Grand Chamber judgment concerning San Marino
In the case of Fabbri and Others v. San Marino the Court held that there had been no violation of the right of access to court as concerned one of the applicants and declared inadmissible the complaints brought by the remaining two applicants.
The case concerned three individuals who participated in criminal proceedings as victims of alleged offences. They complained that they could not have their civil claims adjudicated in those proceedings because delays in the investigations had led to the alleged offences becoming time-barred in 2020.
The Court found no violation of the right of access to court as concerned one of the three applicants who had requested to join the proceedings as a civil party, but had not pursued his claim diligently and had other avenues open to him. It rejected as inadmissible the remaining two applicants’ complaints because they had not lodged a formal request via a signed declaration to obtain the status of “civil party”, as was required under San Marino law.