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Grand Chamber hearing concerning San Marino
The Court held a Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Fabbri and Others v. San Marino.
The case concerns delays in separate criminal investigations resulting in the alleged offences becoming time-barred.
- Press release
- Webcast of hearing: 12/07/23
- Country profile: San Marino
Chamber News
In the case of Melia v. Georgia, the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to liberty and security and no violation of the limitation on use of restrictions on rights.
The case concerned an opposition politician who, at the time of the events, was a member of Parliament and one of the leaders of the United National Movement (UNM). He was fitted with an electronic tag in 2019 when released on bail while awaiting trial for his alleged role in organising and participating in an attempted violent storming of the Parliament building on 20-21 June 2019.
In the case of Bavčar v. Slovenia the Court has found a violation of the right to presumption of innocence and no violation of the principle of no punishment without law.
The applicant, a former Government minister, was found guilty of money laundering in 2016. The case concerned appeal proceedings during which the then Minister of Justice had made comments about the pending trial.
In the case of Van den Kerkhof v. Belgium, the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time.
The case concerned the length of civil proceedings, pending before a court of the Brussels judicial district, that were brought by the applicant against the vendors of a flat and the real estate agency that had served as an intermediary for the sale.
The Court held that the applicant’s case had not been heard within a reasonable time, noting that seven years and eight months had elapsed for two levels of jurisdiction and that the proceedings were still pending before the French-Language Brussels Court of First Instance.
In the case of Radio Broadcasting Company B92 AD v. Serbia, the Court held that there had Been a violation of the freedom of expression.
The case concerned civil proceedings brought against the applicant broadcasting company by a former assistant health minister for its reporting that she had been suspected of abuse of office, amid an ongoing controversy over the procurement of swine flu vaccines.
The Court found that the Serbian courts had acknowledged that the information published by the applicant company had contributed to a public debate and that someone in the assistant health minister’s position should have shown a greater degree of tolerance. It found as well that the applicant company had acted in good faith and with the diligence expected of responsible journalism.
Delivered Judgments and Decisions
07/09/0223
05/09/2023
Grand Chamber News
In the case of G.I.E.M. S.r.l. and Others v. Italy the Court delivered a Grand Chamber judgment concerning the question of just satisfaction.
In these cases, the applicants complained about the confiscation of dwellings and land owned by them which formed part of development projects initially authorised by the competent authorities but later declared illegal.
- Press release
- Webcast of hearing : 02/09/15
- Country profile: Italy
The Chamber to which the case Pindo Mulla v. Spain had been allocated has relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber.
The case concerns blood transfusions administered to the applicant, a Jehovah’s Witness, against her will.
Hearings
The Court will be holding a Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others on 27 September 2023.
The case concerns the polluting greenhouse gas emissions from 33 member States, which in the applicants’ view contribute to the phenomenon of global warming resulting, among other things, in heatwaves affecting the applicants’ living conditions and health.
Decisions
In the case of Lenis v. Greece, the Court has declared the application inadmissible.
The appplicant was the Metropolitan (equivalent of a bishop) of the Greek Orthodox Church for Kalavryta and Aigialeia. The case concerned his posting a homophobic article on his personal blog in December 2015, when the Greek Parliament had been about to debate proposed legislation introducing civil unions for same-sex couples, and his subsequent prosecution and sentencing for incitement to hatred and discrimination.
The Court found that the applicant was attempting to deflect the freedom of expression of the Convention from its real purpose by using it for ends which were clearly contrary to the values which the Convention sought to promote.
The Court has decided to strike the application Russia v. Ukraine out of its list of cases.
The case concerned the Russian Government’s allegation of a pattern of violations of Convention by Ukraine since 2014. The Court concluded that the Russian Government no longer wished to pursue their application as they had repeatedly failed to reply to its correspondence.
Other News
Síofra O’Leary, President of the ECHR, has made the statement on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights.
President Síofra O’Leary delivered a keynote speech at the "EUnited for Diversity II" International Conference on The Rule of Law and Constitutional Diversity, held in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 31 August and 1 September 2023. Frédéric Krenc, judge elected in respect of Belgium, and Kateřina Šimáčková, judge elected in respect of the Czech Republic, also participated in the conference. On the side of the conference, President O’Leary held a bilateral meeting with Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice of the European Commission.
In view of the end, on 9 May 2023, of the state of emergency in the provinces affected by the earthquakes of 6 February 2023, it has been decided that the measures adopted by the Court in relation to cases sent from those provinces will no longer be applied as of 15 July 2023.