In the case of Vervele v. Greece the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to a fair trial and a violation of the right to an effective remedy.

The case concerned excessively lengthy civil proceedings that the applicant had brought against Ippokrateio General Hospital of Athens, where she had worked as a cleaner, for non-payment of salary.

The Court found that the remedy in place was not effective as it did not allow the Greek courts to look at the overall length of proceedings, and the interpretation of the criteria for assessing what constitutes “reasonable” time and the award of just satisfaction were not in line with the standards as set out in the Court’s case-law. It also found that the length in this case had been excessive.

• Press release
• Press release (in Greek)