ECHR

In the case of Espírito Santo Silva Salgado v. Portugal the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to a fair trial / presumption of innocence.

The case concerned an application lodged by the former chair of the board of directors of the Banco Espírito Santo (“BES”), one of the most important private banks in Portugal, the collapse of which had been the subject of resolution action and had attracted considerable media attention. In the present case, the applicant complained about the administrative proceedings that had been brought against him by the Bank of Portugal, alleging that various public statements made by the governor of that bank at the relevant time had impaired his right to an independent and impartial tribunal and his right to be presumed innocent.

As to the Bank of Portugal’s alleged lack of impartiality, the Court took the view that the relevant question was whether the decision taken by that administrative authority had been reviewed by a judicial body with full jurisdiction. In that regard, it found that the applicant had been afforded the benefit of judicial scrutiny of sufficient scope for the purposes of the Convention. It further found that the statements made by the governor of the Bank of Portugal had not impaired the applicant’s right to be presumed innocent.

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In the case of M.Ș.D. v. Romania the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to respect for private and family life.

The case concerned events following the breakup of a relationship, when the applicant was 18 years of age. Her ex-boyfriend, V.C.A., among other allegations, sent intimate pictures of her to family members and others, and posted the pictures, along with her personal details, on escort websites. The applicant promptly complained to the authorities about V.C.A.’s actions, but the criminal investigation and the related court proceedings remained pending for a long time, until even the statute of limitations for criminal liability expired. Most of the charges against V.C.A. were ultimately dropped.

The Court found that the legal framework had been inadequate – failing to protect the applicant from online violence – and that the investigation into her allegations had been ineffective, owing to excessive delays, the conduct of the authorities who have assigned part of the blame to the applicant thus contributing to her ”revictimisation”, as well as the express refusal of the prosecutor’s office to comply with the court’s orders.

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In the case of Svrtan v. Croatia the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to life.

The case concerned the death of a Croatian couple’s 12-year-old son in a shooting incident. The man responsible, S.K., had a history of alcohol abuse, violent behaviour and suspected unlawful possession of firearms.

The Court concluded that the authorities had not done everything within their power to safeguard public safety and, ultimately, the life of the applicants’ son. The police had searched S.K.’s house several weeks before the tragic incident after the local police stopped him carrying a gas pistol. They had however only searched the house for half an hour, failing to find and confiscate the automatic rifle used in the subsequent shooting. Indeed, the authorities had not questioned S.K., his family members or neighbours, or taken any other measures, despite the police having been ordered just a few days after the search to make further enquiries, and specifically having been told that S.K. had had unlicensed weapons in his attic.

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In the case of Souroullas Kay and Zannettos v. Cyprus the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to a fair trial and no violation of the right to adequate time and facilities for preparation of defence.

The case concerned the first applicant’s conviction for money laundering and the second applicant’s for extortion in connection with a land deal. A key part of the evidence had been the testimony of N.L., a property entrepreneur and owner of ALKI Larnaca, a football club. N.L. had been given immunity from prosecution after he had given statements implicating, among others, the applicants.

The Court found that the trial had not been compromised by the inclusion of N.L.’s evidence as the national courts had been cautious in treating that evidence, and there had been other corroboration available too.

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In the case of Kotov v. Russia the Court held that there had been several violations of the Convention.

The case concerned the convictions under administrative and criminal law of the applicant for public protests and for encouraging others online to attend such events, for which he had received a prison sentence.

The Court found that the punishment under criminal law given to the applicant had been entirely disproportionate, and that he had been punished for actions, such as chanting anti- Government slogans, which were protected under the Convention.

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In the case of Ferrero Quintana v. Spain the Court held that there had been no violation of the general prohibition of discrimination.

The case concerned the imposition of a maximum age of 35 for a public competition to fill several police-officer positions in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Ertzaintza). The applicant, who had been provisionally authorised to take part in the various competition tests – where he ranked 49th out of 60 – was ultimately not recruited on the grounds that he was over the age-limit.

The Court found that it was established that restricting admission to positions for police officers of the lowest rank in the Ertzaintza by establishing a maximum age of 35, at the relevant time, had been necessary to ensure and maintain the functional capacity of that autonomous police force. 

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