the applicant and his uncle and the charges against them. He also asked the prosecutor’s office to grant him permission to meet with the suspects and, in view of the witness statements alleging that the applicant had been beaten up during the arrest, to send the applicant to hospital for a medical examination and treatment. The representative’s request to meet with the applicant and his uncle was dismissed by the prosecutor’s office on 31 May 2001. 12.  On 1 June 2001 the applicant underwent a further medical examination at the Bornova State Hospital. The report stated that there were no signs of physical violence on the applicant’s body. 13.  On the same day the applicant was brought before the Bornova Magistrate’s Court. Assisted by his lawyer, the applicant denied the allegation that he had assaulted Ramazan Oral and alleged that he had been beaten up and insulted by the police officers who had come to his house the day before. Having regard to the nature of the crime and the evidence contained in the case file, the court ordered that the applicant be placed in pre-trial detention for having obstructed the police officers by using physical violence. 14.  On 4 June 2001 the public prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant under Article 258 of the Criminal Code for resisting the police. In his indictment, the public prosecutor stated that, while the police officers were conducting a search in the applicant’s house, the applicant had assaulted the police officer Ramazan Oral, who had subsequently been declared unfit for work for three days due to his injuries. 15.  On 6 June 2001 the applicant challenged the decision ordering his pre-trial detention and requested the Bornova Assize Court to initiate criminal proceedings against the police officers who had ill-treated him on 31 May 2001. 16.  On 7 June 2001 the Sixth Chamber of the Assize Court, acting as the appeal body, refused the applicant’s request for release pending trial, holding that his pre-trial detention was lawful in view of the evidence contained in the case file. 17.  On 11 July 2001 the Bornova Assize Court heard oral evidence from the applicant’s uncle Sabri Selvi. The latter stated that his nephew had not insulted the police officers, but that one of the officers had slapped him in the face. The court ordered the continued detention of the applicant. 18.  On 10 December 2001 the Bornova Assize Court heard evidence from the applicant’s wife, Garip Selvi, and his brother Kazım Selvi, who lived in the same flat as the applicant. Mrs Selvi stated that her husband had been beaten up by the police officers when he had asked them to show their identity cards to prove that they were police officers, and that he had not resisted his arrest by the police. Mr Kazım Selvi also claimed that his brother Yahya had been beaten up and insulted by the police officers and that he had not assaulted them or resisted arrest. 19.  On 15 February 2002 the applicant’s representative applied to the Bornova Assize Court requesting it to order a criminal investigation concerning the police officers whose actions had led to the unjust detention and trial of the applicant. Relying on the statements given by the defence witnesses Garip Selvi and Kazım Selvi, the applicant’s representative claimed that, on the night of the incident in question, the police had insulted and beaten up the applicant following his request to see their identity cards. He maintained that the applicant should be considered to be the victim of the events rather than the accused. He further noted that no statements had been taken from the police officers by the public prosecutor or the trial court and that there was no evidence against the applicant apart from the medical report [concerning Ramazan Oral] which could easily have been obtained by police officers from the anti-terrorist branch. He therefore alleged that the police officers in question had unlawfully arrested and beaten up the applicant in his bedroom in the middle of the night and had thus violated his right to the protection of his home. 20.  On 19 June 2003 the Bornova Assize Court convicted the applicant of obstructing police officers and sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment. No response was given to the applicant’s allegations. 21.  On 25 October 2005 the Court of Cassation quashed the above judgment in view of the more favourable provisions of the new Criminal Code dated 1 June 2005. 22.  Meanwhile, following the administrative re-organisation of the courts in İzmir, the applicant’s case was taken over by the İzmir Criminal Court. 23.  On 15 May 2006 the İzmir Criminal Court convicted the applicant of obstructing police officers in the performance of their duties by insulting and assaulting an officer. It sentenced the applicant to a fine of 240 new Turkish liras (TRY). In its judgment, the court relied on the statements given by Mr Oral, the applicant and witnesses, as well as documentary evidence such as the arrest and search report. 24.  On 15 September 2006 the applicant appealed to the Court of Cassation, complaining that the first-instance court had convicted him without conducting an adequate investigation into the events in question. He claimed that the first-instance court had relied on the investigation carried out by the police officers who had insulted and beaten him. 25.  The proceedings are still pending before the Court of Cassation.


5.  The applicant was born in 1987 and lives in Flers. 6.  The applicant, a Muslim aged eleven at the material time, was enrolled in the first year of a state secondary school in Flers for the academic year 1998-1999. From January 1999 onwards she wore a headscarf to school. 7.  On seven occasions in January 1999 the applicant went to physical education and sports classes wearing her headscarf and refused to take it off despite repeated requests to do so by her teacher, who explained that wearing a headscarf was incompatible with physical education classes. The teacher sent two reports to the headmaster dated 22 January and 8 February 1999. 8.  At a meeting on 11 February 1999 the school's pupil discipline committee decided to expel the applicant from the school for breaching the duty of assiduity by failing to participate actively in physical education and sports classes. 9.  The applicant's parents appealed against that decision to the appeal panel. 10.  In a decision of 17 March 1999 the Director of Education for Caen upheld the decision of the school's pupil discipline committee, after obtaining the opinion of the appeal panel which was based on four grounds:
i)the duty of assiduity (as defined in section 10 of the Education (General Principles) Act – Law no. 89-486 of 10 July 1989; Article 3-5 of Decree no. 85-924 of 30 August 1985 on Local State Schools; and the school's internal rules);
ii)the provisions of the school's internal rules stipulating that pupils must wear clothing that “complies with the health and safety rules” and attend physical education and sports classes in their sports clothes;
iii) a memorandum (no. 94-116 of 9 March 1994) on pupils' safety during school activities, which specified that “rigorous compliance with the rules governing teaching staff's liability shall not eclipse the very broad personal discretion left to the individual teacher when dealing with actual concrete situations” and that “while managing his or her class the teacher must be capable of identifying and putting a stop to any behaviour on the part of pupils – other than sudden or unforeseeable conduct – that may present a danger”;
iv) a decision of the Conseil d'Etat dated 10 March 1995 in which it had held that wearing a headscarf as a sign of religious affiliation was incompatible with the proper conduct of physical education and sports classes. 11.  The applicant indicated that she subsequently took correspondence courses in order to continue her school studies. 12.  On 28 April 1999 the applicant's parents, acting on their own behalf and as their minor daughter's legal guardians, applied to the Caen Administrative Court to have the decision of the Director of Education set aside. 13.  On 5 October 1999 the court rejected their application. It considered that, by attending physical education and sports classes in dress that would not enable her to take part in the classes in question, the applicant had failed to comply with the duty to attend classes regularly. It also found that the applicant's attitude had created an atmosphere of tension within the school and that on the basis of all the factors involved her expulsion from the school had been justified, regardless of the proposal she had made at the end of January to wear a hat instead of her headscarf. 14.  The applicant's parents appealed against that judgment. On 31 July 2003 the Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal, on the same grounds as the lower court, finding that the applicant, by behaving as she had done, had overstepped the limits of the right to express and manifest her religious beliefs on the school premises. 15.  The applicant's parents lodged an appeal on points of law with the Conseil d'Etat, relying, inter alia, on their daughter's right to freedom of conscience and expression. 16.  On 29 December 2004 the Conseil d'Etat declared the appeal inadmissible.


5.  The applicant was born in 1952 and lives in Velenje. 6.  On 20 December 1995 the applicant was injured in a car accident. The perpetrator of the accident had taken out insurance with the insurance company ZTi. 7.  On 16 July 1997 the applicant instituted civil proceedings against ZTi in the Celje District Court (Okrožno sodišče v Celju) seeking damages in the amount of 3,212,150 tolars (approximately 13,400 euros) for the injuries sustained.
Between 9 December 1997 and 1 February 2001 the applicant lodged three preliminary written submissions and/or adduced evidence.
On 16 June and 23 November 1998 he made requests that a date be set for a hearing.
Of the two hearings held on 9 April 1999 and 2 February 2001, none was adjourned at the request of the applicant.
During the proceedings, the court appointed a medical expert.
At the last hearing the court decided to deliver a written judgment. The judgment, upholding the applicant’s claim in part, was served on the applicant on 25 April 2001. 8.  On 9 May 2001 the applicant appealed to the Celje Higher Court (Višje sodišče v Celju). ZTi cross-appealed.
On 18 July 2002 the court dismissed the applicant’s appeal and upheld ZTi’s appeal as far as the costs of the proceedings were concerned.
The judgment was served on the applicant on 11 September 2002. 9.  On 19 September 2002 the applicant lodged an appeal on points of law with the Supreme Court (Vrhovno sodišče) and requested that the Supreme Court’s judge be recused.
On 23 October 2003 the court dismissed the applicant’s appeal.
The judgment was served on the applicant on 26 November 2003.


6.  The applicant was born in 1955 and lives in Chişinău. 7.  The applicant was arrested on 24 January 2002 on suspicion of abetting bribery. 8.  On 26 January 2002 the Centru District Court issued an order remanding the applicant in custody for a period of thirty days. The court’s reasoning was the following: “the suspect has reached the age at which he may be criminally prosecuted, he is suspected of having committed a serious offence and he is unemployed”. 9.  On 4 February 2002 the applicant was indicted inter alia for the offence of aiding and abetting bribery, involving large sums of money, which was punishable by up to twenty years’ imprisonment. 10.  On 14 February 2002, the Centru District Court examined a habeas corpus request lodged by the applicant and a request lodged by the prosecutor to prolong the detention. In his habeas corpus request the applicant argued that he was married, had three children and was employed. The court dismissed the applicant’s request but upheld the prosecutor’s request and prolonged the detention. 11.  Similar prolongations were ordered up until 23 May 2002, when the investigation was completed and the criminal case file was sent by the prosecution to the Chişinău Regional Court. After that date, the applicant remained in detention without having his detention warrant prolonged. He submitted numerous habeas corpus requests relying inter alia on his medical condition (see paragraph 17 below) and on the impossibility of receiving appropriate medical care in prison due to a lack of specialised doctors and medication, but they were all rejected. 12.  On 13 February 2003 the applicant complained inter alia that from 23 May 2002 he had been detained without any warrant. His request was dismissed. 13.  On 19 December 2005 the applicant lodged a habeas corpus request with the Centru District Court arguing inter alia that his detention was incompatible with his medical condition due to the lack of appropriate medical care in prison. He asked to be released from detention. 14.  On 28 December 2005 Judges Catană, Gordilă and Pitic from the Centru District Court found the applicant’s request well-founded and decided to replace the applicant’s remand in custody with house arrest. 15.  It appears that at the time of adoption of the present judgment the applicant was still under house arrest. 16.  From 26 January 2002 the applicant was detained in Remand Centre No. 3 of the Ministry of Justice (Izolatorul Anchetei Preliminare Nr. 3). On several occasions he was hospitalised in the Prison Hospital. 17.  According to medical certificates submitted by the applicant, and not contested by the Government, he suffered from numerous diseases such as chronic hepatitis, second-degree hydronephrosis (accumulation of urine in the kidney because of an obstruction in the urethra), uric diathesis, increased ecogenicity of pancreatic parenchyma, chronic bilateral pyelonephritis (inflammation of the kidney and pelvis caused by bacterial infection) with functional impairment of the right kidney, hydronephrosis of the right kidney with functional impairment, stones in the urinary tract, somatoform disorder, chronic renal failure, head trauma and generalised anxiety disorder of hypertensive type. 18.  On numerous occasions he was prescribed treatment in hospital and even surgery on his right kidney. On 21 October 2002 and 22 April 2003 the applicant was consulted by Dr Spânu, an urologist from the Central Republican Hospital, a hospital belonging to the Ministry of Health, who recommended urgent surgery on his right kidney in order to eliminate an obstruction of the urethra. The doctor advised that a delay might result in the degradation of the kidney and its extirpation. A similar recommendation was reiterated on 23 June 2003 by the Doctor in Chief of the Prison Hospital, Dr. Cuţitaru, who recommended that the operation be carried out in a specialised urological hospital of the Ministry of Health. It does not appear from the Government’s submissions that this recommendation was ever followed up. 19.  The Government argued that the applicant was provided with sufficient medical care, but the applicant disputed this. 20.  The Government submitted numerous reports drawn up by prison doctors stating that the applicant refused to submit to medical checks and treatment and requested to be transferred to a normal hospital. According to some such reports the applicant argued that the treatment in prison was ineffective and that he needed medication which was not available there. 21.  According to a letter addressed to the Centru District Court and to the Prosecutor’s Office by the prison authorities on 15 November 2004, the applicant started a hunger strike to protest against his being treated in the prison. 22.  On an unspecified date the applicant complained to the Ministry of Justice about the lack of adequate medical treatment. By a letter dated 23 September 2003 the applicant’s complaint was rejected and he was informed inter alia that he had had medical checks on 43 occasions by prison doctors and by doctors from outside the prison. He had been offered medical treatment in accordance with the “modest possibilities” of the prison medical service and with the medication brought by his relatives. He had been hospitalised in the medical section of the prison on four occasions, where he had received adequate medical treatment, and on two occasions in the Prison Hospital. 23.  The applicant submitted a letter from the Doctor in Chief of the Prison Hospital addressed to his lawyer, dated 7 October 2003, in which it was stated that there were no urologists, cardiologists and neurosurgeons among the doctors of the Prison Hospital. 24.  In another letter addressed to the applicant’s lawyer by the Chief of the Prison where the applicant was detained, dated 12 October 2005, the latter was informed that there were no such doctors at the prison either and that in the event of an emergency the applicant would be transferred to the Prison Hospital. 25.  On 24 January 2002 the General Prosecutor’s Office initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant and another co-accused on charges of abetting bribery. 26.  On 12 February 2002 the General Prosecutor’s Office initiated new criminal proceedings against the applicant on charges of fraudulently dispossessing a person of 1,200 United States dollars (USD). 27.  On 25 February 2002 the General Prosecutor’s Office initiated new criminal proceedings against the applicant on charges of fraudulent dispossession of two persons of their apartments. 28.  All of the above criminal proceedings were joined in one single case file and the criminal investigation lasted until 23 May 2002, when the General Prosecutor’s Office sent the criminal file to the Chişinău Regional Court. 29.  On 30 May 2002 the Chişinău Regional Court received the criminal file and a judge was assigned to the case. 30.  On 10 June 2002 the judge set 21 June 2002 as the date of the first hearing. 31.  On 21 June 2002 the applicant was unable to come to the hearing due to high blood pressure. He was examined by a doctor who issued him a certificate confirming that the applicant had high blood pressure and was not able to attend the hearing. The hearing was adjourned until 1 July 2002. 32.  On 1 July 2002 the hearing did not take place since the prosecutor and two of the alleged victims were absent. It was adjourned until 16 July 2002. 33.  On 16 July 2002 the hearing was adjourned until 30 July 2002 due to the absence of three of the alleged victims and the applicant’s lawyers. 34.  On 30 July 2002 the applicant informed the court that he was not feeling well and asked to be hospitalised. The court decided to send the applicant for a medical examination at the Central Republican Hospital, a hospital belonging to the Ministry of Health. The hearing appears to have been adjourned indefinitely. 35.  On 20 August 2002 the applicant complained to the court that the authorities were refusing to send him for a medical examination, and that he had therefore commenced a hunger strike on 15 August 2002. 36.  On 12 September 2002 the judge assigned to the case wrote to the prison authorities and asked them to comply with the decision of 30 July 2002. 37.  On 26 September 2002 the applicant complained to the Ministry of Justice about the non-enforcement of the decision of 30 July 2002. 38.  It appears that on an unspecified date the prison authorities had attempted to take the applicant to the Prison Hospital, but that he had refused on the ground that the decision of 30 July 2002 provided for his examination in the Central Republican Hospital. The prison authorities informed the judge assigned to the case about the applicant’s refusal. 39.  On 10 October 2002 the applicant wrote again to the judge informing him that the prison authorities had refused to take him to the Central Republican Hospital as provided in the decision of 30 July 2002, and as a result his medical condition was becoming worse. He informed the judge that he had no other solution but to go on hunger strike again. 40.  It appears that one week later the applicant was taken to the Central Republican Hospital for examination since the criminal file contains medical documents from the Central Republican Hospital dated 17 October 2002. 41.  On 24 October 2002 the resumption of the hearings was scheduled. However, the proceedings were adjourned due to the applicant’s medical condition. The applicant was seen by a doctor, who concluded that he was suffering from the consequences of a brain disease (consecinţele afecţiunii organice a creierului cu sindrom cerebral astenic) and noted that he refused the treatment prescribed to him. 42.  On 28 October 2002 the prosecutor and one of the applicant’s lawyers were absent. The applicant declared that he was not satisfied with his lawyers and that he wanted to instruct other lawyers. He requested an adjournment. The hearing was adjourned until 12 November 2002. 43.  On 12 November 2002 the hearing was adjourned due to the fact that the applicant had not instructed a new lawyer. 44.  On 19 November 2002 the hearing was adjourned until 22 November 2002 at the request of the applicant’s new lawyer, who intended to present evidence confirming the applicant’s serious medical condition. 45.  On 22 November 2002 the applicant’s lawyer presented medical documents and requested that the applicant undertake a psychiatric examination in order to establish his competence to plead to the charges. The request was allowed and a psychiatric examination of the applicant was ordered. 46.  On 11 December 2002 a commission of psychiatric doctors concluded that a psychiatric examination would only be possible after the applicant’s admission to the Psychiatric Hospital. 47.  On 4 January 2003 Judge Buruiană ordered that the applicant be admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital in order to carry out the psychiatric examination ordered on 22 November 2002. 48.  On 21 January 2003 the psychiatric examination was completed and the applicant was found competent to plead to the criminal charges. The medical report was sent to the court on 28 January 2003. 49.  On 13 February 2003 the applicant asked the court inter alia about the state of the proceedings and was informed on 20 February by Judge Buruiană that the hearings would be resumed in March 2003 after the lawyer of the other co-accused had returned from a business trip to the Russian Federation. 50.  On 11 March 2003 a hearing was adjourned until 8 April 2003 on the ground of the applicant’s request for a change of lawyer. 51.  On 8 April 2003 the applicant challenged the judge assigned to his case on the ground inter alia that this judge would prolong the examination of the case, would not allow him to undergo surgery on his kidney as recommended by Dr Spânu, would be biased and would reject his habeas corpus requests. The challenge was dismissed and the hearing was adjourned in order to request information from the prison authorities about the applicant’s medical condition. 52.  On 21 April 2003 the applicant requested an adjournment of the hearing on the ground that he was not feeling well and that he needed medical treatment. The hearing was adjourned until 25 April 2003. 53.  On 22 April 2003 the applicant was examined by Dr Spânu, an urologist, who prescribed urgent surgery on his kidney (see paragraph 18 above). 54.  On 25 April 2003 the hearing was resumed and the court examined and dismissed a habeas corpus request lodged by the applicant who relied mainly on his medical condition. The hearing was then adjourned. 55.  On 13 May 2003 the applicant again challenged the judge on the ground that he refused to allow his release on medical grounds; the challenge was dismissed. He also asked that an ambulance be called; this request was also dismissed, the court observing that the applicant was attempting to prolong the criminal proceedings against him. The court also gave the applicant an official warning since he had raised his voice to the judge. The applicant finally dismissed his lawyer and he was given time to sign a contract with another lawyer. 56.  On 21 May 2003 the applicant was absent from the hearing on grounds of health and the court adjourned it until 6 June 2003. 57.  On 6 June 2003 the applicant was absent again and the court adjourned the hearing until 23 June 2003. 58.  On 23 June 2003 the prosecutor informed the court that, according to the new Code of Criminal Procedure which entered into force on 12 June 2003, the Chişinău Regional Court no longer had jurisdiction to examine the criminal case against the applicant. He requested that the case be transmitted to the Centru District Court for examination. The court allowed the Prosecutor’s request and the criminal file was sent to the Centru District Court. 59.  On 21 October 2003 the President of the Centru District Court wrote to the Supreme Court of Justice and asked it to order that the case be transferred to the Court of Appeal because, inter alia, following the judiciary reform of 2003 the Court of Appeal was the successor instance of the Chişinău Regional Court which had already started to examine the case. 60.  On 31 October 2003 the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the request of the President of the Centru District Court and drew her attention to the need to ensure the examination of the case within a reasonable time. 61.  On 18 November 2003 a hearing was held for the first time before the Centru District Court. The applicant challenged the newly appointed judge, Mr Alerguş, on the ground that he would dismiss all his requests. The challenge was dismissed the same day and the hearing was adjourned. 62.  On 16 December 2003 the hearing was adjourned until 19 January 2004 due to the absence of the prosecutor and one of the alleged victims. 63.  On 19 January and 11 February 2004 the hearings were adjourned because the judge was ill. 64.  On 25 February 2004 the judge was involved in a conference and the hearing was adjourned until 25 March 2004. 65.  On 25 March 2004 the judge was involved in a hearing in an unrelated case and the hearing was adjourned until 29 April 2004. 66.  On 29 April 2004 the applicant was absent due to his hospitalisation in the Prison Hospital and the hearing was adjourned until 27 May 2004. 67.  On 27 May 2004 the court started to examine the merits of the case by questioning one of the victims. Since other victims and witnesses were absent, the court adjourned the hearing until 28 June 2004. 68.  On 28 June 2004 the lawyer of the applicant’s co-accused was absent and the co-accused requested an adjournment. The court decided to adjourn the hearing for 23 September 2004 in view of the impending judicial vacation. 69.  On 23 September 2004 the hearing was adjourned until 18 October 2004 because Judge Alerguş had resigned from his functions. 70.  On 1 October 2004 the applicant complained to the Superior Council of Magistrates about the excessive length of the criminal proceedings against him. He received an answer dated 1 November 2004 in which he was informed inter alia that the President of the Centru District Court had been requested to take all necessary measures to ensure the examination of the case within a reasonable time. 71.  On 18 October 2004 the hearing was adjourned until 18 November 2004 because the same judge, Judge Alergus, was ill. 72.  On 18 November 2004 the applicant dismissed his lawyer and a pro bono lawyer was appointed. The applicant requested to be examined by a medical commission, but his request was dismissed. He unsuccessfully challenged the judges who rejected his request. 73.  On 19 November 2004 the applicant requested that his pro bono lawyer be dismissed on grounds of lack of experience and asked to be examined by a medical commission; however, his requests were dismissed. One of the alleged victims was heard and the hearing was adjourned until 24 November 2004. 74.  On 24 November 2004 the court heard a witness and adjourned the hearing until 26 November 2004. 75.  On 26 November 2004 the applicant concluded a representation contract with another lawyer and the hearing was adjourned until 21 December 2004. 76.  On 21 December 2004 the applicant’s new lawyer was involved in another case and could not attend the hearing. The court adjourned the hearing until 23 February 2005. 77.  On 23 February and 1 March 2005 the judge was ill and the hearing was adjourned until 1 April 2005. 78.  On 1 April 2005 the applicant was hospitalised in the Prison Hospital and the prosecutor was absent. The hearing was adjourned until 5 May 2005. 79.  On 5 May 2005 there was a change of prosecutors and the new prosecutor requested an adjournment in order to study the case file. The hearing was adjourned until 1 June 2005. 80.  On 1 and 2 June 2005 the court heard the statements of the applicant and his co-accused in respect of the charges against them. The applicant also submitted that he was ill and was unable to participate in the court hearing. The court adjourned the hearing until 28 June 2005. 81.  On 28 June 2005 the court read out the declarations of several witnesses made during the investigation stage of the proceedings. The applicant requested again to be examined by a medical commission, but his request was dismissed and he was warned not to attempt to prolong the examination of the case. The court adjourned the hearing until 15 September 2005. 82.  On 15 September 2005 the hearing was adjourned until 7 October 2005 due to the illness of the judge. 83.  It appears that between 15 September 2005 and 11 January 2006 (the date on which the Government submitted a copy of the criminal case file to the Court) no hearings took place. 84.  At the date of the adoption of its judgment the Court had not been informed by the parties that the criminal proceedings before the Centru District Court had been concluded.


4.  The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Bethesda, the United States of America. 5.  The applicant owns a flat in Cavtat, Croatia. In September 1995 Parliament passed a law governing the temporary use of property of persons who had left Croatia - Temporary Takeover and Management of Certain Property Act ( Zakon o privremenom preuzimanju i upravljanju određenom imovinom - hereinafter the “Property Takeover Act”), which allowed municipalities to temporarily accommodate other persons in such property. 6.  In 1992 R., a policeman, forcibly moved into the applicant’s flat in Cavtat, Croatia. On 25 September 1995 the Konavle Housing Commission granted him refugee status and legalised his occupation of the applicant’s flat. On 30 January 2002 the applicant applied to the Housing Commission for repossession of her property. 7.  On 11 January 2002 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Dubrovnik Municipal Court seeking R.’s eviction. On 27 February 2002 the claim was declared inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction. The applicant appealed. 8.  On 29 August 2002 the applicant lodged a request with the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction seeking annulment of the decision authorising R. to occupy her flat. 9.  The judgment of the Dubrovnik Municipal Court of 27 February 2002 was quashed by the Dubrovnik County Court on 30 August 2002 and the case was remitted to the Municipal Court for a fresh trial. 10.  On 1 October 2002 the Amendments to the Act on Areas of Special State Care (Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o područjima od posebne državne skrbi – “the 2002 Amendments”) entered into force. They transferred the jurisdiction in the matter from the housing commissions (which were abolished) to the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction (Ministarstvo za javne radove, obnovu i graditeljstvo – “the Ministry”). 11.  On 25 October 2003 the Dubrovnik Municipal Court upheld the claim and ordered R.’s eviction. R. appealed. 12.  On 12 December 2003 the Ministry set aside the Property Takeover Commission’s decision authorising R. to occupy the applicant’s flat but also stated that R. had the right to housing under section 7 of the Act on Areas of Special State Concern. 13.  The judgment of the Dubrovnik Municipal Court of 25 October 2003 was quashed by the County Court on 17 February 2005 on the ground that no alternative accommodation had been provided to R. Accordingly, the case was returned to the Municipal Court for further examination. On 12 May 2006 the applicant lodged an application with the Supreme Court complaining about the length of the proceedings. In a letter of 26 May 2006 the Supreme Court instructed the Dubrovnik Municipal Court to speed up the proceedings. 14.  On 31 May 2006 the Municipal Court again granted the applicant’s claim and ordered R.’s eviction. R. appealed against this judgment to the Dubrovnik County Court. While the case was pending there the applicant once more applied to the Supreme Court complaining about the length of the proceedings. In a letter of 11 September 2006 the Supreme Court instructed the County Court to speed up the proceedings and adopt a judgment. 15.  On 2 October 2006 the County Court again quashed the judgment of the Municipal Court and accordingly the latter was once more required to examine the applicant’s claims. In a judgment of 27 March 2007 the Municipal Court, as in its previous judgments, found in favour of the applicant. R. appealed against this judgment and the appeal is at present pending before the Dubrovnik County Court.


6.  The applicant was born in 1950 and lives in Moscow. At the material time the applicant was a district councillor. 7.  On 21 August 2003 the non-governmental organisation “City-wide public council for the protection of citizens' rights in town planning and for the protection of the environment” decided to hold an assembly of Krylatskoye district residents at the Zashchitnikov Neba Square in Moscow. The purposes of the assembly were:
(1)  to protest against the Moscow mayor's failure to respond to the resolution of the assembly held in May 2003;
(2)  to protest against the planned construction of several luxurious blocks of flats in the place of facilities for sports and children;
(3)  to cast a vote of no confidence in the city authorities and call for their resignation;
(4)  to discuss matters of local self-governance. 8.  On 25 August 2003 the applicant, together with three other co-organisers of the assembly, informed the Prefecture of the Western Administrative District of Moscow – the residential district of Krylatskoye being in its jurisdiction – of the date, time, place and purposes of the assembly. The assembly was scheduled to take place from 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. on Thursday, 4 September 2003, with the participation of about a hundred persons. 9.  On 29 August 2003 the prefect of the Western Administrative District of Moscow issued a decision to accept the notice and instructed the police to ensure public safety during the assembly. 10.  The applicant and co-organisers informed residents of the Krylatskoye district about the planned assembly by way of bill-posting. 11.  On 3 September 2003 the prefect cancelled his previous decision of 29 August 2003 “in connection with the operative information of law-enforcement authorities about an expected outbreak of terrorist activities in the Krylatskoye district and with a view to ensuring the safety of the district's residents”. The police were instructed “to take measures to prevent the assembly planned for 4 September 2003 at the Zashchitnikov Neba Square from being held”. 12.  On 4 September 2003 a few dozen residents gathered on the Zashchitnikov Neba Square and the applicant was among them. No loud speakers were deployed and no attempts were made to start a general discussion. Nevertheless, the police dispersed the crowd by force. 13.  On 5, 6 and 7 September 2003 (Friday to Sunday) the “Day of the City” was celebrated throughout Moscow. The programme for the festivities had been approved by the Moscow Government's resolution of 12 August 2003 and included sixty-one events. The events – such as the “World-wide Tea Festival”, the opening ceremony, “Parade of the Festivals”, the European champions' road running cup, the Moscow cup of the automobile all-round competition, the children's artistic and sport performance, sound and light show, students' parade, and many others – took place in major public thoroughfares. The applicant submitted media reports showing that no scheduled events had been cancelled and that the public festivities had been attended by thousands of people. 14.  The applicant left the Zashchitnikov Neba Square in a private car at about 8 p.m. At a nearby crossing the police blocked his car and, holding the driver at gun-point, took the applicant out of the car by force and escorted him to Krylatskoye district police station (ОВД района «Крылатское»). 15.  According to the administrative-arrest record of 4 September 2003, the applicant was arrested for refusing to comply with a lawful order of the police. 16.  Following the applicant's complaints about unlawful police actions, the Kuntsevskiy District Prosecutor interviewed the officers who had apprehended the applicant. Captain F., Officer D. and the driver, L., stated that they had been present at the meeting site since 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., when people were beginning to leave, they had arrested the applicant and taken him to the police station “for clarification of facts, namely the [legal] ground for holding a public assembly”. Mr N., who had been the duty officer at the police station, testified that at 8 p.m. the head of the police station had told him to prepare a report on an administrative offence of disobedience of police orders committed by Mr Makhmudov, who had been “detained for conducting an unauthorised meeting”. 17.  At the police station the applicant was placed in a cell where he remained until he was brought before a judge on the following day (see below). The cell was dirty and covered with spittle; the applicant was not given any food or drink. 18.  On 5 September 2003 the applicant was brought before a judge of the Kuntsevskiy District Court of Moscow. He was charged with disobeying lawful police orders and with organising an unauthorised assembly, these being administrative offences under Articles 19.3 and 20.2 of the Code on Administrative Offences. The two charges were examined separately. 19.  Examining the charge of disobedience, the judge found as follows:
“During the preparation and examination of the administrative case a number of breaches of the Code of Administrative Offences have been revealed. These breaches are the grounds for remitting the file to the head of the police station...
It is not clear from the case material what the offender's stance is with regard to the offence imputed to him; it appears from his statement that he has not committed any offence; however, in breach of Article 28.2 of the Code, the report does not list witnesses who could confirm the guilt of the offender; nor does it refer to other evidence confirming the offending acts or disobedience of police orders. Besides, it transpires from the decision on the institution of administrative proceedings and the opening of an administrative inquiry that on 5 September 2003 an administrative inquiry was ordered, but no such inquiry has actually been carried out as the file does not contain any depositions or other additional material obtained by such an inquiry. Furthermore, pursuant to Article 28.2 § 2 of the Code, a report on an administrative offence punishable by administrative arrest must be submitted for judicial examination immediately after its issuance. The administrative-arrest record concerning Mr Makhmudov had been prepared at 8 p.m. on 4 September 2003 but the material was submitted to the court only at 4.30 p.m. on 5 September 2003. Finally, the report contains no information as to who disobeyed the order, which police officer gave the order, where he gave the order (house number) or what kind of lawful order it was. The administrative-arrest record does not refer to Article 19.3 of the Code, although the breach of that provision was the basis for the applicant's arrest, or to the grounds for arrest; the record does not describe the detainee's clothing, absence or presence of bodily injuries, or to whom the information about the arrest was communicated. The information on the identity of attesting witnesses is incomplete, the attesting witness no. 2 did not sign the record, and witnesses for the defence have not been examined.” 20.  The judge returned the material to Krylatskoye police station for correction of the above defects and ordered the applicant's release at 5.10 p.m. 21.  On 7 October 2003 the police resubmitted the file to the court. 22.  On 29 October 2003 the Kuntsevskiy District Court found that the police had not made good the defects identified in the decision of 5 September 2003. The judge opined as follows:
“Mr Makhmudov unambiguously declared himself not guilty of the imputed offence and listed the following [nine] witnesses as being ready to testify that he had not committed any illegal actions against the police officers.
Taking into account that the available material is insufficient for finding Mr Makhmudov guilty of the administrative offence, that the court has taken measures to make good the defects in the material and for supplementing the evidence, and that those defects have not been remedied, the court considers that all the measures for proving Mr Makhmudov's guilt of the offence have been exhausted and – as the available evidence is not sufficient for a finding of guilt – finds it necessary to discontinue the proceedings”. 23.  Following the applicant's complaint that the legal basis for discontinuance of the proceedings had not been set out explicitly, on 2 December 2003 that decision was quashed by a higher court and the matter remitted for a new examination. 24.  On 19 December 2003 the Kuntsevskiy District Court ordered the discontinuance of the proceedings on the ground that the two-month prescription period had expired.
 2.  The charge of organising an unauthorised assembly 25.  Having examined the witnesses for the defence, who denied that the assembly had taken place, and the police officers who testified for the prosecution, the judge found that the applicant had been in breach of the established procedure for organising public assemblies. He had known that the prefect's decision of 29 August 2003 had been reversed but proceeded nevertheless with organisation of the assembly. The judge fined the applicant 1,000 Russian roubles (approximately 30 euros). 26.  On 6 July 2004 the Moscow City Court upheld that decision on an appeal by the applicant. 27.  The applicant challenged the prefect's decision of 3 September 2003 before the Kuntsevskiy District Court. He claimed that it had no legal basis, for Russian law did not permit cancellation of an authorised assembly, that it had been issued too late, on the eve of the assembly, and that it could not be founded on the “operative information”. He also sought a declaration that the police had unlawfully dispersed the assembly by force. 28.  The District Court asked Krylatskoye police station and the police command of the Western Administrative District of Moscow to produce the operative information which had been the basis for cancelling the authorisation. 29.  On 16 December 2003 Krylatskoye police station replied that there had been no such information in their possession. 30.  On 21 January 2004 the police command of the Western Administrative District replied that the material requested was classified as secret and for that reason could not be made available to the judge. 31.  The applicant asked the District Court to relinquish jurisdiction to the Moscow City Court which was competent, under national law, to hear cases involving confidential material. In an interim decision of 30 January 2004, the District Court refused the request, holding that the purpose of the proceedings was to establish whether or not the prefect's decision had been lawful rather than whether the prefect had or had not received information from the law-enforcement authorities. 32.  In a judgment of 30 January 2004, the District Court rejected the applicant's complaint. It established that the prefect had issued the contested decision further to a letter from the head of the police command of the Western Administrative District of 2 September 2003. In that letter, the police officer had asked the prefect to annul his decision of 29 August 2003 because the police command “had received, from various sources, information about potential terrorist attacks in Moscow, in places of mass gatherings”. The District Court continued as follows:
“In the court's view, the information of law-enforcement authorities about a possibility of subversive and terrorist attacks in Moscow in places of mass gatherings potentially presupposes the existing threat of violence not just against those citizens who intend to take part in the meeting but also against those citizens who had no intention of exercising their constitutional right to freedom of mass assemblies.
No evidence contradicting the information contained in the letter from the police command of the Western Administrative District to the prefect of the Western Administrative District has been produced before the court. The prefect's decision of 3 September 2003 was issued not in connection with the notice filed by the assembly organisers but in connection with a threat of increasing terrorist activities in the areas of mass gatherings, with a view to ensuring the security of the Krylatskoye District's residents...
Assessing the contested decision, the court finds that the prefect ... acted within the competence of the State body and [his actions] were appropriate to the presumed threat and complied with the Russian Constitution...”
As regards the forceful actions of the police in dispersing the meeting, the District Court found as follows:
“Taking into account the submissions by the claimant and his representatives, by the representatives of the police command of the Western Administrative District and of Krylatskoye police station, and having examined the video material submitted by the claimant and by Krylatskoye district council, the court finds that the actions of the Krylatskoye district police, which were aimed at preventing the mass action from taking place in connection with a real threat to life, health and security of citizens, were compatible with [the Moscow regulations on co-ordinated police action during mass assemblies] and the requirements of Article 17 § 3 of the Constitution which prohibits violations of rights and freedom of others, including during the exercise of the constitutional right to organise meetings, demonstrations, marches and pickets, having regard to the special conditions in the city of Moscow.” 33.  The applicant lodged an appeal. He submitted, in particular, that not a single public gathering organised by the Moscow mayor's office in the framework of the “Day of the City” had been cancelled as a result of a potential terrorist threat. He pointed out that the District Court had failed to supply a concrete legal basis for the prefect's decision to cancel the assembly permit. 34.  On 8 April 2004 the Moscow City Court, in summary fashion, rejected the applicant's appeal. 35.  On 13 November 2003 and 25 March 2004 the applicant lodged a civil claim for damages against Krylatskoye police station, the Moscow branch of the federal treasury and the Ministry of the Interior. He sought compensation for unlawful arrest and overnight detention in inhuman conditions, without sleep, food or drink. 36.  On 6 July 2004 the Kuntsevskiy District Court dismissed the applicant's claim, finding that Article 1070 of the Civil Code did not provide for State officials' liability for non-pecuniary damage incurred through unlawful administrative arrest. 37.  On 14 April 2005 the Presidium of the Moscow City Court quashed that decision and remitted the claim for a fresh examination. 38.  On 16 November 2005 the Kuntsevskiy District Court dismissed the applicant's claim again. It noted that in cases of administrative arrest, State officials would be liable for non-pecuniary damage only if a fault on their part were proven. The applicant had been detained for 21 hours and 10 minutes for his failure to comply with a lawful police order. His arrest had been lawful because the Constitution only required a judicial decision if the relevant period of custody exceeded forty-eight hours. The administrative case against him had been discontinued on a formal ground – the expiry of the prescription period – rather than by a finding of his innocence. Having regard to these circumstances, the District Court found that the State officials had acted within their competence and powers and therefore could not be held liable for non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant. 39.  On 2 March 2006 the Moscow City Court, on an appeal by the applicant, upheld the judgment of 16 November 2006, endorsing, in summary fashion, the District Court's reasoning.


4.  The applicant was born in 1938 and resides in the town of Zhovti Vody, the Dnipropetrovsk Region. 5.  On 28 May 1999 and 18 October 2000 the Zhovti Vody City Court (hereafter “the City Court”) awarded the applicant a total of UAH 5,712[1] against the State owned Electrongaz Company (hereafter “the Company”) in salary arrears. Both judgments became final and were sent to the Zhovti Vody City Bailiffs’ Office (hereafter “the Bailiffs”) for compulsory enforcement. 6.  In a letter of 24 January 2003, the Bailiffs informed the applicant that the enforcement of the judgments in his favour was impeded by the entry into force of the Law on the Introduction of a Moratorium on the Forced Sale of Property 2001, which barred the attachment and sale of the Company’s capital assets. 7.  On 7 March 2003 the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Commercial Court (hereafter “the Commercial Court”) instituted bankruptcy proceedings against the Company and issued an injunction barring any debt recovery. On 10 October 2003 the Commercial Court approved the rehabilitation proposal and appointed a trustee to run the bankruptcy rehabilitation of the Company’s business. 8.  On 21 October 2004 the Bailiffs terminated the enforcement proceedings in the applicant’s favour as both awards were paid to him in full.


4.  The applicant was born in 1963 and lives in Silistra. 5.  On 3 September 1997 the applicant was charged with fraud. 6.  Between 3 September and 12 December 1997 he was in custody. 7.  On 27 March 2000 the Silistra Regional Court found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment. 8.  On 12 October 2000 the Varna Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and remitted the case for further investigation. 9.  On 31 October 2002 the prosecuting authorities terminated the proceedings as it had not been established that the applicant had committed a criminal offence. 10.  On 4 December 2002 the applicant brought an action for damages under the State and Municipalities Responsibility for Damage Act (“the SMRDA”). He initially sought 60,000 Bulgarian levs (BGN), later reduced to BGN 40,000 (equivalent to 20,450 euros (EUR)), in non‑pecuniary damages stemming from his pre-trial detention and the criminal proceedings against him. 11.  On 27 October 2003 the Dobrich Regional Court found that compensation was due under section 2(2) SMRDA as it had not been established that the applicant had committed a criminal offence. It awarded the applicant BGN 6,000 (EUR 3,067) in non-pecuniary damages. 12.  On 6 April 2004 the Varna Court of Appeal upheld the judgment. 13.  In a final judgment of 28 October 2005 the Supreme Court of Cassation increased the amount of damages awarded to BGN 9,000 (EUR 4,601). 14.  The courts further applied section 10 § 2 of the SMRDA and ordered the applicant to pay in total BGN 2,480 (EUR 1,268) in court fees, which represented 4% of the dismissed part of his claim.


4.  The applicant stood as a candidate in the parliamentary elections of 31 March 2002 in the single-seat electoral constituency no. 72 in the Zakarpattya (Transcarpathia) region (Одномандатний виборчий округ № 72). 5.  Among the candidates registered in that constituency was Mr G., who, at the material time, occupied the post of Head of the Beregovo District State Administration (Zakarpattya Oblast) (Берегівська державна адміністрація Закарпатської області). 6.  On 13 and 28 March 2002 the local Hungarian-language newspapers Bereginfo and Karpati Igaz Szo published the following appeal to voters:
“We firmly believe that anyone who honours [Mr G.] with their support on Sunday can do so with a clear conscience, placing their faith and trust in him to ensure the best possible future for our country. He is the only candidate who respects all our interests and is capable of representing and defending those interests at the highest level. He is a man of action who will never abuse your trust in him and who will do his utmost to retain the full support of voters in the future.” 7.  The appeal was followed by a large number of signatures, including those of Mrs D., secretary of the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 (Окружна виборча комісія), and Mr O., the Chairman of the same electoral commission. 8.  On 31 March 2002 the parliamentary elections were held. During the elections an observer, acting on behalf of Mr G. in electoral division no. 14 of constituency no. 72, drew up a report (акт) stating that she had witnessed an unknown person depositing several (she believed there were seven) ballots in the ballot box. The report was signed by two voters. The observers sent by Mr G. to electoral divisions nos. 45 and 58 drew up similar reports of such breaches of electoral law, stating that they had seen respectively five and ten ballots being cast in the ballot box unlawfully. 9.  According to the first results generated by the computerised system, the applicant had obtained 33,567 votes, compared with 33,524 for his main opponent, Mr G. In electoral division no. 14 the applicant had obtained 537 and Mr G. 291 votes out of 1,570 votes cast. In division no. 45, out of 1,244 voters 711 had voted for the applicant and 372 for his opponent. In division no. 58 there had been 830 votes, of which 475 had been cast for the applicant and 219 for Mr G. In division no. 67, of 1,480 voters 765 cast their ballots for the applicant and 387 for his opponent. In total, in the four above-mentioned electoral divisions the applicant had obtained 2,488 votes, against 1,269 for Mr G. 10.  By decision no. 36 of 2 April 2002, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72, on the basis of the above-mentioned observers’ reports, declared the results in electoral divisions nos. 14, 45 and 58 invalid on the grounds of serious breaches of electoral law. It was also established that on the night of 1 April 2002, after the close of polls and the count, the members of the Electoral Commission of division no. 67 had unlawfully opened the sealed polling station and retrieved the original voting records and several invalid ballots. The next day the Chairman of that division’s Electoral Commission had brought those voting records and ballots to the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72. No reason had been given for these actions. Therefore, the results of the elections in division no. 67 were also declared invalid. On the same date the applicant appealed against this decision to the Central Electoral Commission (Центральна виборча комісія – “the CEC”). 11.  By decision no. 37, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 announced the final results of the ballot, according to which the applicant had obtained 31,079 votes compared with 32,255 for Mr G. This result corresponded to that set out in the first voting record, referred to above, after deduction of the votes in divisions nos. 14, 45, 58 and 67. Mr G., therefore, was declared elected as a member of parliament for the constituency. 12.  On 3 April 2002 the chairmen and members of the Electoral Commissions of divisions nos. 14, 45, 58 and 67 sent statements to the Chairman of the CEC to the effect that none of the official observers had drawn their attention to any breach of electoral law during the voting or the count, and that the documents submitted by the observers complaining of irregularities had been drawn up after the count, “the results of which did not suit one of the candidates”. 13.  By decision no. 750 of 5 April 2002, the CEC, following the applicant’s complaint of 2 April 2002, set aside decision no. 36 and instructed the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 to give a reasoned decision on the results of the vote in the four divisions in question. Referring to the first paragraph of section 70 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the CEC observed that the impugned decision had not been duly reasoned and that there was no conclusive evidence of the alleged irregularities or the allegation that the number of ballots deposited unlawfully had exceeded 10% of the votes cast in each electoral division. 14.  At a meeting of 6 April 2002, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72, by a majority of nine votes to two with three abstaining, adopted decisions nos. 40 and 41, whereby the vote in electoral divisions nos. 14, 45, 58 and 67 was declared invalid for the same reasons as before. In these decisions the Commission noted that the twelfth paragraph of section 72 of the Parliamentary Elections Act allowed a vote to be declared invalid on account of “other circumstances making it impossible to establish the results of the expression of the electorate’s wishes”, in addition to those enumerated in section 70 of the Act. The Commission further noted that since section 72 did not list these “other circumstances”, the matter fell within its exclusive competence. Lastly, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 concluded that the irregularities which it had established and those noted by the observers could be considered as “other circumstances”, making it impossible to establish the electorate’s wishes. 15.  On 9 April 2002 the applicant lodged a complaint challenging decisions nos. 40 and 41 of 6 April 2002. He submitted that the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 had not followed the instructions given by the CEC in its decision of 5 April 2002 concerning the need to give sufficient reasons. 16.  By decision no. 858 of 12 April 2002, the CEC rejected the applicant’s complaint of 9 April 2002 on the ground that, in accordance with section 72 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the task of establishing the existence of “other circumstances” causing the vote to be declared invalid fell to the constituency electoral commission. 17.  The applicant appealed against this decision to the Supreme Court, which, in a judgment of 24 April 2002, upheld the findings of the CEC, including that concerning the exclusive competence of the constituency Electoral Commissions to establish the “other circumstances” provided for in section 72 of the 2001 Parliamentary Elections Act. 18.  On 3 April 2002 Mr V., the applicant’s observer, in the presence of the observers of other candidates and the Chairman and two members of the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72, drew up a report alleging a breach of electoral law. According to the authors, the conditions in the office of the electoral commission located in the basement of the State Administration building in Beregovo were not adequate to ensure that the ballots were kept secure and intact; in particular, they alleged that the doors and filing cabinets had not been sealed, and that one of the doors did not even have a lock on it. 19.  On 5 April 2002 the applicant lodged a complaint with the CEC, challenging decision no. 37 of 2 April 2002 whereby Mr G. had been announced the winner of the elections in constituency no. 72 20.  On 7 April 2002, after the CEC’s decision no. 750 (see paragraph 13 above), a recount of the votes in the electoral divisions nos. 14, 45, 58 and 67 was held. After the recount, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 issued a detailed voting record dated 7 April 2002 setting out the results of the ballot in the constituency, which were the same as those stated in its decision no. 37. 21.  On the same day a member of the constituency Electoral Commission, together with two observers of two of the unsuccessful candidates, prepared a memorandum, addressed to the CEC, alleging that the packages containing the ballot papers had not been sealed by the Electoral Commission of division no. 67, that some of the ballot papers had been damaged and that, in view of these factors, access to the ballots by third parties before the recount could not be ruled out. 22.  On 14 April 2002 the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 drew up the corrected voting record (see paragraph 27 below) setting out the results of the vote. 23.  On the same date the deputy chairman and three members of the Electoral Commission of division no. 67 drew up a memorandum, addressed to the CEC, in which they stated that, in breach of the law, the deputy chairman and secretary of the constituency Electoral Commission, accompanied by four officials of the municipal council and the State Administration acting as observers appointed by Mr G., had come to their homes asking them to sign the corrected voting record. The signatories of the document expressed doubts as to the accuracy of the figures given in the record of 14 April 2002. 24.  On 15 April 2002 the corrected voting records were sent to the CEC. 25.  On 16 April 2002 the applicant lodged a complaint with the CEC seeking to have the record of 14 April 2002 declared invalid. Referring to the appeal to voters published on 13 and 28 March 2002 in the newspapers Bereginfo and Karpati Igaz Szo, he criticised the fact that the chairman and the secretary of the commission had engaged in election campaigning for his opponent. He also noted that the conditions in which the ballot materials had been kept and the new voting record produced cast doubt on the accuracy of the results of the vote obtained after the recount on 7 April 2002. 26.  In a letter of 18 April 2002, the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 informed the CEC that, in accordance with the instructions of the Zakarpattya Oblast Police Department (ГУ МВС України в Закарпатський області), the commission’s office had been properly protected and that no illegal entry had been found to have occurred. 27.  By a decision of 18 April 2002, the CEC examined and rejected the applicant’s complaints of 5 and 16 April 2002. It noted that the voting record drawn up after the recount of 7 April 2002 did not contain certain data, namely the number of invalid ballots, and that the amended record of 14 April 2002 had corrected that error. The CEC further noted that decision no. 37 of 2 April 2002 had been lawful and valid given that, according to the corrected voting record, Mr G. had obtained the highest number of votes. Moreover, no indication was found that the way in which the recount had been organised had affected the accuracy of the results of the vote. The CEC referred in this regard to the letter of 18 April 2002 of the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72 concerning the security of its office. Lastly, the CEC found that the applicant had failed to indicate any ground provided by the Parliamentary Elections Act for the dismissal of the Chairman and the secretary of the Electoral Commission of constituency no. 72. 28.  The applicant challenged this decision before the Supreme Court, which, in a judgment given on 22 April 2002, rejected his complaint. It held that the decision of 18 April 2002 had been taken within the CEC’s competence and in a manner prescribed by the applicable domestic law.