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7. The applicant was born in 1981 and lives in Lublin, Poland. 8. The applicant underwent a heart operation in the Child Health Centre Hospital (Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka) in Warsaw-Międzylesie from 11 April to 27 May 1988. In May and June 1995 the applicant had been diagnosed with jaundice, which he considered to be a result of medical negligence. 9. On 10 September 1996 the applicant's mother filed an action for damages on his behalf with the Warsaw Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) against the Child Health Centre Hospital. The applicant claimed that he had contracted jaundice during his stay in the hospital in 1988. In addition, he claimed that as a result of medical negligence he suffered from complications, including heart arrhythmia. 10. In March 1997 the defendant's counsel submitted his pleadings to the court. On 1 June 1997 the applicant's mother asked the court to adjourn the hearing until 30 June 1997 so that she would have sufficient time to prepare a reply to the defendant's submissions. 11. The first hearing was held on 20 November 1997. On 11 December 1997 the applicant submitted his pleadings to the court. 12. On 7 September 1998 the applicant asked to be granted legal aid. On 8 September 1998 the court granted his request and decided that the Warsaw Regional Bar would designate a lawyer for him. 13. On 29 September 1998 the applicant increased his claim. 14. The hearing listed for 5 October 1998 was adjourned at the request of the applicant's mother, since the Warsaw Regional Bar had not complied with the court's decision of 8 September 1998. The court again requested the Warsaw Regional Bar to designate a lawyer for the applicant. 15. On 16 December 1998 the court held a hearing. The applicant's counsel asked the court to order an expert opinion. On 11 February 1999 the court ordered an expert opinion from a panel of doctors (a cardiologist and an epidemiologist). On 24 March and 16 April 1999 respectively, the experts submitted their opinions to the court. On 15 May 1999 the applicant challenged both reports. 16. In her pleadings of 16 December 1999, the defendant's counsel argued that the Child Health Centre Hospital could not be a defendant in the case because it did not have standing in the proceedings and that the proper defendant should be the Minister of Health (Minister Zdrowia). 17. On 13 March 2000 the court held a hearing. On 24 March 2000 the court summoned the Minister of Health (representing the State Treasury) to join the proceedings as a defendant. On 9 October 2000 the Warsaw Regional Court changed its decision of 24 March 2000 and summoned the Governor of Mazowsze as a defendant. 18. On 18 April 2001 the Regional Court ordered yet another expert to prepare an opinion. On 11 February 2002 the expert submitted his opinion to the court. 19. On 6 January 2004 the Warsaw Regional Court gave partial judgment. The defendant lodged an appeal with the Warsaw Court of Appeal. 20. On 23 June 2004 the Court of Appeal quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case. The proceedings are pending before the Warsaw Regional Court.

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4. The first applicant was born in 1979 and lives in Vienna. 5. On 19 July 2000 the Vienna Regional Court (Landesgericht für Strafsachen) convicted the first applicant under section 209 of the Criminal Code of having committed homosexual acts with an adolescent and sentenced him to a fine of ATS 4,500 (approximately EUR 330) with 75 days’ imprisonment in default. The sentence was suspended on probation. The Regional Court found that, in September 1999, the first applicant, who was then twenty years old, had had about ten homosexual contacts with a sixteen-year-old. In determining the sentence the court had regard to the applicant’s confession and his young age as a mitigating circumstance, as well as to the repetition of the offence as an aggravating circumstance. 6. On 13 November 2000 the Vienna Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) dismissed the first applicant’s appeal on points of law, in which he had complained that section 209 of the Criminal Code was discriminatory and violated his right to respect for his private life, and in which he had also suggested that the Court of Appeal request the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of that provision. 7. The second applicant was born in 1964 and lives in Traiskirchen. 8. On 7 August 2001 the Wiener Neustadt Regional Court ordered the second applicant’s detention on remand on suspicion of having committed homosexual acts with an adolescent contrary to section 209 of the Criminal Code. 9. On 24 August 2001 the Wiener Neustadt Regional Court convicted the second applicant under section 209 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to fifteen months’ imprisonment, fourteen of which were suspended on probation. It found that, from March 2001 until his arrest, the second applicant had a homosexual relationship with a seventeen-year-old. In determining the sentence the court had regard to the applicant’s confession as a mitigating circumstance, as well as to the repetition of the offence and a previous conviction as aggravating circumstances. 10. On 7 September 2001 the second applicant was released from detention on remand. 11. On 23 October 2001 the Vienna Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) dismissed the second applicant’s appeal on points of law, in which he had complained that section 209 of the Criminal Code was discriminatory and violated his right to respect for his private life, and in which he had also suggested that the Court of Appeal request the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of that provision. Upon the Public Prosecutor’s appeal it changed the sentence to the effect that only ten out of fifteen months of imprisonment were suspended on probation. 12. Subsequently the second applicant was granted a stay of the execution of his sentence. On 7 July 2002 he requested a pardon and a further stay of execution pending the decision on his request for pardon. On 11 July 2002 the Wiener Neustadt Regional Court granted a further stay of execution. 13. On 23 September 2002 the Federal President, upon the second applicant’s request, granted him a remission of the remaining sentence.

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6. The applicants were born in 1960 and 1982, respectively and live in Ivanovac, Croatia. 7. On 20 November 1991 a member of the Croatian Army allegedly shot at the second applicant and killed his father and grandfather. The first applicant is the second applicant’s mother. 8. On 19 February 1996 the applicants instituted civil proceedings before the Osijek Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Osijeku) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1999 (Zakon o dopunama Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 112/1999), the Osijek Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 13 November 2000. 10. The proceedings resumed on 1 September 2003 pursuant to the “Damage Caused by Members of the Croatian Army and Police during the Homeland War Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti Republike Hrvatske za štetu uzrokovanu od pripadnika Hrvatskih oružanih i redarstvenih snaga tijekom Domovinskog rata, Official Gazette no. 117/2003).

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9. The applicant was born in 1956 and currently lives in Diyarbakır. He was a shopkeeper at the time of the events giving rise to the application as well as the president of the Van branch of the Human Rights Association and a member of the Association’s National Management Committee. 10. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties and set out in the Court’s admissibility decision of 3 February 2000, were disputed. They may be summarised as follows. The applicant 11. On 21 March 1992, during the Newroz Festival, incidents occurred in Van which eventually led to a curfew being imposed. The applicant alleges that he was severely beaten outside the building of the People’s Labour Party (“HEP”) by police officers. He spent nine days in hospital. Following his discharge from hospital, he was charged with public order offences and detained on remand. He was eventually acquitted for lack of evidence. 12. Also on 21 March 1992, the applicant’s shop was raided, the only shop out of 22 on the same floor to be raided. Goods and equipment in the shop were damaged or stolen. His subsequent claim for compensation was rejected by the Van Administrative Court. 13. On 30 August 1992 the applicant’s car was damaged while parked opposite his house in Van. Between 5 November 1993 and 13 January 1994 he was taken into custody on three separate occasions. According to the applicant, he and his family received threatening and abusive telephone calls, sometimes three a day, ordering him to leave Van or be killed. 14. On 11 February 1994 the applicant was attacked by two men who followed him on his way to a meeting at a friend’s office. When he recovered consciousness, he found himself in a lift-shaft. He sustained serious injuries. According to the applicant, the police did not follow-up this incident. After his discharge from hospital, the applicant received telephone calls warning him that he would not escape the next time. The Government 15. The Government maintained that there were illegal demonstrations, violence and looting in Van on 21 March 1992. The applicant was injured by stone-throwing demonstrators when he emerged from the HEP building where he had taken shelter. He was rescued from the crowd by the police and taken to hospital. He was later charged with, inter alia, organising the illegal demonstration and eventually acquitted. 16. As to the lift-shaft incident of 11 February 1994, the Government stated that the police questioned the applicant on two occasions in connection with the incident, but he refused to provide them with any information. Accordingly, the police were unable to make any progress in their investigation. 17. The Government denied that the applicant had ever been subject to arbitrary arrest. They refuted his claims that the authorities had been involved, either directly or indirectly, in any of the various incidents described by him and maintained that he had failed to exhaust domestic remedies in connection with his allegations.

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6. The applicants live in Zagreb. 7. On 28 March 1992 the applicants’ weekend house in Sesvete, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 9 March 1995 the applicants instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for their damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 5 April 1996. 10. The proceedings resumed on 20 November 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003).

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4. The applicant was born in 1963 and lives in Krems-Egelsee. 5. On 30 January 1996 the Krems Municipal Council (Magistrat) asked the applicant to comment on the charge against her as she was suspected of illegal parking. 6. On 22 February 1996 the applicant, who was assisted by counsel, submitted her comments. 7. On 8 November 1996 the applicant filed a request to consult inter alia the ordinance upon which the charge was based. 8. On 20 February 1997 the applicant submitted further comments. 9. On 5 March 1997 the Municipal Council issued a penal order (Straferkenntnis) against the applicant finding her guilty of illegal parking and imposing a fine of 1,000 Austrian schillings (approximately 70 euros) with sixty hours’ imprisonment in default on her. 10. On 2 April 1997 the applicant appealed against this decision. On 7 May 1998 the applicant filed further comments. 11. On 16 June 1998 the Lower Austria Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat) dismissed the applicant’s appeal. 12. On 2 July 1998 the applicant filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court. 13. On 29 September 1998 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s complaint for lack of prospects of success. 14. On 12 January 1999 the Constitutional Court, upon the applicant’s request of 22 December 1998, remitted the case to the Administrative Court. On 10 February 1999 the applicant supplemented her complaint with the Administrative Court. On 19 April 1999 the Independent Administrative Panel submitted its comments. 15. On 25 January 2002 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint as being unfounded. This decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 20 February 2002.

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6. The applicant was born in 1951 and lives in Hanau, Germany. 7. On 14 June 1992 the applicant’s house in Čepin, Croatia, was set ablaze by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 21 June 1994 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 21 October 1998. 10. On 17 July 2003 the relevant authorities granted the applicant reconstruction assistance pursuant to the Reconstruction Act (Zakon o obnovi, Official Gazette nos. 24/1996, 54/1996, 87/1996 and 57/2000). 11. On an uncertain date the proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court resumed pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003). 12. On 5 December 2003 the Zagreb Municipal Court dismissed the applicant’s claim on the basis of its lack of jurisdiction. He appealed against that decision. It would appear that the proceedings are pending.

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6. The applicant was born in 1934 and lives in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro. 7. On 21 or 22 February 1992 her house and business premises in Zadar, Croatia, were blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 11 August 1994 she instituted civil proceedings before the Zadar Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zadru) against the Republic of Croatia and an insurance company. 9. On 20 September 2002 the Zadar Municipal Court stayed the proceedings in respect of the Republic of Croatia. It based its decision on the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1999 (Zakon o dopunama Zakona o obveznim odnosima). Both the applicant and the Republic of Croatia appealed. They argued that the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima) should have been applied instead. 10. On 6 November 2002 the Zadar Municipal Court decided to separate the proceedings in respect of the insurance company. It would appear that the proceedings against the insurance company are pending. 11. On 31 July 2003 the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” and the “Damage Caused by Members of the Croatian Army and Police during the Homeland War Act 2003” entered into force. 12. On 17 December 2003 the Zadar County Court (Županijski sud u Zadru) quashed the decision of 20 September 2002 and remitted the case to the Zadar Municipal Court for a retrial. It would appear that the proceedings against the Republic of Croatia are also pending.

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6. The applicants were born in 1946 and 1955, respectively and live in Boleč, Serbia and Montenegro. 7. On 6 or 7 May 1992 their house in Novska, Croatia, was set ablaze by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 11 November 1996 they instituted civil proceedings before the Novska Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Novskoj) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for their damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima), the Novska Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 24 October 1997. 10. The proceedings resumed on 22 October 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija).

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4. In March 1993 welding work was carried out in the applicant’s fashion boutique. On 26 May 1995 the applicant filed an action for damages against the company which had carried out the welding work. She alleged that the welding work had soiled stored clothes and the salesroom of her boutique and had affected her health. The Salzburg Regional Court (Landesgericht), upon her request, had previously granted her legal aid for these proceedings on 4 May 1995. 5. On 29 August 1995 the Salzburg Regional Court held a first hearing. 6. On 6 October 1995 it appointed an expert and instructed him to prepare a report. The expert delivered his report on 29 January 1997. 7. On 2 June 1997 the court held a further hearing. It heard some witnesses and then adjourned the proceedings to hear the expert and further witnesses. On the same day the defendant challenged the expert for bias. The court dismissed this motion on 19 September 1997. 8. On 17 December 1997 the court held another hearing and heard further witnesses and the expert. It also ordered the parties to submit their extensive questions in writing and, on 3 February 1998, instructed the expert to supplement his opinion. 9. On 6 July 1998 the expert delivered his supplementary opinion. On 16 November 1998 the court held a hearing and, upon the applicant’s request, decided to appoint a further expert in order to assess the amount of damages. It further requested the applicant to declare whether she still claimed damages for injuries to her health. The proceedings were adjourned in order to appoint the expert and to hear a witness who had not appeared. 10. In a statement of 14 January 1999 the applicant declared that she maintained her claim for damages as regards injuries to her health. 11. On 4 March 1999 the court, noting that the applicant had made incorrect statements when declaring her financial situation, withdrew the legal aid granted to her. On 20 April 1999 the Linz Court of Appeal confirmed this decision. Subsequently, on 18 May 1999 the Salzburg Regional Court imposed a fine on the applicant for abuse of process. It further informed the parties that it considered it necessary to decide first whether the claim for damages was well-founded in principle before ordering further expert opinions. 12. On 2 July 1999 the court dismissed the applicant’s further request for legal aid. On 9 August 1999 the Linz Court of Appeal confirmed this decision. 13. Meanwhile, on 26 July 1999 the applicant filed an application under Section 91 of the Courts Act (Gerichtsorganisationsgesetz). In particular, she requested that the Regional Court be ordered to hold a further hearing, to question the witness H. and to take a decision. The Regional Court subsequently scheduled a hearing for 10 November 1999. On 17 August 1999 the Linz Court of Appeal dismissed the application. It found that, until the hearing of 17 December 1997, the court had been mainly concerned with obtaining the necessary expert opinions. There were no delays either during this period, or during the following period until the hearing of 16 November 1998. Subsequently, a number of procedural steps were taken by the applicant relating to the withdrawal of legal aid. Having regard to the circumstances of the case, the Regional Court had not been dilatory. 14. The applicant subsequently challenged the competent judge S. and, in a letter of 15 October 1999, complained that S. had not cancelled the hearing of 10 November 1999. On 15 November 1999 the applicant requested that records prepared in1994 in connection with her legal aid case be rectified. 15. On 16 December 1999 the Salzburg Regional Court sitting with three judges dismissed the applicant’s challenge as unfounded but found that judge S. was biased according to his own declaration (Befangenheitsanzeige). On 7 March 2000 the Linz Court of Appeal confirmed this decision. 16. On 28 April and on 30 May 2000, the Salzburg Regional Court, presided over by another judge, held oral hearings. On 31 August 2000, upon the parties’ requests, the court appointed two further experts. On 11 December 2000 both of the experts delivered their reports. 17. On 9 February 2001 the court, presided over by another judge, held another hearing and heard one expert. During this hearing the applicant’s counsel declared that he would inform the court of the outcome of friendly settlement discussions within four weeks. The court adjourned the proceedings sine die in order to obtain an opinion of another expert. 18. On 22 March 2001 the applicant requested the court to hear another witness. On 3 April 2001 the applicant’s counsel requested the court not to schedule any hearings because of ongoing friendly settlement discussions. The applicant’s counsel repeated this request on 23 August 2001, 25 September 2001, 17 December 2001, 26 February 2002 and on 17 May 2002. In the meantime, on 31 August 2001, the defendant’s counsel had informed the applicant’s counsel that the defendant did not agree with their proposal for a friendly settlement. 19. On 5 December 2002 the applicant’s counsel requested the court to hold a further hearing. On 21 January 2003 and on 25 April 2003 the court held further hearings. 20. On 15 July 2003 the Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s claim. It noted that the applicant’s claim had become time-barred as the applicant had not duly continued the proceedings after friendly settlement negotiations had failed in August 2001. 21. On 14 October 2003 the Vienna Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. 22. On 3 December 2003 the Supreme Court rejected the applicant’s extraordinary appeal.

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6. The applicant was born in 1933 and lives in Zagreb. 7. On 25 August 1992 the applicant’s house in Sukošan, Croatia was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 19 July 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu), seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. On 17 January 1996 Parliament introduced an amendment to the Civil Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima) which provided that all proceedings concerning actions for damages resulting from terrorist acts were to be stayed, pending the enactment of new legislation. Before the enactment of such new legislation, damages for terrorist acts could not be sought. 10. On 29 January 1997 the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings. 11. On 14 July 2003 Parliament passed the Act on Liability for Damage Resulting from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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7. The applicant was born in 1921 and lives in Zagreb. 8. On 6 September 1991 his summer house in Starigrad, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 9. On 7 September 1994 he instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 10. On 16 November 1995 the Zagreb Municipal Court gave judgment partly allowing the applicant’s claim. 11. On an uncertain date the defendant appealed against the first instance judgment. 12. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 3 September 1997. 13. On 31 July 2003 the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija) entered into force. It provides that proceedings which were stayed pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 will resume. However, it is uncertain if and when the applicant’s proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court have resumed.

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6. The applicant was born in 1924 and lives in Vinkovci. 7. On 12 April 1993 the applicant’s house in Lički Novi was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 11 April 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu), seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. On 17 January 1996 Parliament introduced an amendment to the Civil Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima) which provided that all proceedings concerning actions for damages resulting from terrorist acts were to be stayed, pending the enactment of new legislation. Before the enactment of such new legislation damages for terrorist acts could not be sought. 10. On 5 October 1999 the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings. 11. On 14 July 2003 Parliament passed the Act on Liability for Damage Resulting from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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10. The applicant company, which conducted business within the textile industry, was not a member of any employers' association. Thus, it was not automatically bound by any collective bargaining agreement (kollektivavtal) negotiated in the industry, and had not signed any such agreement of its own volition. It had about twenty employees two of whom were members of the Industrial Union (Industrifacket; hereinafter “the union”), an affiliated member of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen; hereinafter “the LO”). 11. In the spring of 1997 the union requested negotiations with the applicant company with a view to concluding a collective agreement. Such negotiations were held on 13 May 1997. The minutes of the negotiations stated, inter alia, that the applicant company was not interested in reaching an agreement at that time but would consider the matter. The minutes also recorded that the parties had concluded that the salaries paid by the applicant company were higher than the minimum wage stipulated in the collective agreement proposed by the union. 12. In a subsequent written exchange the applicant company stated that it had no intention of concluding a collective agreement with the union. 13. Soon thereafter the union demanded that the applicant company sign the so-called IG agreement (IG-avtalet), a collective agreement specially conceived by the union for employers who were not members of an employers' association. The applicant company declined, stating that its terms of employment were considerably more favourable to the employees than those stipulated in the IG agreement, that the existing employment contracts were perfectly adequate and that the employees belonging to the union objected to the union intervening on their behalf. However, it offered to sign a collective agreement with the union incorporating its existing terms of employment. The union rejected this proposal and announced that it might take industrial action. 14. On 3 October 1997 the union gave the applicant company formal notice (varsel) that it would take action by ordering the cessation of all work at the company and by imposing a “blockade” on the company from 13 October onwards unless an agreement had been reached before that date. 15. On 17 October 1997 the applicant company instituted proceedings against the union in the Stockholm District Court (tingsrätt), claiming that the threatened industrial action was unlawful and that the union should be ordered to withdraw the notice. The applicant company also requested that the District Court make an interim order to that effect. 16. On 20 October 1997 the union took the industrial action. It lasted only one day. The notice remained effective, however. 17. Negotiations were thereafter held before the National Conciliation Board (Statens förlikningsmannaexpedition). The union stated that certain parts of the IG agreement were not negotiable. The applicant company indicated that it was considering joining an employers' association, the Swedish Textile and Clothing Industries' Association (Tekoindustrierna), to which the union responded that it would not take any further industrial action against the company. However, the applicant company did not join that association and the negotiations broke down. 18. On 13 November 1997 the District Court rejected the applicant company's request for an interim order. 19. In the substantive proceedings, the union claimed that the District Court had no jurisdiction to decide the dispute and that, instead, it should be referred to the Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen), whose decision should be final. By a decision of 5 December 1997 the District Court, referring to chapter 2, section 1, subsection 4 of the Litigation in Labour Disputes Act (Lagen om rättegången i arbetstvister, 1974:371; hereinafter “the 1974 Act”) and section 41 of the Co-Determination at Work Act (Lagen om medbestämmande i arbetslivet, 1976:580; hereinafter “the 1976 Act”), agreed with the union and transferred the case to the Labour Court. 20. Before the Labour Court, the applicant company claimed that the composition of the court which would determine the case should be restricted to professional judges – i.e. without members representing employers' and employees' interests – as it would otherwise not meet the requirement of objective impartiality under Article 6 of the Convention. 21. On 14 January 1998 a bench of the Labour Court composed of members who did not represent labour market interests rejected the applicant company's claim, stating that at the main hearing of a case, the composition of the court had to be in accordance with chapter 3, section 6 of the 1974 Act. 22. The Labour Court held a hearing in the case on 23 January 1998. 23. The applicant company maintained that the industrial action taken by the union was aimed at forcing it to join an employers' association or to accept the collective IG agreement drawn up by the union. It stated that only two union members were employed at the company and both of them had declared that they did not want to take part in the industrial action. The applicant company also claimed that its terms of employment were more favourable than those stipulated in the IG agreement. Since the means employed by the union were not reasonably proportional to the aim sought to be achieved, the industrial action had violated the applicant company's right not to join an employers' association and thus its right to negative freedom of association under Article 11 of the Convention. Alternatively, the applicant company asserted that the industrial action conflicted with a general principle of proportionality which it maintained was applicable under Swedish law, as it could entail serious economic consequences for the company. 24. For its part, the union claimed that, on the whole, the terms of employment provided by the applicant company were not more favourable than those contained in the IG agreement although it accepted that the salaries of its two members were higher than the minimum salary prescribed by that agreement. The union also stated that the IG agreement could be adapted to meet the special requirements of the applicant company. It further argued that the Convention was not applicable to the dispute as it only governed relations between individuals and the State and the 1976 Act was applicable as lex specialis. Alternatively, it asserted that Article 11 of the Convention did not afford any protection to a limited liability company and that, in any event, the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Gustafsson v. Sweden (judgment of 25 April 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-II, p. 637 et seq.) showed that Article 11 did not confer any right not to sign a collective agreement. As regards the industrial action that had been taken, the union stated that it served the legitimate aims of improving the employment situation for union members and protecting them in various ways and could not be considered disproportionate to those aims. The union also claimed that a general principle of proportionality, as invoked by the applicant company, could not be used to limit the constitutional right to take industrial action. In its submission, the right to take such action against employers who were not bound by collective agreements was in principle unlimited under Swedish law. 25. By a judgment of 11 February 1998 the Labour Court found in favour of the union. Noting at the outset that the parties agreed that the industrial action in question was not unlawful under the 1976 Act, it went on to examine in detail whether it could involve a violation of the applicant company's right to negative freedom of association under Article 11 of the Convention, which had been part of Swedish law since its incorporation into domestic law on 1 January 1995. First, the Labour Court rejected the union's preliminary objections as to the applicability of the Convention, as such, to the dispute at hand. It noted, inter alia, that the rules on industrial action in the 1976 Act – which were based on the constitutional principle that the right to take such action is unlimited unless otherwise provided by law – prescribed the situations in which such action would be unlawful. Thus, it could not be excluded that further restrictions on the right to take industrial action could follow from other legislation, including the Convention. The provisions of the 1976 Act, therefore, did not prevent Article 11 of the Convention from being applicable. The Labour Court then went on to examine whether the industrial action had violated Article 11. It noted that the rationale behind the union's action was not to force the applicant company to join an employers' association but to conclude a collective agreement with it which, according to the union, would promote the economic interests of its members. Among other things, the proposed agreement prescribed that compensation be paid for overtime work, which, indisputably, was not the case under the applicant company's terms of employment. Having regard, inter alia, to the aforementioned judgment in the case of Gustafsson v. Sweden, the Labour Court concluded that the industrial action had not violated the applicant company's rights under Article 11. It found also that there was no basis in law for the applicant company's contention that a general principle of proportionality was applicable in labour disputes. 26. The Labour Court which heard the case and delivered judgment was composed of seven members. In accordance with the 1974 Act, the Labour Court was composed of two legally trained and qualified judges and five lay assessors. One assessor had been appointed because of her special knowledge of the labour market. However, she did not represent any employers' or employees' interests. Of the other four assessors, two had been nominated by employers' associations (a director of the Swedish Employer's Confederation (Svenska Arbetsgivareföreningen; hereinafter “the SAF”) and an employee of the Ministry of Finance representing the State employers) and two by employees' associations (ombudsmen in the LO and the joint Central Organisation of Salaried Employees and Central Organisation of Swedish Academics (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation and Svenska Akademikers Centralorganisation; hereinafter “the TCO/SACO”), respectively). 27. The member nominated by the SAF disagreed with the Labour Court's judgment and considered that the industrial action in question violated Article 11 of the Convention, as the union had failed to show that the terms of employment stipulated by the IG agreement were more favourable than those provided by the applicant company. 28. Following the Labour Court's judgment, the union made a further approach to the applicant company with a view to concluding a collective agreement. The applicant company again refused but informed the union that the rules on overtime work set out in the IG agreement had been introduced at the company. 29. On 23 February 1998 the union applied to the Labour Court for a declaratory judgment establishing the union's right to take immediate industrial action against the applicant company. It also requested the court to take an interim decision on this matter. 30. The applicant company opposed the union's claims and again objected to the composition of the Labour Court. It also requested an order requiring the union to provide security for any damage the company might sustain. 31. By a decision of 9 March 1998 the Labour Court, composed of members who did not represent labour market interests, rejected the applicant company's challenge to its impartiality on the same grounds as in its decision of 14 January 1998. 32. Following a hearing on 12 March 1998, the Labour Court, by a decision of 13 March, granted the union's request for an interim declaration that the proposed industrial action was lawful. It thus rejected the applicant company's claims that the union's application was res judicata on account of its previous judgment and that the requirements under Swedish law for a declaratory decision – whether final or interim – were not met. It also rejected the applicant company's claim that the proposed action should be deemed unlawful as the rules on overtime work set out in the IG agreement had been introduced at the company – an assertion which was not confirmed by the union – and as the two union members had been dismissed owing to scarcity of work at the company. Referring to its established case-law, the Labour Court further found that the union, being an organisation, did not have to provide security. 33. The composition of the Labour Court which heard and examined the union's claims was the same as for the judgment of 11 February 1998 (see paragraph 25 above), including two assessors nominated by employers' associations (another SAF director and the same employee of the Ministry of Finance) and two by employees' associations (a former vice-president of a trade union affiliated to the LO and a former head lawyer of a trade union affiliated to the TCO/SACO). 34. The member nominated by the SAF submitted an opinion dissenting from the Labour Court's decision, on the ground that it was not perfectly clear that the proposed industrial action was lawful, for which reason the union's interim request should be rejected. 35. The applicant company complained to the Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen), requesting that the Labour Court's decision of 13 March 1998 be set aside owing to a grave procedural error (domvilla). It argued that the Labour Court could not rule on the union's request unless security had been furnished for the applicant company's potential loss. Alternatively, the applicant company's negative freedom of association had been breached as a consequence of the union having been afforded procedural privileges in its capacity as an organisation. On 26 March 1998 the Supreme Court refused the applicant company's request, finding that it had not established any grounds for quashing the Labour Court's decision. 36. It would appear that the union proceeded with industrial action on 6 April 1998. Supportive industrial action was also taken by other trade unions. On 8 April the applicant company joined the Swedish Textile and Clothing Industries' Association and thus became bound by a collective agreement. The union's own industrial action was immediately suspended but supportive action by another trade union lasted over the Easter weekend until 13 April. 37. On 30 April 1998, following a settlement between the applicant company and the union and the latter's withdrawal of the application it had lodged on 23 February 1998, the Labour Court struck the proceedings out of its list. 38. Due to declining profitability, the applicant company went into voluntary liquidation in June 1998. By a decision of 17 June the District Court of Nacka declared the applicant company insolvent. On 30 March 2001 the winding up was terminated and the applicant company dissolved.

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8. The applicant was born in [Note4]1950 and lives in Miedźno, Poland. 9. In October 1991 the applicant was dismissed from work. 10. On 21 October 1991 he filed with the Częstochowa District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) a petition in which he requested that he be reinstated in his former post and awarded compensation. 11. On 18 May 1992 the court stayed the proceedings until the completion of criminal proceedings against the applicant, considering that the courts’ findings in those proceedings could affect the outcome of the employment dispute. 12. On 31 July 1992 the criminal court gave judgment. On 27 November 1992 the second-instance court quashed it and remitted the case for re-examination. 13. On 22 May 1995 the District Court discontinued the labour law proceedings, because three years had passed since the date of staying them. 14. On 25 July 1995 it allowed the applicant’s appeal and quashed that decision. 15. On 3 November 1995 the criminal court discontinued the proceedings against the applicant, considering that the theft of two boxes of glue committed by him was of an insignificant nature. On 23 February 1996 the second-instance court acquitted the applicant. 16. On 15 May 1996 the Częstochowa District Court gave judgment in respect of part of his claim. It reinstated the applicant in his former post. On 6 August 1996 the second-instance court dismissed his employer’s appeal against that judgment. 17. On 4 March 1997 the Częstochowa District Court ordered an expert opinion concerning the calculation of the applicant’s lost earnings. It was submitted on 26 August 1997. In September 1997 the court ordered a supplementary opinion. 18. At the hearing held on 14 January 1998 it requested the preparation of another supplementary opinion. It was submitted on 16 June 1998. 19. The court held a hearing on 5 February 1999. Subsequently, the parties exchanged their observations as to the amount of compensation for the applicant. 20. On 15 February 2000 the court held a hearing. On 20 April 2000 it ordered a supplementary expert opinion. 21. On 26 September and 14 November 2000 the court held hearings. On the former date it refused the applicant’s request for an interim order. 22. On 28 December 2000 the court gave judgment. It awarded the applicant compensation for the lost earnings. Both parties appealed. 23. On 16 May 2001 the Częstochowa Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) held a hearing. 24. On 31 May 2001 it dismissed a challenge to the participation in the proceedings of a judge lodged by the applicant’s lawyer. The court imposed a fine on the lawyer for having used that remedy in bad faith. 25. On 13 June 2001 the court dismissed both appeals against the judgment of the District Court. The defendant lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. 26. On 19 November 2001 the Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s appeal. THE LAW[Note5]

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9. The applicants, Abdurrahman Çelik and Kasim İmret were born in 1958 and 1947 respectively and live in Batman. 10. On 17 May 1998 the applicants, accused of acting as couriers for the PKK, were arrested by police officers from the Batman Security Directorate. 11. Prior to their detention in police custody, the applicants were examined by a doctor who found that they did not bear the marks of any injury. The applicants were then taken to the Batman Security Directorate where they were detained and questioned. 12. On 18 May 1998 the public prosecutor authorised the applicants' continued detention until 20 May 1998. 13. On 18 and 20 May 1998 the applicants were again examined by two doctors who found that there was no evidence that the applicants had been ill‑treated. 14. The applicants allege that they were subjected to various types of torture and inhuman treatment during their detention in police custody. They claim they were blindfolded and immersed in high pressure cold water. They had to stand naked and electric shocks were administered to various parts of their bodies including their sexual organs. They state that their testicles were squeezed and that their hands and legs were tied. They were severely beaten and deprived of food and water and prevented from using toilet facilities. They were also kept in isolation, subjected to unbearable noises, insulted and threatened with death. From time to time, police officers applied medication to their injuries. 15. On 20 May 1998 the applicants were brought before the Batman public prosecutor and then before the Batman Magistrates' Court (Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi). According to a protocol dated 20 May 1998 signed by six police officers, the applicants bumped into each other while they were getting out of the police car and Abdurrahman Çelik fell. It is to be noted that the applicants deny the authenticity of this protocol. 16. Both before the public prosecutor and the Batman Magistrates' Court the applicants denied the veracity of the statements that had been taken from them by the police and stated that they had been subjected to ill-treatment during their detention in police custody. The judge of the Batman Magistrates' Court observed that there was a violet-coloured bruise around Abdurrahman Çelik's left eye. She also noted the applicants' allegation that their statements were incorrect and had been obtained under duress. The Batman Magistrates' Court ordered the applicants' detention on remand. 17. On the same day the applicants were taken to the Batman prison. 18. On 21 May 1998 the applicants were examined by the prison doctor, Dr. T. D., who noted that there were marks on Abdurrahman Çelik's body resulting from the physical violence inflicted on him. He reported the following in respect of Abdurrahman Çelik: “There is a bruise of 3 cm underneath the left eye. Furthermore, there are two petechial lesions on both right and left inguinal areas.” 19. In respect of Kasım İmret, Dr. T.D. noted that the latter's body did not bear any injury resulting from physical violence. The doctor further reported the following regarding Kasım İmret: “There is a scar of 0,5 cm in diameter on the left side of the lower lip on the exterior.” 20. On the same day, the applicants filed petitions with the Batman Magistrates' Court and requested the latter to annul the order for their detention on remand. They emphasised, inter alia, that the statements taken by the police were false as they had been signed under duress 21. On 15 July 1999 one of the applicants, Abdurrahman Çelik was examined by a commission of medical experts from the Izmir Chamber of Doctors (tabipler odası). According to the report drafted by the commission, the applicant suffered somatic and psychological problems. The commission opined that the medical findings were a result of physical ill-treatment inflicted on the applicant. 22. On 12 June 1998 the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court filed a bill of indictment charging the applicants under Article 169 of the Criminal Code with aiding and abetting the members of the PKK. 23. On 27 July 1998 the applicants' representative filed a petition with the Diyarbakır State Security Court, alleging that the applicants had been tortured while in detention at the Batman Security Directorate. He requested the court to order the Batman Prison Administration to send the prison doctor's medical reports of 21 May 1998. 24. On 29 July 1998 the Batman prison administration submitted copies of the medical reports to the office of the Batman public prosecutor who transferred them to the Diyarbakır State Security Court. 25. On 13 August 1998 the Diyarbakır State Security Court held the first hearing against the applicants. Before the court, the applicants denied the charges and stated, inter alia, that they were forced to sign statements while blindfolded at the Batman Security Directorate. They also denied the veracity of the content of these statements. 26. The Diyarbakır Security Court read out the medical reports of 21 May 1998 drafted by the doctor of the Batman prison and asked the applicants' representative to make comments if he wished. The representative submitted that he had no objections to their contents. He further added that there was no evidence against the applicants other than the statements taken by the police at the Batman Security Directorate and that these statements were inadmissible as evidence against the applicants given that they had been obtained through ill-treatment. With reference to the medical report of 21 May 1998, the applicants' representative formally requested the court to initiate a criminal investigation (suç duyurusu) against the police officers responsible for the ill-treatment of the applicants and against the doctor who examined them following their release from police custody, for failing to note their injuries in his medical report of 20 May 1998. 27. The Diyarbakır State Security Court dismissed the request of the applicants' representative. It decided that the applicants had to lodge their complaints themselves with the local public prosecutor's office. It further decided that that there was no ground for the continued detention of the applicants and ordered their immediate release. 28. On 4 February 1999 the Diyarbakır State Security Court acquitted the applicants. The court held that there was no evidence against the applicants, other than the statements taken at the Batman Security Directorate which was insufficient to ground a conviction. 29. On 11 November 1999 the International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Justice sent a letter to the public prosecutor's office in Batman informing the latter about the applicants' allegations before the European Court of Human Rights. 30. Following the letter of 11 November 1999, the Batman public prosecutor initiated a preliminary investigation into the applicants' allegations. He took statements from the accused police officers who denied the charges against them. The police officers alleged that the applicants sustained their injuries on account of the crowd in the prison vehicle while they were being taken to the Batman Magistrates' Court. 31. On 15 February 2001 the Batman public prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Batman Assize Court (Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi) charging nine police officers, who were on duty at the Batman Security Directorate at the relevant time, with inflicting ill-treatment on the applicants. The charges were brought under Article 243 § 1 of the Criminal Code. The defendants were accused of ill‑treatment of the applicants in order to obtain a confession from them. The public prosecutor however stated in the indictment that there was not sufficient evidence against the police officers which could prove that the applicants had been ill-treated in police custody. 32. The Batman Assize Court held thirteen hearings in the case against the police officers between 16 February 2001 and 22 May 2003. The court heard oral evidence from the accused police officers, the witnesses and the applicants. 33. On 22 May 2003 the Batman Assize Court acquitted the accused police officers holding that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the accused had ill-treated the applicants in police custody. 34. On 25 June 2003 the Batman Assize Court's judgment became final.

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4. The applicant was born in 1935 and lives in Prague. 5. The applicant's parents owned a house with a garden and private road. On 24 April 1967 they donated their property to the State. The property was then administered by the Humpolec Municipality (město Humpolec). 6. On 24 April 1991 the applicant requested the Municipality to conclude a restitution agreement with her, pursuant to the Extra-Judicial Rehabilitation Act (hereinafter “the Act”). The Municipality refused. 7. On 10 February 1993 the Pelhřimov District Court (okresní soud), after having held two hearings on 17 June 1992 and 9 February 1993, dismissed the applicant's action for restitution of the property in question, introduced on 31 March 1992 and completed on 8 and 16 June 1992, stating that the contract of donation had not been concluded under pressure, as envisaged by the Act. 8. On 13 May 1993 the České Budĕjovice Regional Court (krajský soud), upon the applicant's appeal of 17 March 1993, quashed this judgment and remitted the case to the District Court. 9. On 20 October and 10 December 1993 and on 26 and 29 July 1994 the District Court held hearings. 10. On 29 July 1994 it ordered the Municipality to restore the property to the applicant. The court, having assessed certain additional evidence, found that the applicant's parents had signed the contract of donation under pressure. 11. On 8 December 1994 the Regional Court, on the defendant's appeal of 28 August 1994, to which the applicant had made her comments on 4 September 1994, modified the District Court's judgment, dismissing the applicant's claim for restitution. It found that the Municipality had not owned the house on 1 April 1991, as provided for in the Act, and that it had not been transferred to the Municipality after the entry into force of Act no. 172/1991 with the obligation to restore it to the former owners. 12. On 13 February 1995 the judgment was notified to the applicant who, on 27 February 1995, filed an appeal on points of law (dovolání) with the Prague High Court (Vrchní soud), raising the question of the position of the Municipality as defendant. 13. On 17 December 1998 the Supreme Court, to which the applicant's case had been transferred for reasons of material competence on 2 January 1996, dismissed the applicant's appeal, endorsing the reasons given by the Regional Court. 14. On 23 March 1999 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal (ústavní stížnosti) claiming that the proceedings had been unreasonably long, and that her right to a fair and public hearing respecting the principle of equality of arms had been violated. 15. On 3 August 2000 the Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) dismissed her appeal, stating inter alia that there had been no unjustified delays in the proceedings. It considered that any delay in the proceedings before the Supreme Court had been caused by the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure (občanský soudní řád). The decision was notified to the applicant's lawyer on 14 August 2000.

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4. Mr Miller was born in 1972 and he resides in Stockton-on-Tees, Mr Morrison was born in 1970 and he resides in Aberdeen and Mr Gillespie was born in 1974 and he resides in Greenock. They are represented before the Court by Mr Blades, a lawyer practising in Lincoln. 5. In April 1996 the first applicant was a soldier and the second applicant was a non-commissioned officer in the regular forces of the British Army. On 29 April 1996 they were charged along with two others (pursuant to section 70 of the Army Act 1955) with four counts of indecent assault contrary to section 15(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 1956. 6. The convening officer, by order dated 26 July 1996, convened a general court-martial to try them. On 10 September 1996 the first applicant was found guilty on two of the charges and was sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment and to be dismissed with disgrace. The second applicant was found guilty on three of the charges and sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment, to be dismissed from the service with disgrace and to be reduced to the ranks. On 19 December 1996 the confirming officer reduced the first applicant's sentence to two years' imprisonment and the second applicant's sentence to three years and six months' imprisonment, but otherwise the findings of the court-martial were confirmed. 7. The applicants petitioned the Defence Council against conviction and sentence. By letters dated 18 February 1998 and 27 February 1997, their representatives were informed of the decisions (taken by the Army Board) to reject their petitions. 8. Both applicants applied to the single judge of the Courts-Martial Appeal Court (“CMAC”) for leave to appeal to that court against conviction and sentence. The first applicant pointed to various alleged failings by the judge advocate during the court-martial and argued that his sentence was excessive. The single judge granted leave to appeal to the full CMAC. Before the full CMAC, the first applicant added a new ground of appeal (that he did not have a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, citing Findlay v. the United Kingdom, judgment of 25 February 1997, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-I). The second applicant argued before the single judge that the judge advocate had erred and misdirected the court and that he had been denied a fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal (referring also to the Findlay judgment). The single judge granted leave to appeal to the full CMAC. 9. On 4 March 1996 the applicant, a soldier of the regular forces of the British Army, was charged (pursuant to section 70 of the Army Act 1955) with wounding with intent contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and with inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to section 20 of that Act. 10. The convening officer, by order dated 13 August 1996, convened a general court-martial. On 6 September 1996 the applicant was found guilty on the first charge and of assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to section 47 of the 1861 Act. He was sentenced to three years and six months' imprisonment and to be discharged from the army. 11. His petition against sentence to the confirming officer was rejected and his conviction and sentence were promulgated on 10 October 1996. By letter dated 20 November 1996, his legal representatives were informed that his petition against sentence had been rejected by a Reviewing Authority appointed by the Army Board of the Defence Council. By letter dated 24 March 1997, the applicant's representatives were informed of the decision (taken by the Army Board) to reject his petition against sentence. 12. On 20 May 1997 he presented a further petition to the Army Board of the Defence Council against conviction arguing that he had not had a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (referring also to the above-cited Findlay judgment). By letter dated 22 May 1997, he was informed that the Reviewing Authority had decided not to waive the relevant time-limit which had by then expired. It was also indicated in that letter that the “Findlay issue” had been frequently rejected by the Army Board and by the CMAC. 13. His application to the single judge of the CMAC was dated 18 July 1997 and raised the Findlay issue together with the fact that he could not appeal against sentence only to the CMAC. On 6 October 1997 the single judge rejected that application considering that the grounds of appeal were not arguable. He renewed his application for leave to appeal to the full CMAC raising the same points. 14. In response to these appeals, affidavits were filed on behalf of the Ministry of Defence explaining that neither the presidents nor the members of the applicants' courts-martial had been under the command of the convening officer and that none had been subordinate to him in the chain of command. Accordingly, the convening officer would not have reported on either the president or the members of the court-martial in their annual confidential reports. A policy decision had been taken that, as from 1 January 1996, all courts-martial would be composed of a president and members who were not in the chain of command of the convening officer. 15. The applicants' appeals were rejected by detailed judgment of 13 November 1998. As to the “Findlay point”, the CMAC noted the change in policy as regards the constitution of courts-martial in place since January 1996. It considered that there was no chain of command influence and no obvious reason why any observer knowing the constitution of the courts-martial and the full facts would suspect any lack of independence or impartiality. In any event, the CMAC pointed out that the applicants' reliance on the Findlay judgment was misconceived as the only power of the CMAC was to enquire as to whether the convictions were unsafe. Where there was abundant evidence to support the conclusion of the courts-martial which had been properly convened in accordance with domestic law, the composition and behaviour of which had not been criticised, the CMAC considered that there was no possible reason to intervene. It noted that the time for having regard to the provisions of the Convention had not yet been reached, but it was difficult to see, even in such circumstances, how the provisions of Article 6 could be of any assistance to the applicants.

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8. The applicant was born in 1947 and lives in Wilp. 9. On 17 December 1991, the applicant filed a request with the Voorst Municipal Council (gemeenteraad) for compensation under Article 49 of the Town and Country Planning Act (Wet op de Ruimtelijke Ordening) for damage caused by a partial revision of a zoning plan relating to land owned by him. 10. This request was rejected by the Municipal Council on 27 January 1992. On 26 September 1994 the Administrative Jurisdiction Division quashed that decision, considering that the Municipal Council had unjustly failed to seek the opinion of an independent expert before determining the applicant's request, and it issued an order for costs against the Voorst municipal authorities. 11. On 24 July 1995 the municipal authorities again refused the applicant compensation, after having consulted various experts. 12. The applicant filed an objection (bezwaar) with the Municipal Council, which was heard before the Commission for Appeals and Objections (Commissie voor de bezwaar- en beroepsschriften) on 31 October 1995. 13. By decision of 18 December 1995, in accordance with the advice given on 8 November 1995 by the Commission for Appeals and Objections, the Municipal Council rejected the applicant's objection as ill-founded. The applicant, who was informed of this decision on 29 December 1995, filed an appeal with the Zutphen Regional Court (arrondissementsrechtbank) on 8 February 1996. 14. On 27 November 1997, after two rounds of written submissions by the parties, a hearing was held before the Regional Court. In its judgment of 12 January 1998, the Regional Court rejected the applicant's appeal. 15. On 20 February 1998, the applicant filed an appeal with the Administrative Jurisdiction Division. In its decision of 3 August 1999, following a hearing held on 7 December 1998, the Administrative Jurisdiction Division accepted the applicant's appeal. It found that the decision of 18 December 1995 had not been duly reasoned. Consequently, it quashed the judgment of 12 January 1998, admitted the applicant's appeal against the decision of 18 December 1995, quashed the latter decision, ordered the Municipal Council to take a new decision with due regard to the considerations of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division, and issued an order for costs against the Voorst municipal authorities. 16. As from 3 August 1999, the applicant and the municipal authorities examined the possibility of reaching a friendly settlement, but failed to reach an agreement. 17. In an undated decision received by the applicant's lawyer on 21 September 2001, the Municipal Council awarded the applicant compensation in an amount of 11,218.14 euros, and ordered that interest be payable on this sum as from the date of filing of the applicant's compensation request. The Municipal Council rejected the remainder of the applicant's claim. 18. On 30 October 2001, the applicant filed an appeal against this decision with the Zutphen Regional Court, which rejected it on 20 January 2003. On 27 February 2003, the applicant filed an appeal with the Administrative Jurisdiction Division.

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4. The applicant was born in 1954 and lives in Dunaújváros, Hungary. 5. The applicant kept bees in his yard. On 11 April 1995 the Dunaújváros Municipality, acting in accordance with a Decree of the City Council, ordered the applicant to remove the bees from his yard to an area where they did not disturb the neighbours. On 24 May 1995 the Fejér County Administrative Office, on the applicant's appeal of 18 April 1995, quashed the first-instance administrative decision and remitted the case to the Municipality, holding that it had failed to warn the applicant prior to taking its decision. 6. In the resumed administrative proceedings, on 18 March 1996 the Municipality, as confirmed by the Administrative Office on 20 June 1996, limited the allowed population of bees to 20 families to protect the neighbours' interests and requested the applicant to remove the entities above this amount. Subsequently, on 8 July 1996 the applicant challenged these decisions before the Székesfehérvár District Court. 7. On the applicant's complaint, on 28 February 1997 the Constitutional Court partly annulled the City Council's aforementioned Decree. 8. On 13 January 1998 the District Court, as confirmed by the Fejér County Regional Court on 12 May 1998, quashed the administrative decisions and remitted the case to the Municipality. On 22 January 2001 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant's petition for review of these decisions. 9. Meanwhile in the resumed administrative proceedings, on 8 February 1999 the Municipality, as confirmed by the City Council on 9 March 1999, again limited the allowed population of bees to 20 families and requested the applicant to keep the entities above this amount at a place where they would not disturb the neighbours. On 12 April 1999 the applicant challenged these decisions before the Fejér County Regional Court. Simultaneously, he challenged all the judges of the Regional Court for bias. 10. On 29 September 1999 the Supreme Court appointed the Zala County Regional Court to hear the case. The court held hearings on 3 November 1999 and 1 March 2000. On the latter date, accepting the applicant's request, the court suspended the proceedings. 11. In the resumed proceedings, on 12 June 2001 the Regional Court dismissed the applicant's claims. No appeal lay against this decision. 12. Subsequently, on 24 July 2001 the applicant filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court. On 21 January 2002 the Supreme Court appointed a legal-aid lawyer to assist the applicant. On 9 September 2003 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant's petition for review, holding that the decisions had been taken in order to protect public health in accordance with the law, namely Decree no. 15/1969 of the Ministry of Agriculture and local regulations.

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9. The applicant was born in 1952 and lives in Switzerland. Until December 1993 she lived in the Düzcealan village, attached to the Tatvan District in the province of Bitlis. She left and has never returned to the village after the events alleged below. 10. The facts surrounding the destruction of the applicant's house and property are in dispute between the parties. 11. Before the alleged incident, the village of Düzcealan had been subjected to attacks by the security forces, who had forced the villagers to become village guards. 12. On 27 December 1993 PKK members attacked and burned a bus on the Tatvan-Van highway, about one kilometre from the Düzcealan village. 13. On the same day at about 3 p.m. security forces, led by Gendarme Brigade Commander Korkmaz Tağma, entered the village and surrounded it with armoured military vehicles and unmarked cars. Thereafter, soldiers using G3 weapons and other fire arms opened fire on the village and destroyed some of the houses with mortar shells. This attack lasted about four hours. 14. At about 9 p.m. three masked men with white oil drums began burning the houses in the village. The applicant's house and possessions were also burned during the incident. All the villagers were gathered in the village square and beaten by the soldiers. Necmi Çaçan, the applicant's brother-in-law, was killed during the incident. 15. After the incident, the applicant left Düzcealan and moved to Izmir and subsequently to Istanbul. On 5 September 1996 she filed a complaint with the Istanbul public prosecutor for the attention of the Tatvan public prosecutor's office. She alleged that on 27 December 1993 security forces had raided the village of Düzcealan and burned down her house and belongings. 16. While she was living in Istanbul, on 27 May 1997 the applicant's house was raided by the police. As a result of the intimidation to which she was subjected in Turkey, the applicant had to move to Switzerland. 17. The Government submitted in the first place that the village of Düzcealan had been under constant threat from PKK members, who forced the villagers to provide them with food and supplies. Young villagers were also forced to join the PKK. However, the villagers resisted the pressures brought to bear on them. 18. In their observations, the Government disputed the facts as submitted by the applicant. They stated that no military operation had been conducted in the village of Düzcealan. In this connection, they maintained that on 29 December 1993[1], at about 3 p.m., a bus and a truck had been attacked and burned by the PKK on the Tatvan-Van highway, about one kilometre from the Düzcealan village. After this attack, PKK members escaped and entered the applicant's village. The terrorists raided the village, killed Necmi Çaçan, and burned down some of the houses. This attack lasted until the morning of the following day. 19. On the morning of 30 December 1993, an on-site investigation was conducted in the village by the non-commissioned gendarme officer, Yavuz Gürbüz. In his incident report, Mr Gürbüz noted that the houses of Hikmet Küçükarslan, Mehmet İşbulan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Küçükarslan and Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Sait Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan, Mehmet İşbulan, Bedrettin Çaçan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan had been burned by the PKK. The report further noted that Necmi Çaçan had been shot dead by members of this illegal group. The security forces found one cartridge and 94 empty cartridges, 4 of which were near Necmi Çaçan's body. The non-commissioned officer further drew a sketch of the houses which had been burned down the day before. The Government emphasised that the applicant's house was not among the houses which had been burned down on 29 December 1993. 20. Further to this incident, the Tatvan public prosecutor commenced an investigation into the destruction of the six houses and the killing of Necmi Çaçan. On 4 January 1994 the Tatvan public prosecutor delivered a decision of non-jurisdiction and transferred the file to the Diyarbakır State Security Court Public Prosecutor. On 12 December 1995 Mehmet Durman, Mehmet Şirin Mete, Alattin Çaçan and Mehmet Sait Adar, who used to reside in the Düzcealan village before April 1994, gave statements to the gendarme. They said that they had left the village in April 1994 due to pressure from the terrorist organisation. The proceedings are still pending before the Diyarbakır State Security Court as the perpetrators of the crime remain unknown. 21. When the applicant filed a complaint concerning the destruction of her house and possessions by the security forces on 5 September 1996, the authorities undertook a further investigation into her allegations. On 9 October 1996 the Tatvan public prosecutor declared that he was not competent for reasons of jurisdiction and transferred the file to the Diyarbakır public prosecutor's office at the State Security Court. On 30 October 1996 the Diyarbakır State Security Court Public Prosecutor declined jurisdiction and sent the file back to the Tatvan public prosecutor. On 14 November 1996 the Tatvan public prosecutor delivered another non-jurisdiction decision and transmitted the case file to the Bitlis Governor's office, pursuant to the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants. 22. Upon receipt of the file, the Bitlis Provincial Administrative Council immediately commenced an investigation and appointed Mr Sabri Dikici, a gendarme officer, to investigate the allegations against the security forces. 23. Mr Dikici took fifteen statements from nine different persons, namely Alaattin Çaçan (mayor of the Düzcealan village), Şemsettin Demir (mayor of the Kolbaşı village), Servet İlhan, İbrahim Çaçan, Yavuz Gürbüz (gendarme officers), Ismail Çaçan, Mehmet Durman, Sait Adar and Mehmet İşbulan (villagers from Düzcealan). The applicant's statement was also taken by the police. In her statement she mainly reiterated her complaint lodged with the public prosecutor. 24. On 13 February 1997 the investigator conducted an on-site inspection in Düzcealan together with the village mayor. The village mayor informed him that the applicant had already left the village when her house was burned by the PKK in April 1994. In his report, the investigator indicated that there were no signs of mortar or gunfire on the remains of the houses. He concluded that the houses had been burned down by the PKK to punish the villagers for abandoning the village in April 1994. Some of the houses were further damaged on account of bad weather. 25. The investigator inquired from the relevant military commanders whether a military operation had been conducted in the Düzcealan village on 27 December 1993. On 24 December 1997 the Bitlis Gendarme Commander informed the Tatvan District Gendarme Commander that no military operation had been conducted in the village on 29 December 1993. However, he indicated that a bus had been burned near the Düzcealan village on that day. He further maintained that as the accused gendarme commander, Korkmaz Tağma, had retired from the military, his address could not be established and it was therefore impossible to take his statement. The Bitlis Security Directorate and Tatvan District Security Directorate further stated, on 8 and 10 January 1997 respectively, that they had not been involved in an operation in the Düzcealan village on 27 December 1993. 26. In the light of the evidence before him, the investigator concluded that the applicant's house had not been burned down by the security forces as alleged, but by the PKK after the villagers had evacuated the village in April 1994. In a report dated 14 May 1997, he advised the Bitlis Provincial Administrative Council to discontinue the proceedings against the security forces. On 20 May 1997 the Governor of Bitlis approved the conclusion of the investigator and ordered that the procedure against the security forces be terminated. 27. The Government finally submitted that the applicant's husband owned three plots of land totalling 14,245 square metres in the Düzcealan village. They further contended that the applicant had only one cow, which she had sold to Ramazan Gökçe, a villager from a neighbouring village, before she left Düzcealan. 1. Documents submitted by the applicant Petition of the applicant, dated 5 September 1996, submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's office for transmission to the Tatvan public prosecutor's office 28. In her petition, the applicant complained of the killing of her brother-in-law, Necmi Çaçan, and the destruction of her house and possessions by the security forces. Copies of title deeds to the plots of land in the Düzcealan village that belong to the applicant's husband 29. According to the copies of the title deeds, submitted to the Court, the applicant's husband, Hakim Çaçan, owns three plots of land in the village of Düzcealan. 2. Documents from the domestic investigation Non-jurisdiction decision, dated 4 January 1994, delivered by the Tatvan public prosecutor concerning the killing of Necmi Çaçan and the burning of six houses in the Düzcealan village on 29-30 December 1993 30. On 4 January 1993 the Tatvan public prosecutor delivered a non-jurisdiction decision and sent the case file on the killing of Necmi Çaçan and the burning of six houses in the village of Düzcealan to the office of the chief public prosecutor attached to the Diyarbakır State Security Court. In the decision, it was stated that on the night of 29 December 1993 unidentified PKK terrorists had attacked the Düzcealan village, killed Necmi Çaçan and burned down the houses and harvest of Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Mehmet İşbulan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan, Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, Mehmet Sait Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan and Bedrettin Çaçan. Non-jurisdiction decision of the Tatvan public prosecutor, dated 9 October 1996 31. On 9 October 1996 the Tatvan public prosecutor took a decision not to prosecute and transferred the case file to the office of the public prosecutor attached to the Diyarbakır State Security Court, as the complaint fell within the jurisdiction of that court, pursuant to Laws No. 2845 and 3713. Non-jurisdiction decision of the public prosecutor attached to the Diyarbakır State Security Court, dated 30 October 1996 32. On 30 October 1996 the Diyarbakır State Security Court public prosecutor remitted the case to the Tatvan public prosecutor on the ground that he lacked jurisdiction to examine this complaint. Non-jurisdiction decision of the Tatvan public prosecutor, dated 14 November 1996 33. On 14 November 1996 the Tatvan public prosecutor delivered a non-jurisdiction decision and sent the file to the Bitlis Governor's office pursuant to the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants. Letter of appointment of Mr Sabri Dikici as investigator, pursuant to the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants 34. On 22 November 1996 a gendarme officer, Sabri Dikici, was appointed as investigator by the Bitlis Provincial Administrative Council. Statement of Alaattin Çaçan, dated 13 February 1997, taken by the gendarme 35. In his statement the witness explained that he had lived in the Düzcealan village until April 1994 and had been the village mayor for three years. According to the witness, PKK members had been coming to Düzcealan to spread propaganda and ask for food, clothes and shelter. They also tried to persuade the young villagers to join the PKK. The witness recalled that the terrorists had conducted a raid in Düzcealan on the night of 29 December 1993, killed Necmi Çaçan and burned down the houses and harvest of the villagers. He emphasised, however, that the applicant's house had not been burned down on that day. It was burned down by the terrorists after the villagers had abandoned the village. The villagers left Düzcealan of their own free will. The security forces never forced the villagers to abandon their homes. The village was therefore empty when Zahide Çaçan's house was burned down. Statements of Şemsettin Demir, dated 14 February 1997 and 30 July 1998, taken by the gendarmes 36. In his statements the witness reiterated that he had been the mayor of the Kolbaşı village, a neighbouring village of Düzcealan. He recalled that following the incidents that took place on 30 December 1993, he heard that Necmi Çaçan from the Düzcealan village had been killed and that the houses of Mehmet İşbulan, Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan, Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Said Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan, Mehmet İşbulan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan had been burned down by the terrorists. Due to PKK pressure, the villagers decided to evacuate the village in April 1994. Before leaving, they sold their animals in neighbouring villages. The applicant's husband sold his cow to Ramazan Gökçe from the Kolbaşı village. When the villagers left, PKK members burned down the remaining houses, including the applicant's. The witness concluded that Zahide Çaçan's house was burned down in April 1994 by the PKK after the village had already been evacuated. Statement of Ibrahim Çaçan, dated 3 February 1997 37. The witness is a gendarme officer, who used to live in the Düzcealan village until 1991. After his family left Düzcealan, the witness never returned to the village and stated that he had no knowledge of the alleged incidents. Statement of Yavuz Gürbüz, dated 25 April 1997 38. The witness was the gendarmerie commander in Yelkenli attached to Tatvan in the Bitlis province between 1991 and 1994. The Düzcealan village was among the fifteen villages in the region that were attached to his command. He stated that he did not remember the exact date of the incident. On the day of the incident, terrorists attacked a bus on the Tatvan-Van road, which is about one kilometre from the Düzcealan village. The terrorists burned the bus and tried to escape through the Düzcealan village, setting fire to five or six places in the village. The next day, at about 6 a.m., the witness went to the scene of the incident with a security team, and drafted a sketch of the bus and of the houses. Korkmaz Tağma was the Bitlis Provincial Security Commander at the time of the events. He was informed about the events via wireless. The villagers in Düzcealan abandoned their village of their own free will due to pressure from the terrorists. Letter of the Bitlis Security Directorate dated 8 January 1997 39. In a letter dated 8 January 1997, the Bitlis Security Directorate indicated that their Directorate had not been involved in any operation in the Düzcealan village on 27 December 1993. Letter of the Tatvan Security Directorate, dated 10 January 1997 40. The Tatvan Security Directorate concluded that their Directorate had not been involved in an operation in the Düzcealan village on 27 December 1993. Letter of the Bitlis Gendarme Command, dated 26 February 1997, to the Bitlis Governor 41. In this letter, the Bitlis Gendarme Commander informed the Bitlis Governor that no military operation had been conducted in the Düzcealan village on 27 December 1993. Letter of the Bitlis Gendarme Commander, dated 24 December 1997, to the Tatvan District Gendarme Commander 42. In a letter dated 24 December 1997 the Bitlis Gendarme Commander informed the Tatvan District Commander that on 27 December 1993 a bus had been burned by the PKK. He indicated that there were no military records indicating that a possible military operation had been conducted in the village of Düzcealan on the same date. Scene of incident report, dated 13 February 1997 43. On 13 February 1997 the investigator Sabri Dikici conducted an on-site visit to the village of Düzcealan together with the mayor of Alaattin Çaçan. In his report, he concluded that there were 35 households in the village and that the village had been completely evacuated. The houses, which were made of concrete, had been badly damaged or were in ruin due to disuse and the effect of bad weather. There were no signs of a mortar attack. Investigation report, dated 14 May 1997 44. Referring to the statements of the villagers, gendarme officers, the relevant military reports and documents, the investigator concluded that the applicant's allegation that her house had been destroyed by the security forces did not reflect the true circumstances of the case. He found that the village was in fact raided by the PKK on the night of 29 December 1993. However, it was clear from the testimonies of the villagers that the applicant's house was not destroyed that day. From the evidence before him, the investigator found that the applicant had in fact stayed in the village until April 1994, when the villagers evacuated Düzcealan to escape the pressure from PKK members. The applicant sold her cow to a certain Ramazan Gökçe from the Kolbaşı village and moved out before her house was burned down by the PKK. When the village was evacuated, they burned down all the houses. There was no pressure from the security forces to evacuate the village. Letter of Administrative Council, dated 20 May 1997, to the Bitlis Governor to discontinue the proceedings against the security forces 45. Referring to the investigation report prepared by gendarme officer Sabri Dikici, the Head of the Bitlis Administrative Council recommended the Governor to discontinue the proceedings against the security forces. Approval given by the Bitlis Governor on 20 May 1997 to discontinue the proceedings against the security forces 46. On 20 May 1997 the Bitlis Governor decided that the proceedings against the security forces should be dismissed. Statement of Mehmet Durman, dated 24 July 1996, taken by the gendarmes 47. In his statement, the witness explained that he had been living in Çamaltı hamlet of the Düzcealan village until April 1994. He stated that the village of Düzcealan and its hamlets had been evacuated by the villagers of their own free will as they wanted to escape from the pressure exerted on them by the PKK. After the village was evacuated, the PKK burned down all the houses. Sketch of the location of the incident, dated 29 December 1993 48. In the sketch, drafted by the gendarme officer Yavuz Gürbüz, the locations of the six houses which had been burned down on 29 December 1993 were indicated. Incident report, dated 30 December 1993 49. In the report, prepared by gendarme officer Yavuz Gürbüz, it was noted that on 29 December 1993, at about 3.45 p.m., a bus with the registration number 34 JYL 13 was burned by PKK terrorists. The terrorists then escaped to the Düzcealan village and burned down the houses of Mehmet İşbulan, Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan and Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Said Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan, Mehmet İşbulan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan. They also killed Necmi Çaçan. Letter of the Tatvan District Gendarme Commander, dated 3 January 1997, to Bitlis Gendarme Commander 50. In this report, it was noted that a bus had been burned on 29 December 1993. This was followed by the killing of Necmi Çaçan and the burning down of some houses in the Düzcealan village. It was, however, established that no military records existed indicating that a military operation had been conducted in Düzcealan on that day. The Commander further noted that as Korkmaz Tağma, the accused gendarme commander, had retired from military forces, his address could not be established, with the result that no statement could be taken from him. Statement of Mehmet Durman, dated 12 December 1995, taken by the gendarmes 51. In his statement, the witness deposed that he used to reside in Çamaltı hamlet attached to the Düzcealan village. He explained that all the villagers evacuated the village and the hamlet in April 1994 due to the activities of the PKK. PKK members had been asking the villagers to supply them with food, clothes and weapons. They also wanted to persuade the children to go to the mountains. According to the witness, the security forces never forced the villagers to abandon the village. The villagers left of their own motion due to PKK pressure. The houses were burned down subsequently by PKK members after the village had been evacuated. Statement of İsmail Çaçan, dated 30 July 1998, taken by the gendarme 52. The witness used to live in the Düzcealan village until April 1994. He recalled that, on the night of 29 December 1993, PKK members raided the village, burning down the houses of Mehmet İşbulan, Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan and Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Said Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan, Mehmet İşbulan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan. Necmi Çaçan, a villager, was also killed by PKK members. The PKK pressurised the villagers and demanded logistic support. In order to escape this intimidation, the witness left the village in April 1994, together with all the villagers of Düzcealan. He explained that Zahide Çaçan had also lived in the village until April 1994. He recalled that, before leaving, she had sold her cow to Ramazan Gökçe from the Kolbaşı village. Statement of the applicant, dated 30 January 1997, taken by the police 53. In her statement, dated 30 January 1997, the applicant mainly reiterated the complaints she had made to the public prosecutor. Statement of Sait Adar, dated 29 December 1993, taken by the gendarmes 54. The witness used to reside in the village of Düzcealan. Following the burning of a bus on the Tatvan-Van highway, a clash broke out between the security forces and PKK terrorists. The terrorists entered the Düzcealan village. They killed Necmi Çaçan, burned down the houses of Mehmet İşbulan, Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan and Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Abdülmecit Çaçan, Mehmet İşbulan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan. The witness stated that his crops were burned down by PKK members. Statement of Mehmet İşbulan, dated 30 December 1993, taken by the gendarmes 55. The witness, who used to live in the Düzcealan village, stated that on 29 December 1993 at about 4 p.m. a bus had been burned by the PKK on the Tatvan-Van highway. Subsequently a clash broke out between the security forces and PKK members. The PKK members escaped to the village of Düzcealan. When they arrived in the village, they burned and destroyed his house and harvest. The houses of Hikmet Kılıçarslan, Sebahattin Çaçan, Hayrettin Çaçan, Feyzullah Kılıçarslan and Mehmet Şirin Çaçan, and the harvest of Said Adar, Abdülmecit Çaçan, Necmi Çaçan and Hikmet Kılıçarslan were also destroyed. Moreover, they killed Necmi Çaçan.

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4. The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Brno. a. Facts prior to 18 March 1992, the date of the entry into force of the Convention with regard to the Czech Republic 5. On 3 February 1989 the applicant filed with the Brno Municipal Court (městský soud) an action for the protection of his personality (žaloba na ochranu osobnosti) against his father-in-law alleging that he had interfered with his honour and reputation. He asked the court to prohibit the defendant from mentioning, in writing, verbally or in another way, that he was suffering from mental illness, disorder or deviation and that his behaviour showed symptoms of mental illnesses. 6. A first hearing was scheduled for 28 April 1989 but was adjourned to 19 May 1989. Another hearing took place on 30 June 1989. According to the applicant, the court did not act on 28 April, and 9 and 30 June 1989. Three hearings scheduled for 14 July, 25 August and 22 September 1989 did not take place because the parties had not been convened in time or could not attend. Two further hearings were held on 11 October 1989 and 23 February 1990. According to the Government, the applicant's lawyer was duly convened to the hearings of 14 July and 22 September 1989. 7. On 30 January 1990 a hearing was scheduled for 23 February 1990. On 12 March 1990 the applicant was invited to attend the court but did not do so. On 2 May 1990 he requested that the judges of the Municipal Court's chamber be excluded from the examination of his case. On 2 July 1990 the applicant, upon the Municipal Court's request of 22 June 1990, informed the court that he insisted on the exclusion of all three members of the chamber from the examination of his case. On 12 September 1990 the Brno Regional Court (krajský soud) excluded the president of the chamber. 8. On 20 November 1990 the applicant requested to have his former wife cited as a defendant. He also amended his original action in which he sought an order against the defendants enjoining them to refrain from oral attacks on him and to pay him damages in the amount of CZK 50,000 (EUR 1,592). 9. On 12 March 1991 a hearing of the applicant was to take place in connection with his objection to the judges of the chamber of the Municipal Court on grounds of bias. He did not appear. He attended the court on 28 March 1991 explaining that he was staying abroad and could only participate in the proceedings as from 29 April 1991. 10. By letter of 19 April 1991, the president of the Regional Court acknowledged that the proceedings had suffered from delays. 11. On 3 May 1991 the applicant orally informed the new president of the chamber at the Municipal Court that he still insisted on the exclusion of the other two members of the chamber from the examination of his case. 12. According to the applicant, from 1991 to 1995, no hearing was held by the court. Moreover, since 1991, his action was dealt with by a single judge (samosoudce). b. Facts after 18 March 1992 13. Between 15 January and 26 August 1992 the case file was sent to the Brno Regional Prosecutor Office (krajské státní zastupitelství) in connection with the applicant's criminal complaint against the defendants. 14. On 12 October 1992 the applicant informed it that he would be available to attend the court on 6 November 1992. 15. On 11 December 1992 the Municipal Court granted the applicant's request of 20 November 1990 to have his former wife cited as a defendant. On the same day, the court adopted an interim measure, which had been requested by the applicant on 12 August 1991, ordering the defendants to refrain from any written or oral attacks on him and from any other measures which could humiliate him. 16. On 6 and 15 January 1993 respectively, the defendants appealed against the interim measure with the result that, on 3 February 1993, the case file had to be sent to the Regional Court. 17. By letter of 18 October 1993, the president of the Regional Court, upon the applicant's complaint of 13 October 1993, acknowledged that there were delays in the proceedings and assured him that the Municipal Court would resume the examination of his case in November 1993. 18. On 7 June 1995 the applicant challenged a judge at the Regional Court for bias in connection with the unreasonable delays in the proceedings. He requested that the case be transferred to another regional court. 19. On 11 July 1995 the Regional Court quashed the interim measure and remitted the case to the Municipal Court. The decision was adopted by the judge whose exclusion had been requested on 7 June 1995. 20. On 3 September 1995 the Municipal Court invited the applicant to complete his request for an interim measure. He did so on 30 October 1995. 21. The applicant says that, on 11 December 1995, the president of the Regional Court found substantiated his claim of alleged illegal actions of the Regional Court carried out by an excluded judge. 22. On 8 January 1996 the Municipal Court invited the applicant to complete the merits of his action for the protection of his personality. He did so on 14 February 1996, at the same time extending his claim for damages to CZK 30,000 (EUR 955). 23. On 21 May 1996 the Municipal Court held a hearing at which the applicant withdrew his action together with his request of 12 August 1991 for an interim measure. However, he maintained his petitions of 20 November 1990 and 14 February 1996 and requested that another interim measure be adopted. The court adjourned the hearing without fixing a new date. 24. On 8 July 1996 the applicant requested that the proceedings be stayed and that the evidence already adduced in the criminal proceedings instituted by the defendants for defamation be added to the case file. 25. On 27 December 1996 the applicant challenged the single judge for bias alleging that she was responsible for delays in the proceedings. He requested that his case be transferred to another court. On 28 December 1996 he challenged the impartiality of the judge at the Regional Court as well as the Regional Court as a whole, and requested that his case be transferred to the Ostrava Regional Court. 26. On 15 April 1997 the Brno Regional Court, passing over – the applicant says – his objection for bias, upheld the Municipal Court's decision of 10 October 1996 in so far as it stayed, following the applicant's withdrawal of his action on 21 May 1996, the proceedings concerning his original action and his request for an interim measure of 12 August 1991. It quashed the remainder of the Municipal Court's decision. On the same day, the Regional Court decided that the single judge dealing with the applicant's case was not excluded from the proceedings. 27. On 11 November 1997 another hearing was held before the Municipal Court and was then adjourned. During this hearing, the applicant asked for leave to amend his claims of 20 November 1990 and 14 February 1996, increasing the claim for damages. No new hearing date was fixed. 28. The applicant says that during the whole year of 1998 the court remained inactive. 29. On 19 January 1998 the applicant filed a constitutional appeal (ústavní stížnost) complaining about the delays in the proceedings. On 3 February 1998 the Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) informed him that legal representation in such proceedings was obligatory. According to the applicant, he was legally represented, but his lawyer did not introduce a proper constitutional appeal in time, with the result that the Constitutional Court dismissed his original appeal on 24 March 1998 for formal shortcomings. 30. On 20 March 1998 the Municipal Court granted the applicant leave to amend his claims in line with his petitions of 14 February 1996 and 11 November 1997 concerning the merits of his action for the protection of his personality and his increased claim for damages. 31. According to the applicant, the court adjourned the hearing of 19 May 1998 because of the unexcused absence of the defendants' lawyer. No new hearing date was fixed. 32. On 10 November 1998 the applicant introduced a second constitutional appeal, alleging that the proceedings had lasted an unreasonably long time. 33. On 12 November 1998 the Municipal Court granted the applicant's subsequent request of 19 May 1998 to amend his action in its modified version. On 17 November 1998 the court scheduled a hearing for 15 December 1998. However, it was adjourned without a new date being fixed, as the case file needed to be sent to the Olomouc High Court (Vrchní soud) which was to deal with the applicant's objection to the judges at the Regional Court on grounds of bias. On the same day, the applicant filed a complaint alleging delay, challenging the single judge, the whole Municipal Court and Regional Court for bias, and requesting that his case be transferred to another court. 34. On 26 November 1998 the case file was sent to the Constitutional Court which had dealt with the applicant's second constitutional appeal. 35. The applicant says that no hearing was held during the whole year of 1999. 36. On 1 March 1999 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant's second constitutional appeal for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies as the applicant had not complained since 11 December 1995 of delay in the proceedings to the president of the Regional Court. The case file was returned to the Municipal Court on 5 March 1999. 37. On 5 May 1999 the Regional Court again decided not to exclude the single judge from the examination of the applicant's case. 38. On 28 June 1999 the applicant filed a third constitutional appeal against this decision. 39. The next day the Municipal Court held another hearing. It was adjourned to 2 September 1999 as the defendants could not be present. 40. On 2 August 1999 the applicant lodged a fourth constitutional appeal, this time against the decision of the High Court of 31 March 1999 rejecting his request for the exclusion of the judges at the Regional Court from the proceedings. 41. At the hearing held on 2 September 1999, the applicant again challenged the single judge for bias. The case file had, therefore, to be sent to the Regional Court which, on 26 January 2000, dismissed the applicant's motion. 42. On 17 February and 15 March 2000 respectively, the applicant complained of delays in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court on his third constitutional appeals introduced on 28 June and 2 August 1999. 43. On 24 February 2000 the applicant filed a fifth constitutional appeal, challenging the decision of the Regional Court of 26 January 2000 dismissing his request for the exclusion of the single judge. 44. A hearing on 21 March 2000 was cancelled due to the applicant's illness. 45. On 30 March 2000 the president of the Constitutional Court informed the applicant that the judge rapporteur (soudce zpravodaj) dealing with his third constitutional appeal was ill and had to resign from her functions. He assured the applicant that a new judge rapporteur would be appointed. 46. A hearing scheduled for 30 May 2000 was adjourned to 3 October 2000. At the second hearing, the court heard witnesses. It adjourned the hearing to 7 November 2000. 47. On 18 September 2000 the applicant again modified his action for the protection of his personality. 48. On 3 October 2000 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant's fifth constitutional appeal since the civil proceedings were still pending and it would be open to him to appeal against a judgment on the merits once it was adopted. 49. On the same day, the Municipal Court held a hearing. Another hearing was scheduled for 7 November 2000 following the applicant's request to continue hearing the defendants. 50. On 26 October 2000 the applicant was informed that the hearing before the Municipal Court scheduled for 7 November 2000 would be held on 5 December 2000 because the defendants' lawyers could not attend. On that day, the Municipal Court resumed its examination of the applicant's case. The next hearing was scheduled for 20 February 2001. 51. On 12 December 2000 the case file was again sent to the Constitutional Court in connection with the applicant's third constitutional appeal. It was returned on 13 February 2001. 52. A hearing scheduled for 20 February 2001 was adjourned to 3 April 2001 and then to 3 May 2001. The applicant was informed of this on 22 March 2001. 53. On 29 May 2001 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant's fourth constitutional appeal. His third constitutional appeal was dismissed on 12 June 2001. 54. On 14 May 2002 the applicant submitted to the Municipal Court a request for leave to modify the merits of his action. On 16 April 2003 the court refused to grant the modification. 55. On 30 May 2003 the applicant complained of the delays in the proceedings to the president of the Municipal Court. The latter replied on 4 June 2003, finding the complaints unsubstantiated. 56. In the meantime, on 3 June 2003 a hearing had been held before the Municipal Court. On 1 July 2003, the Municipal Court requested the applicant to rectify, within 15 days, his action in its amended versions authorised by the court on 20 March and 12 November 1998 and 3 October 2003. In his reply of 24 July 2003, the applicant insisted that his action had been submitted in the appropriate form and had set out all relevant matters. 57. In his letter of 4 June 2003 addressed to the applicant, the vice-president of the Regional Court admitted that there had been delays in the proceedings. 58. On 23 September 2003 the applicant submitted his written comments on the state of the proceedings to the Municipal Court. On the same day, the court requested the applicant to rectify his action within 30 days by submitting a statement of relevant facts and evidence. The applicant replied on 5 November 2003. 59. On 20 November 2003 the Municipal Court held a hearing at which it approved a friendly-settlement agreement reached between the parties.

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8. The applicant was born in 1953 and lives in Plovdiv. He used to work as a shunter at the Bulgarian State Railways. On 15 August 1995 he was dismissed from his work for having breached disciplinary regulations. 9. On 5 February 1996 the applicant filed with the Plovdiv District Court an action for wrongful dismissal against his former employer. 10. On 12 March 1996 the District Court heard the applicant and his lawyer and rejected the case, ruling that the applicant’s dismissal was not amenable to judicial review. It based its decision on section 9(3) of the Decree No. 9 of 6 January 1981 and the Supreme Court’s practice, according to which employees of the State Railways dismissed for breach of disciplinary regulations could only appeal to a higher administrative body, not to a court. 11. On 18 March 1996 the applicant appealed to the Plovdiv Regional Court against the District Court’s decision. He argued that Decree No. 9 was contrary to Article 6 of the Convention. He also relied on an amendment to the Labour Code of 1993, stating that it vested with the courts power to examine all appeals for wrongful dismissal, despite the provisions of Decree No. 9. 12. By decision bearing the date 8 April 1996 the Regional Court, sitting in private, dismissed the applicant’s appeal, holding that in accordance with Decree No. 9 a judicial appeal against the applicant’s dismissal was not possible. 13. The Regional Court’s decision was not pronounced publicly and was not served. 14. On 4 June 1996 the case file was transmitted by the judge-rapporteur to the Regional Court’s clerical staff which made an entry in the court’s register. 15. On 5 June 1996 the case file was transmitted to the District Court and an entry was made in its register. 16. On 13 June 1996 the applicant submitted a petition for review (преглед по реда на надзора) to the Supreme Administrative Court. 17. The parties were summoned for a hearing but none of them appeared. 18. On 18 July 1997, sitting in private, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the petition for review as time barred. It held that the Regional Court’s decision had entered into force on 8 April 1996 and that the two months’ time-limit for submission of a petition for review had expired on 8 June 1996 whereas the petition had been submitted on 13 June 1996.

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8. The applicant was born in 1966 and lives in Gdańsk, Poland. 9. On 24 August 1994 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of extorting protection money from an escort agency. Subsequently, eleven other persons were charged and remanded in custody in connection with the investigation against the applicant. 10. In the course of the investigation the applicant’s detention was several times prolonged by the Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Wojewódzki) and the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki). The prosecution authorities also obtained two expert reports concerning the applicant’s mental health. 11. On 27 June 1995 the Gdańsk Regional Prosecutor (Prokurator Wojewódzki) lodged a bill of indictment with the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki). The applicant was indicted together with eleven other persons on charges of robbery and extortion. The prosecution asked the court to hear evidence from 106 witnesses. 12. On 26 July 1995 the applicant lodged an application for release. He submitted that his wife had been placed in a mental hospital and that their daughter had been left without care. On 18 August 1995 the Gdańsk Regional Court upheld the detention order. The court held that, given the number of suspects involved in the case and the serious nature of the offence in question, keeping the applicant in custody was necessary to ensure that the process of obtaining evidence followed its proper course. On 6 September 1995 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) dismissed the applicant’s further appeal. 13. On 30 April 1996 the applicant made an application for release. It was rejected by the Gdańsk Regional Court on 14 May 1996. The court held that keeping the applicant in custody had been necessary to ensure the proper conduct of the proceedings. On 12 June 1996, on an appeal by the applicant, the Gdańsk Court of Appeal upheld this decision. The court found that the applicant’s family situation did not militate against his continuing detention and that there were no grounds on which to release the applicant, as defined in Article 218 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Furthermore, it also underlined the gravity of charges brought against the applicant. 14. On 4 December 1996 the applicant made yet another application for release. It was rejected by the Gdańsk Regional Court on 10 December 1996 as the applicant failed to submit any new arguments which would justify his release. 15. On 30 December 1996 the Gdańsk Regional Court asked the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) to prolong the applicant’s detention. On 16 January 1997 the Supreme Court granted the application and prolonged his and eight other co-accused’ detention until 30 June 1997. 16. On 6 June 1997 the applicant made yet another unsuccessful application for release from detention. 17. On 26 June 1997 the Gdańsk Regional Court lodged a request under Article 222 § 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with the Supreme Court, asking it to prolong the applicant’s detention for a further period of six months. On 13 August 1997 the Supreme Court extended the applicant’s detention until 1 December 1997, considering that it was necessary to ensure the proper conduct of the proceedings. The court stressed that the case was particularly complex as it concerned several co-accused. Furthermore, it observed that the trial court still had to hear evidence from 50 witnesses. 18. On 26 September 1996 the composition of the trial court had to be changed due to the presiding judge’s illness. 19. Between October and December 1997 the trial court on four occasions allowed the applicant’s family to visit him in prison. 20. On 25 November 1997 the Gdańsk Regional Court again asked the Supreme Court to prolong the applicant’s detention. On 19 December 1997 the Supreme Court decided to extend the applicant’s detention until 30 April 1998. It considered that even though the proceedings had been lengthy, the trial court could not be held responsible for the delay. The composition of the trial court had to be changed due to the presiding judge’s illness. Moreover, some of the accused contributed to the length of the proceedings by lodging numerous motions with the court. The Supreme Court also referred to the complexity of the case, the fact that it involved several accused and the large number of witnesses. 21. In January, February, March 1998 the applicant’s family was allowed, on five occasions, to visit him in prison. 22. On 30 April 1998 the Gdańsk Regional Court released the applicant under police supervision. The court held that the detention had already been prolonged three times by the Supreme Court but to no avail, as the proceedings had still not been terminated. In the court’s opinion, any prolongation of his further detention on remand would be tantamount to serving a prison sentence. 23. Before 30 April 1998 the trial court listed 31 hearings, of which 17 were cancelled or adjourned. 24. On 22 October 2002 the Regional Court gave judgment. It sentenced the applicant to four years’ imprisonment.

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4. The applicants were born in 1933 and 1936, respectively and live in Zadar, Croatia. 5. In September 1991 the second applicant’s vehicle was requisitioned by the Croatian Army. 6. In August 1992 she was informed that the vehicle had been destroyed. 7. On 18 August 1995 she instituted civil proceedings before the Zadar Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zadru) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for her damaged vehicle. 8. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1999 (Zakon o dopunama Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 112/1999, hereinafter “the 1999 Act”), the Zadar Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 23 November 1999. 9. The proceedings resumed on 24 October 2003 pursuant to the “Damage Caused by Members of the Croatian Army and Police during the Homeland War Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti Republike Hrvatske za štetu uzrokovanu od pripadnika Hrvatskih oružanih i redarstvenih snaga tijekom Domovinskog rata, Official Gazette no. 117/2003, hereinafter “the 2003 Act”). 10. The applicants claimed that members of the Croatian Army damaged their house in Vodice, Croatia, in mid-1992. 11. On 22 August 1995 they instituted civil proceedings before the Šibenik Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Šibeniku) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for their damaged house. 12. On 20 May 1999 the Šibenik Municipal Court rejected their claim. 13. The applicants appealed against that judgment. 14. Pursuant to the 1999 Act, the Šibenik Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 10 December 1999. The applicants appealed against that decision. On 6 March 2000 the Šibenik County Court (Županijski sud u Šibeniku) rejected their appeal. 15. The proceedings resumed on 2 September 2003 pursuant to the 2003 Act. 16. On 31 May 2004 the Šibenik County Court quashed the judgment of 20 May 1999 and remitted the case to the Šibenik Municipal Court for a retrial.

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4. The applicant, who was born in 1959, is currently detained in Muş Prison. 5. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 6. On 7 November 1993 the applicant was taken into custody by police officers from the Anti-Terrorism Department of the Tatvan Security Directorate on suspicion of his membership to an illegal organisation, namely the PKK. 7. On 25 November 1993 the applicant was brought before the Tatvan public prosecutor and the investigating judge at the Tatvan Magistrate’s Court. The same day, the investigating judge ordered that the applicant be placed in detention on remand. 8. In an indictment dated 31 December 1993, the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court initiated criminal proceedings against the applicant. He charged him with being member of an armed gang under Article 168 of the Criminal Code. 9. On 13 March 1995 the Diyarbakır State Security Court, composed of two civilian judges and a military judge, convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to twelve years and six months’ imprisonment. 10. The applicant appealed. On 17 November 1995 the Court of Cassation quashed the decision of the Diyarbakır State Security Court for procedural reasons. 11. On 18 November 1996 the Diyarbakır State Security Court applied the decision of the Court of Cassation and sentenced the applicant to twelve years and six months’ imprisonment for membership to an illegal organisation. 12. On 18 March 1998 the Court of Cassation dismissed the applicant’s appeal, upholding the Diyarbakır State Security Court’s reasoning and assessment of evidence.

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7. The applicant was born in 1947 and lives in the city of Toronto, Canada. 8. As of 1988 the applicant ran a business in the city of Yalta, Ukraine, keeping a part of his profit in cash. 9. By the Presidential Decree of 22 January 1991, the bank-notes of 50 and 100 Soviet roubles issued in 1961 ceased to circulate and had to be exchanged for the notes of the same nomination issued in 1991. The Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the same date specified the procedure of exchange, providing, inter alia, that a special sub-commission (hereinafter the exchange commission) should be created within the executive committees of the City or District Councils to decide on the exchange of bank-notes. The exchange commissions were empowered to allow or refuse exchanges fully or in part, depending on the legality of the source of income being proved. 10. In January 1991 the applicant put the amount of 230,000 Soviet roubles in 50 and 100 notes into an account at the Yalta Branch of the USSR State Bank. At the same time the applicant applied to the Yalta exchange commission for an exchange of that sum. On 25 March 1991 the commission (Решение комиссии Ялтинского Городского Совета народных депутатов по обмену денежных знаков) refused to exchange the full amount because of an alleged lack of proof as to the legality of the source of income, and limited the exchange to 2,462 roubles. The remaining sum of 227,538 roubles was not compensated. 11. The applicant challenged that decision before the higher exchange commission of the Republic of Crimea. On 6 May 1991 the latter upheld the decision of the Yalta exchange commission. 12. The Government submit that, in accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR no. 2 of 22 January 1991, which regulated the procedure for the exchange of bank-notes, this decision of 6 May 1991 was final. 13. At the same time the State Security Service checked the legality of the applicant's business and found no irregularities. 14. On 19 July 1991 the applicant instituted proceedings in the Yalta City Court against the exchange commission for its refusal to exchange the full sum of 230,000 roubles. 15. On 22 July 1991 the Yalta City Court (Определение Ялтинского городского народного суда) rejected the claim for lack of jurisdiction. 16. The applicant appealed to the Crimean Regional Court against the judgment of the Yalta City Court. On 26 August 1991 the former quashed the judgment of the latter and remitted the case for further consideration. 17. On 16 October 1991 the Yalta City Court (Решение Ялтинского городского народного суда) found for the applicant and ordered the executive committee of the Yalta City Council to exchange all the money deposited by the applicant (230,000 roubles). 18. On 8 April 1992 the Crimean Regional Court (Определение Крымского областного суда) upheld this judgment. 19. On 17 April 1992 the judgments of 16 October 1991 and 8 April 1992 were quashed by the Presidium of the Crimean Regional Court (Постановление Президиума Крымского областного суда). 20. On 14 April 1993 the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine (Ухвала Верховного Суду України) quashed the latter judgment and upheld the judgments of 16 October 1991 and 8 April 1992 in the applicant's favour. This judgment was final. 21. The judgment was not fully enforced for several years. On various occasions the applicant lodged claims to have the awarded sum adjusted to the inflation rate. On 23 May 1996, 10 December 1996, 27 May 1997 and 23 June 1998, the Yalta City Court granted the claims due to the longstanding non-enforcement of the judgment in the applicant's favour. The latter court decision increased the amount to UAH 349,387.82[1]. 22. By letter of 26 June 1998, the Yalta City Mayor requested the Deputy Prosecutor General to intervene by lodging an appeal for supervisory review (protest) against the judgment of the Supreme Court of Ukraine given in favour of the applicant. 23. On 30 June 1998 the Chairman of the Court ordered the suspension of any further enforcement of the judgement until the supervisory review appeal had been considered. 24. On 9 September 1998 the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine lodged a supervisory review appeal with the Plenary of the Supreme Court (Постанова Пленуму Верховного Суду України) against the judgments in the applicant's favour. 25. On 25 September 1998 the Plenary allowed the appeal and quashed the said judgments, upholding the initial judgment of the Yalta City Court of 22 July 1991 to reject the applicant's claim for lack of jurisdiction. The Plenary decided that, since the exchange of banknotes was regulated by the Government Decree of 1991 (paragraph 9) which provided for the non-judicial review of the decisions of exchange commissions, the dispute was outside the courts' jurisdiction under the legislation in force in 1991. 26. The Yalta Mayor then requested the Yalta City Court to reverse the enforcement of the quashed judgment and to recover from the applicant the money which had been already paid to him (15% of the sum originally awarded). According to the Government, the court did not examine that request because, under an agreement between the parties, the applicant returned the money which had been paid to him. 27. By a letter of 25 November 1998, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine informed the applicant that it had no jurisdiction to review the decisions of the ordinary courts. 28. By a resolution of 9 December 1998, the proceedings on the applicant's case were closed due to the quashing of the judgment of 16 October 1991 by the Plenary of the Supreme Court.

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6. The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Hozat, Tunceli. 7. Until October 1994 the applicant lived in Kozluca, a village of the Hozat district in Tunceli, where he owns property. 8. In October 1994 security forces forcibly evacuated Kozluca. They also destroyed the applicant's property. The applicant and his family then moved to Hozat, where they currently live. 9. On 31 October 1994 the applicant petitioned the offices of the Prime Minister, the Tunceli governor and the governor of the state of emergency region. He complained that he had been forcibly evicted from his village by the security forces. 10. On 16 November 1994 the applicant lodged a petition with the Public Prosecutor's office in Hozat and requested that an investigation be initiated against those responsible for the evacuation of his village and the destruction of his property. 11. On 26 January 1995 the Hozat District Governor wrote a letter in reply to the applicant stating that he could not be provided with housing as he did not fulfil the requirements of Law no. 2510 on housing. 12. The applicant did not pursue any other domestic remedy. 13. The applicant left his village on account of the terrorist activities in the region and there is no evidence indicating that his house was burned down. 14. The Hozat District Governor supplied the applicant with accommodation upon his request. He further received aid for food, heating and rent. However, the applicant did not apply to the authorities to receive the monetary aid which was due at the time. 15. On 11 January 1995 the Chief Public Prosecutor in Hozat, who had received the applicant's criminal complaints concerning his eviction from his village and destruction of his property, issued a decision of non‑jurisdiction and referred the investigation file to the District Administrative Council in Hozat in accordance with the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants. The investigation is still pending before the Administrative Council.

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8. The applicant was born in 1936 and lives in Bydgoszcz. 9. In February 1986 the applicant and her husband divorced. 10. In June 1987 she filed with the Bydgoszcz District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) a petition in which she sought the division of the spouses' property. 11. In 1988 and 1989 the court ordered expert opinions. 12. On 3 June 1992 it refused a request that the shares in the property be unequal. 13. On 28 May 1993 the court declined the applicant's challenge to the participation in the proceedings of one of the judges. Her appeal against that decision was subsequently rejected. 14. On 9 June 1993, in reply to the applicant's complaint, the President of the Bydgoszcz Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) informed her that due to the excessive length of the proceedings they had been taken under his administrative supervision. 15. On 16 July 1993 the Bydgoszcz Regional Court rejected the applicant's appeal against the decision of 28 May 1993. 16. On 4 and 20 October 1993, as well as on 13 April and 25 May 1994, the Bydgoszcz District Court held hearings. In October 1993 the parties to the proceedings requested that certain further expert opinions be ordered. 17. On 18 April 1994 the applicant changed her claim. 18. On 10 January 1994 an expert appointed by the court submitted his opinion concerning the value of real property. 19. In a letter of 1 July 1994 the President of the Bydgoszcz Regional Court agreed with the applicant's further complaint about the excessive length of the proceedings. 20. On 8 June 1994 the court gave judgment in respect of part of the claims. 21. On 31 August 1994 the applicant requested the court to appoint an expert to assess the value of movables. 22. On 16 September 1994 the applicant's former husband lodged an appeal against the judgment of 8 June 1994. 23. On 1 December 1994 the Bydgoszcz Regional Court quashed that judgment and remitted the case for re-examination. 24. From April to 4 December 1994 the applicant lodged several complaints with the judicial authorities about the lack of progress in the proceedings, to no avail. 25. The Bydgoszcz District Court held hearings on 5 April, 25 October and 6 December 1995, 14 February, 24 April, 24 May, 3 July and 8 November 1996, as well as 5 February, 18 June, 9 July and 9 September 1997. It ordered four expert opinions. 26. On 21 May 1996 the applicant changed her claim. 27. On 23 September 1997 the court gave judgment. In the reasoning it pointed out that the applicant on several occasions had changed her claims. She appealed against that judgment. 28. The Bydgoszcz Regional Court held hearings on 25 February, 25 June and 9 July 1998. 29. On 9 July 1998 the parties reached a friendly settlement in respect of a part of the Bydgoszcz District Court's judgment. The applicant was to receive 26,150 Polish zlotys from her former husband as payment for transferring her share in the disputed property to him. She withdrew her appeal in respect of the remainder of the District Court's judgment.

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9. The applicants were born in 1966 and 1963 respectively and live in Istanbul. 10. On 8 January 1996 the applicants were in the Alibeyköy neighbourhood, on their way to attend the funeral of two prisoners who allegedly had been killed by the security forces. Police officers were arresting at random people in Alibeyköy who were walking on the street, waiting at the bus stop or driving their cars. When the applicants arrived in the neighbourhood, they were beaten by police officers and they were subsequently arrested together with many others. This was a notorious incident that had attracted media and public attention. 11. Following their arrest, the applicants were taken to a bus where they were beaten and insulted. They were brought to the Eyüp Stadium along with 1054 people who were arrested randomly. In the stadium they were again beaten and insulted. Their identity cards, money and valuables were seized by the police officers. 12. While the applicants were held in the Eyüp Stadium their friends filed a petition with the Eyüp Magistrate's Court requesting to have them brought before the competent public prosecutor. The Eyüp Magistrate's Court rejected their request. The court stated in its written reply that the public prosecutors were entitled to authorise the prolongation of the detention period of suspects for up to four days in respect of crimes committed by three or more persons. Thus it concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to take any decision at this stage. 13. The applicants were released on the same day. 14. On 9 January 1996 the applicants filed a complaint with the office of the Eyüp Public Prosecutor concerning the treatment to which they were subjected when they were held by the police in the Eyüp Stadium. They requested the public prosecutor to order their examination by a forensic expert. The prosecutor agreed to their request. 15. On the same day the applicants were examined by a doctor at the Eyüp Forensic Institute. According to the medical report the first applicant was suffering from bruising of 3 cm in diameter on her right shoulder and shoulder blade, pain in her shoulders and neck, a bruise of 4 cm in diameter on the right hip and marks of bruising on the exterior of her thigh. It was also noted that, before a final conclusion on her health situation was reached, the applicant had to be examined in a hospital as she had vaginal bleeding. 16. As regards the second applicant it was recorded in the medical report that he had a bruise of 3 cm in diameter on the right shoulder, a bruise of 5 cm in diameter on the right arm, a bruise of 2 cm in diameter on his back and a bruising of 15-20 cm in diameter on the left shoulder and around the shoulder-blade. He was also complaining of pain in his legs. The report concluded that the applicant would be unfit for work for ten days. 17. On 15 January 1996 the Eyüp Public Prosecutor decided to transfer the preliminary investigation file to the District Governor of Eyüp in Istanbul in accordance with the law on the prosecution of civil servants. At a later stage the file was transferred to the Provincial Administrative Council. 18. On 17 January 1996 the applicants, together with some others who had been arrested on the same day and allegedly subjected to ill-treatment by the police officers, filed a petition with the Eyüp Public Prosecutor. They requested the prosecutor to initiate an investigation concerning their arbitrary arrest and the ill-treatment to which they had been subjected to. The Eyüp Public Prosecutor transferred this request as well to the Provincial Administrative Council. 19. On 8 February 1996 the Provincial Administrative Council issued a decision to commit the police officers for trial. 20. On 6 March 1996 the applicants lodged an objection with the Supreme Administrative Court against the decision of the Istanbul Provincial Administrative Council, arguing that the chief of police in the Eyüp District should have also been committed for trial together with the other police officers. On 3 April 1996 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decision of the Provincial Administrative Council and rejected the objection concerning the prosecution of the chief of the police department. 21. On an unspecified date the Eyüp Public Prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Eyüp Assize Court against the police officers who had allegedly ill-treated the complainants, including the applicants. 22. On an unspecified date the Eyüp Assize Court decided to transfer the case-file to the Aydın Assize Court for security reasons. At a later stage the Aydın Assize Court decided to transfer the case-file to the Afyon Assize Court on the same grounds. 23. On 18 October 1996 the Afyon Assize Court held that there was a possibility that the applicants had suffered from the ill-treatment allegedly inflicted by the accused police officers and it therefore accepted the applicants' request to intervene in the criminal proceedings. During the hearing the applicants gave a detailed account of the events of 8 January 1996. 24. On 18 December 1996 a doctor at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute drafted the final medical report concerning the first applicant. The doctor concluded that, considering the findings of the medical examination of 9 January 1996, she would be unfit for work for ten days. 25. On 5 November 1999 the Afyon Assize Court acquitted the police officers on the ground that there existed no evidence in the case file to identify which of the accused police officers were responsible for the alleged ill-treatment. 26. On 2 April 2001 the Court of Cassation quashed the decision of the Afyon Assize Court, holding that the Law No. 4616 on suspension of proceedings and the execution of sentences regarding offences committed before 23 April 1999 was applicable in this case. 27. According to the Government, the applicants were not amongst the 1054 persons who were arrested and subsequently taken to the Eyüp Stadium.

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4. The applicant was born in 1947 and lives in Ostrava. 5. On 6 October 1993 the applicant brought an action for damages (žaloba na náhradu škody), following a theft in premises belonging to a defendant[1], before the Ostrava District Court (okresní soud). 6. On 27 September 1994 the District Court held a hearing. Another hearing was to be held on 14 March 1995 but was cancelled because of the judge's long-term illness. In September 1995 the case was then given to another judge who fixed a hearing for 11 June 1996. However, the hearing was cancelled due to the absence of the judge. The next hearing was held on 20 August 1996, but was adjourned, as two witnesses did not appear. 7. On 5 November 1996 the District Court held a hearing and ordered an expert opinion. The first expert appointed by the court on 11 April 1997 requested, on 6 May 1997, to be relieved of his commission. On 10 August 1997 the District Court appointed a new expert who received the case file on 9 October 1997. On 11 December 1997 he requested the judge to obtain technical documents about the applicant's damaged car. On the same day the judge forwarded this request to the Road Traffic Licensing Department of the Police of the Czech Republic (Dopravní inspektorát policie České republiky). The expert also contacted the applicant about the matter but he had sold the car in July 1993. 8. On 23 July 1998, the Road Traffic Licensing Department, after having been urged by the judge, informed the latter that it did not have the relevant technical documents. On 15 December 1998 the expert obtained the necessary data from the archives of the Road Traffic Licensing Department. On 9 February 1999 he drew up his report. On 4 and 22 March 1999 respectively, the parties submitted their comments. 9. In the meantime, on 20 February 1999, the applicant had sent a complaint about delays in the proceedings to the president of the District Court who, on 5 March 1999, had informed him that his case was being “dealt with by the chamber within the time-limits corresponding to the volume of this chamber's backlog of cases”. 10. On 12 March 1999 the applicant complained of the delays in the proceedings to the Ostrava Regional Court (krajský soud). On 23 March 1999 the president of that court replied that the applicant's complaint was well founded. On 4 April 1999 the applicant sent a similar complaint to the Ministry of Justice through the president of the Regional Court. On 16 April 1999 the Ministry informed the applicant that they had received his complaint and were examining the situation. 11. Two hearings were held on 18 June and 17 August 1999. On the latter date, the District Court adopted a judgment, against which the applicant appealed on 23 November 1999. On 3 January 2000 the defendant[2] was invited to rectify certain shortcomings in his appeal, which he did on 28 January 2000. 12. On 26 May 2000 the Regional Court quashed the judgment of the District Court and sent the case back to it for further consideration. 13. The hearing scheduled for 24 October 2000 was adjourned until 28 November 2000 in order to hear the expert. On the same day, the District Court adopted an interim judgment approving the well-foundedness of the legal basis of the applicant's action for damages, the amount of which had to be quantified later. 14. On 18 June 2001 the Regional Court, upon the defendant's appeal of 20 December 2000, quashed the interim judgment and returned the case to the District Court. 15. On 21 September 2001 the District Court forwarded the defendant's challenge to the judge dealing with his case, on grounds of bias, to the Regional Court. On 16 October 2001 the latter dismissed the objection. 16. The hearing held before the District Court on 5 March 2002 was adjourned for a second expert report. On 13 May 2002 the court appointed an expert. 17. The proceedings are still pending.

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7. The applicant is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment in HM Prison Long Lartin. 8. On 15 June 1995, Patrick 'Nobby' Clarke was murdered in the flat he had shared with the applicant for the preceding eighteen months. He had been clubbed over the head with what was probably a hammerhead in a sock and possibly another weapon. The applicant was arrested and charged with murder on 16 June 1995. 9. On 10 July 1996, the applicant was tried for the murder of Mr Clarke, the issue for the jury being whether it was the applicant who was responsible for the murder. He was convicted on 26 July 1996 and on 26 September 1996 appealed against the conviction. On 26 February 1998, the conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal on the basis that the judge had misdirected the jury. A retrial was ordered which took place between 20 July and 5 August 1998, when the jury was unable to reach a verdict and was discharged. 10. The Crown elected to proceed with a second retrial which began on 22 July 1999. At the outset counsel had unsuccessfully submitted that it was oppressive and an abuse of process to try the applicant again, after two unsuccessful trials. During the trial the applicant dispensed with the services of his counsel and solicitor and proceeded to defend himself, with assistance from a new solicitor. There came a point where he no longer felt able to do so and requested an adjournment. On 2 August 1999, the jury was duly discharged, and a further retrial began on 13 September 1999. The applicant did not give evidence at that trial. On 21 September 1999, he was convicted, by a majority of 10 to 2, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. 11. At each of the trials the Crown's case was essentially the same, except that a witness called Crittenden, to whom the applicant allegedly made a confession whilst they shared a prison cell, was not relied upon after the first trial, the Crown being of the view that they were not able to present him as a witness of truth. In addition, from the 84 prosecution witnesses called to give evidence at the first trial, only 33 were later called. 12. On 29 October 1999, the applicant appealed against the conviction. He argued inter alia that the second retrial (in July 1999) was an abuse of process, in that it flouted the convention in English law that if the prosecution has failed to secure a conviction on two occasions it does not then seek a further trial. Although the circumstances were different from those usually relied upon (namely the failure of the jury to reach a verdict on two occasions), it was argued on the applicant's behalf that the first conviction was found not to be safe and so could not be relied upon and on the second occasion the jury could not agree. The discharge of the jury in July 1998 should have been the end of the matter. 13. On 19 January 2001, the Court of Appeal found that there was no reason to conclude that the practice was applicable in the particular circumstances of the applicant's case. The court noted that there was a practice but not a rule of law for the prosecution not to offer evidence where two juries have disagreed and found no general principle existed barring further retrial where the prosecution had failed twice to secure a conviction. It said: “25. ...Where a serious crime has been committed and it is shown that there is a case to answer as far as a defendant is concerned, there is a clear public interest in having a jury decide positively one way or another, whether that case is established. 26. Having said that, we recognise the possibility that in any given case a time may come when it would be an abuse of process for the prosecution to try again. Whether that situation arises must depend on the facts of the case which include, first, the overall period of delay and the reasons for the delay; second, the results of previous trials; thirdly, the seriousness of the offence or offences under consideration; and fourthly, possibly, the extent to which the case now to be met has changed from that which was considered in previous trials. 27. Here the prosecution case did change in that reliance ceased to be placed on the evidence of a man called Crittenden, a prisoner who had given evidence in the first trial as to what had allegedly been said by the [applicant]. But the changes in the prosecution case cannot, in our judgment, have rendered it impossible for the [applicant] to have a fair trial. The reality was he no longer had to face evidence which was adduced in the previous trial as to what he himself had said when attempting to deal with the evidence of Crittenden. ... 14. The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but certified two questions of law of general public importance, namely, “1. Whether a defendant having been tried twice without a safe verdict being returned it is oppressive to try him a third time and hence an abuse of the court's process. 2. Whether it is oppressive for the Crown to depart from its established practice of not trying a defendant for a third time, absent compelling fresh evidence or conduct by the defendant causing the retrials.” 15. On 17 June 2001, the House of Lords refused the petition for leave.

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4. The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Jablonec nad Nisou. 5. On 12 January 1995 the applicant brought an action for damages before the Jablonec nad Nisou District Court (okresní soud) (hereinafter “the District Court”) against Mr S. who had allegedly caused damage to the applicant's house in Deštná. 6. On 27 July 1995 the District Court held a hearing and adjourned the case to 14 September 1995. The applicant claims that he was not summoned to appear at the hearing of 27 July 1995. The hearing held on 14 September 1995, at which the applicant and Mr S. did not appear due to illness, was adjourned to 10 October 1995. The hearing took place on that date but had to be adjourned at the request of the applicant when he suddenly felt sick. On 7 November 1995 another hearing took place and was then adjourned until 5 December 1995. The applicant apologised for his absence at the latter hearing. The next hearings were held on 4 January, 6 and 27 February 1996. 7. In the meantime, on 21 February 1996 the applicant and his legal representative had been informed that the proceedings had been suspended pending the submission of the applicant's modified claim. 8. On 28 June 1996 the applicant's legal representative, following the District Court's renewed request of 29 May 1996, submitted the modified version of his client's claim. By a decision of 15 July 1996 the District Court requested the applicant to pay court fees. On 4 November 1996 this decision was quashed. 9. A hearing held on 28 January 1997 was adjourned to 18 February 1997 because of the absence of Mr S. and his lawyer. Mr S. and his lawyer also failed to appear at the latter hearing. On 26 March 1997 the Prague 4 District Court interviewed Mr S. upon the request of the District Court, which received the records of the interview on 10 April 1997. 10. At the hearing held on 6 November 1997, the District Court heard the applicant in the absence of any representative of the interests of Mr S. According to the applicant, Judge V. was responsible for making certain illegal modifications to the record of this hearing. On 10 November 1997 (6 November 1997, according to the applicant), the District Court appointed an expert to evaluate the damage caused by Mr S. The expert report was drawn up on 8 January 1999. 11. On 10 February 1999 the applicant complained of delays in the proceedings and of certain procedural steps taken by judges at the District Court. 12. On 9 and 10 March 1999 he requested the District Court to adopt an interim measure. He alleged that Mr S. was the president of the management board of a private company whose shareholders had already lost CZK 1,500,000,000 (47,318,612 EUR), and that a criminal complaint had been lodged against Mr S. He therefore requested the court to prohibit the latter from disposing of his immovable and movable property. 13. On 11 May 1999 the Ústí nad Labem Regional Court (krajský soud) excluded Judge V. of the District Court from the consideration of the applicant's action for damages. According to the applicant, on 12 June 1999 the case was assigned to Judge T. 14. On 10 September 1999 the Regional Court, following the institution by the applicant of proceedings against Judge V., ruled that five other judges of the District Court should be excluded from hearing the case and that the case should be transferred to the Liberec District Court. 15. On 16 November 1999 the District Court dismissed the applicant's request for an interim measure. On 22 December 1999 the Regional Court, upon the applicant's appeal of 7 December 1999, quashed this decision and ordered Mr S. not to sell, pledge, mortgage or otherwise dispose of certain building plots in Klánovice. For the remainder, the Regional Court sent the case back to the District Court. The decision was notified to the District Court on 14 January 2000. 16. According to the applicant, on 10 February 2000 the District Court received his request to secure documents in support of the remaining part of the interim measure. On 1 March 2000 he submitted the documents himself in order to expedite the proceedings. 17. On 23 March 2000 the applicant filed a constitutional appeal (ústavní stížnost) alleging delays in the proceedings before the District Court. He invoked Article 38 § 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Listina základních práv a svobod). The appeal was delivered to the Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) on 10 April 2000. 18. On 17 April 2000 Judge T. dismissed the applicant's request to have his current legal representative appointed under the free legal-aid scheme. On 10 May 2000 the Regional Court upheld this decision. 19. On 25 May 2000 the District Court informed the applicant that it had not been possible to decide on the remaining part of the interim measure as the case file had been sent to the appellate court. 20. On 21 June 2000 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant's appeal finding that, since date of the introduction of his action for damages, the District Court had held seven hearings and that it had accepted the applicant's modification of the grounds of his action, a matter on which the Regional Court had ruled in 1996. Moreover, in the course of 1997 the District Court had taken further legal steps and ordered three hearings. In 1998 and at the beginning of 1999 the applicant criticised the conduct of the proceedings by the District Court. Consequently, another judge on that court was excluded from hearing the case. During 1999 the court adopted an interim measure, and in February 2000 it collected further documentary evidence necessary for its decision on the merits. 21. According to the Government, the case file remained at the Constitutional Court from 21 June to 23 August 2000. 22. On 29 August 2000 the District Court adopted an interim measure ordering Mr S. not to sell, pledge, mortgage, transfer or otherwise dispose of his property, intangible investments, shares or other interests in twelve private companies. 23. On 11 October 2000 Mr S. formally appealed, stating that he would substantiate his grounds of appeal later. On 2 and 22 November 2000 the applicant, after inspecting the court file on 1 November 2000, commented on the appeal. On 24 November 2000 Mr S. submitted his grounds of appeal. 24. On 8 and 11 December 2000 respectively, the applicant requested the District Court to extend the interim measure to real estates in Rabyně. On the same day, he proposed that the court grant him leave to extend the grounds of his action for damages. 25. On 11 December 2000 the case file was sent to the Regional Court. On 12 December 2000 the applicant finalised his observations on Mr S.'s appeal against the interim measure. 26. On 19 December 2000 the Regional Court upheld the interim measure. On 12 January 2001 the case file was sent back to the District Court. 27. On 15 February 2001 the applicant requested the District Court to appoint a free legal-aid lawyer. The court did so on 16 February 2001. However, on 12 April 2001 the lawyer asked to be released from his commission. Consequently, a hearing scheduled for 25 April 2001 had to be adjourned. On 15 May 2001 another lawyer was appointed for the applicant. On 14 June 2001, upon the lawyer's appeal, the appointment was cancelled. On 17 July 2001 a third lawyer was appointed. 28. On an unspecified date and again on 19 September 2001, the District Court invited Mr S. to submit information about his new legal representative, the previous one having died on 12 July 2001. 29. On 12 November 2001 the applicant requested the District Court to include a second defendant in the proceedings. His request was dismissed on 19 November 2001 by Judge T. who, at the same time, dismissed the applicant's request for an extension of the interim measure. 30. On 3 December 2001 the applicant appealed against both decisions, completing his appeal on 17 December 2001. The Regional Court quashed the District Court's dismissal decisions and, on 6 February 2002, extended the interim measure. According to the applicant, on 6 March 2002 the Regional Court upheld the District Court's refusal to include the second defendant in the proceedings. 31. According to the Government, in 2002 the case file remained for some time at the Prague Municipal Court in connection with criminal proceedings instituted against Mr S. 32. On 5 November 2002 the applicant requested the District Court to summon Mr S. to appear at the next hearing. 33. By letter of 4 December 2002, not having received a reply from the District Court to his request of 11 December 2000, the applicant urged the court to rule on this matter and to authorise him to extend the grounds of his action for damages. 34. According to the Government, on 11 February 2003 the applicant quantified his damage claim in the amount of CZK 31,705,276 (EUR 1,000,166). The District Court failed to notify the relevant documents to Mr S. in time and, therefore, had to adjourn the hearing scheduled for 19 February 2003. 35. On 20 February 2003 the applicant requested that Judge T. and other judges of the civil division of the District Court be excluded from trying the case. On 13 March 2003 the Regional Court dismissed his request. On 22 and 28 April 2003 the applicant instituted proceedings for the protection of his personal rights against Judge T. and three judges at the Regional Court. 36. On 23 April 2003 the District Court held a hearing. According to the Government, Judge T. was about to deliver a judgment. However, the applicant again requested Judge T.'s exclusion from his case and the suspension of the proceedings until his action for the protection of his personal rights had been decided. The next day, his action for damages was assigned to Judge P.V. 37. According to the Government, in May 2003 the applicant requested the District Court to suspend the proceedings until the Constitutional Court had decided his appeal filed against the Regional Court's decision of 13 March 2003. The request was dismissed. 38. On 31 July 2003 the applicant again requested the District Court to suspend the proceedings, arguing that, for the last nine years, Mr S. had not appeared at that court, having twice been heard by another court upon the District Court's request in the absence of the applicant or his lawyer. The District Court dismissed his request at a hearing on 4 August 2003. 39. A hearing held on 20 October 2003 was adjourned because of the applicant's challenge to Judge P.V. for bias. The applicant sent his reasoned request to the court on 30 October 2003, asking it to exclude all judges of the District Court from the examination of his case and to transfer the case to a court outside the competence of the Regional Court. 40. On 12 November 2003 the District Court requested the applicant to substantiate his challenge to these judges. 41. On 24 March 2004 the Prague High Court (vrchní soud) decided to exclude two judges of the Regional Court from the applicant's case. On 23 April 2004 the Regional Court held that, apart from Judge T. who had already been excluded, there was no reason to exclude other judges of the District Court from the case.

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9. The applicant was born in 1964 and was detained in the Konya prison in Turkey at the time of the application. In May 2000 he went to Germany and sought asylum. He currently lives in Germany. He was the provincial leader of HADEP (People's Democracy Party) in Adana. 10. On 3 July 1995 the applicant was taken into custody by police officers from the Adana Security Directorate. He alleges that he was blindfolded, put in a car, beaten and threatened. After being driven around for some time, still blindfolded, he was taken to the Adana Security Directorate. The applicant claims that he did not realise that the persons who had abducted him were police officers and that the building to which he had been taken was the Security Directorate. 11. The applicant further alleges that he was blindfolded, stripped naked and immersed in cold water in the Security Directorate. He was attached by the arms to the ceiling pipes and made to stand on a chair. Electric cables were attached to his body, in particular to his sexual organs. The chair was then pulled away and he was left suspended while electric shocks were administered. From time to time the shocks were stopped and his testicles were squeezed. The applicant was interrogated about his work and his connections with an illegal organisation, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). He was further questioned as to why he had helped torture victims apply to the European Commission of Human Rights. 12. Between 3 and 11 July 1995 the applicant was detained in the Adana Security Directorate. The applicant alleges that his family had not been informed of his detention and that the interrogation under torture continued during this nine-day period. 13. On 11 July 1995 the applicant was examined by a medical expert from the Forensic Medicine Institute. The applicant stated that - as a result of the torture – he did not have the full use of his left arm, one of his ribs had been broken and there were injuries to various parts of his body on account of having been attached and suspended. The forensic medical expert's report stated the following: “4 x 3 cm superficial scab wounds were identified on the right knee of the person and inside both wrists. The person described numbness in his left arm and pain in the right side of his chest.” 14. On the same day the applicant was brought before the Adana public prosecutor and then before the Adana Magistrates' Court (Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi). On both occasions the applicant denied the veracity of the statements that had been taken from him by the police. The Adana Magistrates' Court ordered his detention on remand. He alleges that on the way from the courthouse to the Adana prison he was ill-treated by the policemen accompanying him, who used rifle butts and truncheons to beat him. 15. On 12 July 1995 the applicant was brought to the sickbay of the prison and examined by Dr. H.Ö. who noted the following in the prison patients' examination book: “He claims to have been subjected to duress in the Security Directorate. He further alleges that he was beaten up between the courthouse and the prison. There are bruises of 3-4 cm on the upper left arm, numerous erythematic and some ecchymosed lesions on the back. There are lesions, i.e. scratches and grazes, on the right ankle.” 16. The applicant claims that Dr. H.Ö. advised him to obtain permission from the prison authorities to be transferred to a hospital for treatment. 17. The applicant further claims that he submitted petitions to the Adana public prosecutor's office through the prison authorities on 12, 13 and 14 July 1995, requesting that he be given permission to be treated at the hospital and that he be sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for a further medical examination. He contends that no action was taken on his requests and that the prison administration did not permit him to see a doctor from the Turkish Human Rights Foundation who had come to the prison to inquire about his situation. 18. On unspecified dates the applicant was transferred from the Adana prison to the Konya prison and from the latter to the Ceyhan prison. In 1997 the applicant was released pending trial. 19. On 12 September 1997 a doctor from the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims in Denmark commented on the medical procedures used to examine the applicant. She stated that, following a lapse of time, it was difficult to see any marks on the body after electrical torture. However, it was possible to observe a superficial lesion on the skin in the acute phase on a minority of victims. She further stated that exposure to cold water did not necessarily cause pneumonia, fever or soreness of the throat. She maintained that numbness, pain or reduced strength in the arms were symptoms of suspension by the arms. She finally stated that scab formations on the wrists were often seen when the wrists were tied together tightly for a period of time. 20. On 9 October 1997 the applicant was examined by a doctor from the Adana branch of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. According to the doctor's report, the applicant's symptoms included pain in the gums, inability to eat due to missing teeth, pain in the chest and pain and restricted movement in the wrists and knees. The applicant further contracted pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura) which necessitated surgical treatment. As to the reasons for the applicant's poor state of health, the report referred to his ill‑treatment and the prison conditions. 21. In May 2000 the applicant arrived in Germany where he claimed asylum. On 20 June 2000 he was granted a residence permit in Germany. 22. On 5 March 2001 the applicant was examined by a doctor in Germany. The doctor noted the following symptoms: chronic pain in the feet, knees and femur; dyspnoea (breathing difficulties); depression; and reduced pulmonary functioning. The doctor concluded that it could not be excluded that the applicant's complaints were the result of torture. He further noted that the applicant would receive somatic and psychological treatment at his surgery. 23. On 29 January 2002 the applicant was examined by a doctor working in München Refugio, an organisation based in Munich specialised in providing advice and treatment to refugees and torture victims. The doctor, after referring to the somatic and psychological findings consistent with the report of 5 March 2001, diagnosed the applicant as suffering from chronic post-traumatic stress syndrome. He further stated that the applicant was also suffering from serious psychosomatic problems. 24. On an unspecified date the Adana public prosecutor issued a decision of non-jurisdiction and sent the applicant's case file and the case files of twenty-six other defendants to the Konya State Security Court. 25. On 4 August 1995 the public prosecutor at the Konya State Security Court filed a bill of indictment charging the applicant under Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code with membership of the PKK. 26. On an unspecified date, the applicant's case file was transferred to the Adana State Security Court. 27. On 16 March 1999 the Adana State Security Court convicted the applicant under Article 169 of the Criminal Code of aiding and abetting the members of the PKK and sentenced him to three years and six months' imprisonment. 28. On 19 September 2000 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of 16 March 1999. 29. On 20 October 1995 the applicant filed a complaint with the public prosecutor's office in Adana alleging that he had been ill-treated during his detention in police custody. 30. On 29 December 1995, following a preliminary investigation against two police officers from the Adana Security Directorate, the Adana public prosecutor declined to take criminal proceedings against the officers due to lack of evidence against them. 31. On 15 April 1997 the International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate of the Ministry of Justice sent a letter to the chief public prosecutor's office in Adana requesting the latter to conduct an investigation into the allegations which the applicant had filed with the European Commission of Human Rights. 32. Between May 1997 and March 1999, the Adana chief public prosecutor's office conducted a new preliminary investigation into the applicant's allegations of ill-treatment. The applicant was heard in the context of this investigation. He gave the names of four witnesses on his behalf. The Adana public prosecutor heard three of these witnesses, who confirmed the applicant's allegations. The public prosecutor heard the accused police officers, who denied the allegations against them. 33. On 25 March 1999 the Adana public prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Adana Assize Court (Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi), charging six police officers, who had been on duty in the Adana Security Directorate at the time of the alleged ill-treatment of the applicant, under Article 243 of the Criminal Code. The defendants were accused of torturing the applicant in order to obtain a confession from him. 34. Between 9 April 1999 and 27 March 2003, the Adana Assize Court held twenty-three hearings in the case against the police officers. 35. The court heard the evidence of the accused and some of the witnesses until 10 April 2000. On that date, the court abandoned the proposal to hear the applicant and six witnesses. It held that the statements which they had given during the preliminary investigation were sufficient and observed that they could not be found. 36. On 16 June 2000 the Adana Assize Court withdrew its decision of 10 April 2000 in relation to the applicant on the ground that he could probably be summoned to give evidence before the court since he had filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights. The first‑instance court issued a further summons requiring the applicant to give evidence. 37. The applicant's whereabouts could not be determined until 27 March 2003. 38. On 27 March 2003 the Adana Assize Court held that the criminal proceedings against the police officers should be discontinued on the ground that the prosecution was time-barred (zamanaşımı).

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7. The applicant was born in 1970 and lives in Budapest. At present, he is detained at Budapest Prison. 8. On 10 June 1999 the applicant was arrested and interrogated on a charge of murder. He was charged with having murdered a man in 1997. The man's corpse had been found in the garden of a co-accused. The victim's identity was not yet known. On the next day the Budapest Regional Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed the applicant's complaint in respect of his arrest. In the ensuing proceedings he was assisted by a defence counsel of his choice. 9. On 10 and 24 June, 9 September, 3 November 1999 and 2 May 2000 the applicant was interrogated, but he refused to answers the questions put to him. His co-accused was interrogated on 21 and 23 June, 8 September 1999 and 3 May 2000. Witnesses were heard on 10 and 23 June, 10 and 16 July, 2, 3, 6 and 9 August, 10 and 29 September, 3 November 1999, 17 February, 1 and 13 March 2000 and 10 July 2001. 10. Meanwhile, on 12 June 1999 the Pest Central District Court, as confirmed by the Budapest Regional Court on 18 June 1999, ordered the applicant's detention on remand until 12 July 1999. The District Court considered that – given the seriousness of the charges against him – there was a risk of the applicant's collusion and absconding. 11. On 14 June 1999 a forensic pathologist was appointed. He submitted his final opinion on 19 October 1999. 12. On 8 July 1999 the Buda Central District Court, as confirmed by the Regional Court on 26 July 1999, prolonged the applicant's detention until 12 September 1999 for the same reasons given by the Pest Central District Court. 13. On 7 September and 2 December 1999 the Regional Court, as confirmed by an appeal panel of the same court on 23 September and 22 December 1999, prolonged, for the same reasons, the applicant's detention until 12 December 1999 and 12 April 2000, respectively. 14. On 10 April, 4 July and 6 October 2000 the Supreme Court prolonged the applicant's detention until 12 July, 12 October 2000 and 20 January 2001, respectively. It referred to the danger of the applicant's absconding, noting that a DNA-analysis was being carried out with a view to confirming the victim's identity. An expert in haemogenetics, who had been appointed to this end on 16 August 1999, submitted his final opinion on 17 October 2001. 15. On 6 November 2000 the Regional Court, as confirmed by an appeal panel of the same court on 15 December 2000, dismissed the applicant's request for release. 16. On 17 January 2001 the Supreme Court prolonged the applicant's detention until 20 April 2001 and dismissed his request for release. It invoked the danger that the applicant would abscond if released. 17. On 6 March 2001 the Regional Court dismissed the applicant's request for release. 18. On 19 April 2001 the Supreme Court prolonged the applicant's detention until 20 July 2001 on the ground that he might abscond. 19. On 2 May 2001 the investigation was closed and the case-file was made available to the defendants. On 22 May 2001 the Public Prosecutor's Office reopened the investigation with a view to completion of the case against the defendants. These proceedings ended on 20 June 2001. 20. Meanwhile, on 5 June 2001 the Regional Court, as confirmed by an appeal panel of the same court on 27 June 2001, dismissed the applicant's request for release. 21. On 13 July 2001 the Public Prosecutor's Office preferred a bill of indictment, accusing the applicant and two others of murder. The indictment listed several witnesses and two forensic medical experts. 22. On 17 July 2001 and 29 April 2002 the Regional Court, as confirmed by the Supreme Court on 16 August 2001 and 11 June 2002 respectively, upheld the applicant's detention on remand until the delivery of the first-instance judgment. The courts invoked the danger of the applicant's absconding. 23. On 8 July 2002 the applicant filed a request for release in which he referred to domestic jurisprudence and the Court's case-law concerning pre-trial detention. He argued, inter alia, that his absconding was unlikely in view of his close ties with his sick mother and paralysed father, his siblings and his 11-year old son, and of the fact that he had been living with his common-law wife for five years and that they had carried out a major renovation of their flat. 24. On 23 July 2002 the presiding judge refused, under section 95 § 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to take a formal decision on the applicant's renewed request for release on the ground that it referred to no new circumstances. On 10 and 15 October 2002 the Regional Court held hearings. On 25 October 2002 a forensic psychiatrist was appointed to examine the defendants. He submitted his opinion on 17 January 2003. 25. On 8 January 2003 the Regional Court held a hearing and refused to release the applicant. On 3 February 2003 the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal, relying on the danger of absconding. 26. On 4 and 20 March 2003 the Regional Court held hearings and refused to release the applicant. 27. Further hearings took place on 16 April, 12 May, 3 and 11 June 2003. On the latter date the Regional Court delivered a judgment. In its 34‑page judgment the Regional Court convicted the applicant of murder and imposed a life sentence. 28. On 7 August 2003 the applicant appealed. On 27 October 2003 he completed his appeal. 29. On 5 May 2004 the Budapest Court of Appeal held a hearing. The court quashed the first-instance judgment, remitted the case to the Regional Court and prolonged the applicant's pre-trial detention. The applicant has been detained ever since.

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9. The applicant was born in 1935 and lives in Wrocław, Poland. 10. On 28 March 1991 Ms S. filed with the Oleśno District Court an action in which she sought the distribution of an inheritance and the dissolution of the co-ownership of the inherited property. The applicant was one of the heirs to that property. 11. The court held hearings on 15 May, 28 August and 14 November 1991, 29 January, 22 April, 27 May and 30 September 1992, 23 February and 7 June 1993, 28 March and 25 April 1994, 28 June 1995, 27 March and 7 August 1996, 6 January, 17 November and 11 December 1997, as well as 3 June and 22 June 1998. 12. On 4 March 1999 the hearing was adjourned because of the absence of the applicant's lawyer. 13. Further hearings were held on 30 March, 23 April, 5 May, 11 May, 23 June, 14 July and 28 July 1999. 14. The hearing scheduled for 8 September 1999 was adjourned because of an illness of a court expert. 15. The court held hearings on 14 October and 30 December 1999, 17 January, 29 March, 20 April, 28 April, 18 May, 23 May and 16 June 2000. 16. On 20 June 2000, in reply to the applicant's complaint about the excessive length of the proceedings, the President of the Częstochowa Regional Court noted that the delay resulted from the complexity of the case, the parties' numerous requests concerning evidence and their petitions challenging expert opinions. She admitted that the court experts had failed to issue their opinions within the time-limits. The President considered that in one of such cases, in 1997, the court had failed to use disciplinary measures against the expert. She finally informed the applicant that she had instituted proceedings which could result in the dismissal of certain experts. 17. On 8 November 2000 the Oleśno District Court imposed a fine on an expert for his non-compliance with the time-limit for issuing his opinion. 18. On 10 January 2001 the court quashed its decision of 8 November 2000. 19. On the same day the court summoned certain individuals to participate in the proceedings. 20. On 20 February 2001 it stayed the proceedings because of the death of one of the participants. On 5 June 2001 the court resumed the examination of the case. 21. It held hearings on 6 July 2001 and 4 January 2002. The hearings scheduled for 15 February and 27 March 2002 were adjourned because of the absence of Ms S. Hearings were held on 29 May and 20 September 2002. 22. On 2 April 2003 the court served a copy of an expert opinion on the applicant for observations. 23. On 3 June 2003 the Oleśno District Court gave a judgment on the merits. 24. On 16 December 2003 the Opole Regional Court dismissed an appeal against that judgment. 25. By a decision of 28 June 2004 the Supreme Court declined to examine the cassation appeal, considering that it had not been shown that arguable public interest grounds existed which would justify the examination of the appeal.

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8. The applicant, a Turkish citizen of Kurdish origin, was born in 1921. He and his family were living in Kaynak hamlet at the time of the events giving rise to the present application. 9. The facts of the case, particularly concerning events which took place on or about 21 April 1992 and on or about 30 June 1992, are disputed by the parties. 10. The facts as presented by the applicant are set out in Section B below (paragraphs 12-20). The Government's submissions concerning the facts are summarised in Section C below (paragraphs 21-23). Documentary evidence submitted by the applicant and the Government are summarised in Sections D and E respectively. 11. The Commission, in order to establish the facts disputed by the parties, conducted an investigation with the assistance of the parties, pursuant to former Article 28 § 1 (a) of the Convention. It appointed three delegates (Mr G. Jörundsson, Mrs J. Liddy and Mr G. Ress), who took evidence in Ankara from 17 April 1996 to 19 April 1996. They heard the applicant's son as well as the following 10 witnesses: Hikmet İlhan, Halit Çirik, Mehmet Göçmen, Akın Yılmaz, Duran Kuşçu, Levent Değirmenci, Halim Çalışkan, Celal Göl, Davut Başer and finally Cemil Dinler. A summary of the oral evidence given by these witnesses may be found in Section F below. A further witness, Mr Kürşat Kayral, the chief public prosecutor in Mardin who had questioned the applicant, was also summoned but did not appear before the Commission's delegates. A letter written by Mr Kayral, explaining his failure to give evidence before the delegates, was read out during the fact-finding hearing. Mr Kayral stated that his involvement in the case was limited to his having taken a statement from the applicant and therefore he did not have any further information to offer. 12. Kaynak was a small hamlet where approximately 10 families lived. The village of Ahmetli, where 20-25 families lived, was about one kilometre away from the hamlet of Kaynak. As both places were very small they were joined so as to form one single village. Ahmetli was the centre and Kaynak the hamlet. It was built on a hillside and from there the nearby villages of Yardere and Aytepe, both of which were located at a lower altitude and within a one and a half kilometre radius, could be seen. To the west of the hamlet was the village of Konaklı where there was a gendarme station. It was one and a half kilometres away and located at a higher altitude than the hamlet. The villages of Oğuzköy, located six to seven kilometres to the south of the hamlet, and the village of Akıncılar, 17 kilometres away from the village of Konaklı, also had gendarme stations. 13. The applicant owned vineyards, almond, cherry, fig and oak trees which were located to the west of Kaynak hamlet. He also owned plum, peach and apricot trees which were located in the valley between his hamlet and the village of Yardere, located to the south-east of the hamlet. These trees were irrigated by a river which had its source in the village of Aytepe and flowed to Syria. The applicant owned land in the valley where he used to grow cotton and tobacco. He also kept sheep and goats. 14. On or about 21 April 1992 military units attached to the Gendarme Headquarters at Mardin searched the applicant's hamlet. No military operation was taking place in the area at the time. The soldiers rounded up the villagers, threatened them and told them that they would be killed if they did not leave the hamlet. The soldiers then burned and destroyed some of the houses and barns using hand grenades, inflammable material and pickaxes. They also killed a number of animals. 15. The villagers whose houses had been destroyed left the hamlet and went to the nearby village of Yardere to take shelter. On the way to Yardere an elderly woman and two-day old twin brothers lost their lives. 16. The soldiers returned a few days later, burned the remaining houses in the hamlet and forced the remaining villagers to leave. 17. Some time later, the villagers returned to their hamlet to tend their vineyards and orchards. They made tents in which to live and erected them in their vineyards and orchards. 18. On or about 30 June 1992 members of the security forces returned to the hamlet and destroyed what was left of the houses. When the soldiers saw that the villagers would not be separated from their village, the soldiers set fire to the earth in which the vineyards and orchards were planted. The ground, crops and trees were burned using petrol, paraffin and other similar inflammable material and sometimes a powder. In the vineyard and orchard owned by the applicant, 5,000 vines, 120 peach trees, 700 fig trees, 500 almond trees, 700 apricot trees, 460 prune trees and ten thousand oak trees were burned down. The applicant owned 10 hectares of land. 19. After having left his hamlet and taken shelter in an empty house in the village of Yardere, the applicant sent petitions to a number of authorities, including the office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence and asked for his damages to be compensated. On 19 August 1992 he received a reply from the Prime Minister's office, stating that the application for compensation had been passed to the relevant authority and that he would be informed of the outcome by that authority in due course. No compensation was ever paid to the applicant or his family. 20. In the early weeks of March 1993 the applicant was on his way from Mardin to the hamlet. He was stopped and searched at Akıncılar Military Post. When the replies he had received from the Government and party leaders were found on him, the applicant was thrown into the station, beaten up and abused. The soldiers burned the documents. 21. On 21 April 1992 military units attached to the Mardin Gendarme Headquarters carried out an operation in the village of Ahmetli with the aim of taking precautionary measures to protect the lives and property of the inhabitants of the village from the PKK. The allegations made by the applicant concerning the destruction of his house, its contents and orchards and finally the allegation that the applicant had been ill-treated at Akıncılar gendarme station were completely baseless. 22. One member of the İlhan family living in Kaynak hamlet had a hideout in the village in which weapons were found. These weapons had been used in a number of killings. The discovery of the hideout revealed the cooperation between that family and the terrorist organisation. This revelation made it difficult for the family to stay in the hamlet, probably because of fear of reprisals from the PKK for having surrendered the weapons. It was much safer to live in a bigger village like Yardere. 23. According to the registry office responsible for the keeping of title deeds, the applicant owned a total of 7,932 square metres (sq. m) of land which, given its size, could not have accommodated the number of trees which he claimed had been burned down. 24. This petition is signed by the applicant and copies of it were submitted to various domestic authorities in order to claim compensation for his damage. A copy of this letter was also sent to the Diyarbakır branch of the Human Rights Association. This petition sets out the applicant's allegations summarised in Section B above. 25. In this letter Mr Mesut Yılmaz promised to pursue the matter. 26. In this letter the applicant was informed that a copy of his petition had been forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior, the body responsible for the actions of the gendarme forces. 27. This letter states that the petition submitted by the applicant had been passed to the relevant authority. 28. The applicant also submitted: (a) a report prepared by the Human Rights Association in Turkey containing a list of villages and settlements destroyed in south-east Turkey; (b) a report prepared by Amnesty International entitled “Turkey: Extrajudicial Killings, EUR 44/45/90”; (c) a report prepared on 29 May 1993 by Mr Tahir Elçi, a lawyer practising in Turkey, entitled “Why Domestic Legal Remedies are Closed in Turkey”. 29. This is a one-page report drawn up by Halim Çalışkan, the commanding officer of the Konaklı gendarme station. It was also signed by gendarme NCOs Nejdet Kayan, Ahmet Kurt and Ferhat Koca. It states that the allegations submitted in a petition by the applicant to the regional governor were baseless. According to this report, commander Çalışkan had visited the Kaynak hamlet and saw that there was no damage to any of the houses and that the population had left the village of their own free will, possibly because of the pressure exerted on them by terrorists. Furthermore, there was no damage to any of the trees; and, contrary to what had been claimed by the applicant, the latter owned only very few trees and vines. Commander Çalışkan had been unable to question the applicant because he had run away from him. Commander Çalışkan concluded in his report that the allegations had been made to assist the illegal organisations in their spread of propaganda. 30. This statement was taken from Mr İlhan pursuant to a request made by the Ministry of Justice's International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate on 9 December 1993, following the communication of the application to the Government. In his statement to the prosecutor, Mr İlhan confirmed that he had submitted the petition of 7 July 1992 to a number of authorities in Turkey in order to obtain compensation for his damage, but he stated that he did not make an application to the European Commission of Human Rights. He also largely repeated his allegations as set out in his petition of 7 July 1992. 31. According to this decision the office of the Mardin prosecutor lacked jurisdiction to investigate the allegations made by the applicant as the alleged perpetrators of the incidents were members of the security forces. The file was sent to the Mardin Provincial Administrative Council for authorisation to investigate the allegations. 4. Letter sent to the Ministry of Justice's International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate on 29 December 1993 by the Mardin chief public prosecutor 32. In this letter the chief public prosecutor informed the Directorate about the statement he had taken from the applicant on 24 December 1993. The prosecutor also wrote that an investigation which had been opened ex officio into the allegations was still continuing and that a decision of non‑jurisdiction had been taken by his office. 33. This one-page report was drawn up by Celal Göl, a gendarme NCO working at the Mardin Provincial Gendarme Headquarters who had been requested to investigate the allegations made by the applicant. Mr Göl stated in his report that, according to the documents in his office, no such incidents had taken place in the applicant's hamlet and that no houses had been burned down. 34. The governor stated in his letter that no operation had been carried out in Yardere village on 21 April 1992 by soldiers from the Mardin gendarme headquarters and that the allegations made by the applicant had been fabricated by those who wanted to put Turkey in a difficult position before the European Commission of Human Rights. 35. These statements were taken by gendarme NCOs Şeref Çakmak and Celal Göl, from Cemil Dinler, the headman of Yardere village, and Abdülkadir Demir and Gazi Cıvak, who used to live in Yardere village at the time of the alleged events. According to these almost identical statements, the allegations of the applicant were untrue and, in their opinion, had been made in order to discredit the security forces. They further submitted that they had left Yardere village because of the actions of the PKK. 8. Letter sent on 25 April 1996 by the Ministry of Justice's International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate to Mardin chief public prosecutor's office 36. In their letter the Directorate informed the chief public prosecutor that during the fact-finding hearing conducted by the Commission in Ankara, a number of documents had been requested. The Directorate asked the chief public prosecutor to clarify whether there had been any applications to his office concerning the alleged destruction of the houses in Kaynak hamlet on 21 April 1992. The Directorate also asked what action had been taken in relation to five terrorists apprehended in Kaynak village on 21 April 1992. 9. Letter sent on 22 May 1996 by the Mardin chief public prosecutor's office to the Ministry of Justice's International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate 37. The chief public prosecutor informed the Directorate about the decision of non-jurisdiction of 28 December 1993. The prosecutor also informed the Directorate that, according to the information he had obtained from the Mardin Provincial Gendarme Headquarters, there had been no incidents in Kaynak hamlet and therefore no terrorists had been apprehended. 38. This letter states that no information or documents existed concerning the operations that were conducted on or about 10 June 1992 in Kaynak hamlet. It further states that no operation took place on 21 April 1992 in Kaynak hamlet or in its vicinity. 39. The Government submitted copies of military reports showing that an armed attack was carried out on Konaklı gendarme station at 1 a.m. on 2 April 1992 by members of the PKK. 40. The Government also submitted copies of documents showing that an armed clash had taken place between gendarme soldiers, who had gone to Yardere village on 14 February 1992 to serve summonses on those young men who were due to be conscripted, and approximately 10-15 persons who had opened fire on the soldiers. According to these documents, six people were killed and five people injured. 41. Finally, the Government submitted a report setting out the names of villages burned down by members of the PKK between 16 June 1993 and 5 October 1994; documents showing the amounts of compensation paid between 1992 and 1993 to inhabitants of villages who had to flee due to the actions of the PKK; a report prepared by Ankara University in which it was calculated that the number of trees claimed by the applicant to have been burned down would have required a surface area of approximately 350 million sq. m; and a document drawn up by the registry office responsible for the keeping of title deeds showing that the applicant owned a house in Kaynak made of stone and built in a garden of 684 sq. m in addition to a total of 7,255 sq. m of land. 42. The evidence of the eleven witnesses heard by the Commission's delegates may be summarised as follows: 43. The applicant's son was living in Kaynak hamlet at the time of the alleged events. Following the events in Yardere village in February 1992 (see paragraph 40 above), soldiers used to come to his hamlet and ask the villagers either to become village guards or to leave the hamlet. 44. Prior to 21 April 1992 he heard that there had been an incident at Konaklı gendarme station. 45. On 21 April 1992, when the witness and other young men saw that soldiers were approaching the hamlet they left the village and hid in the hills on the other side of the hamlet. The reason for their running away from the hamlet was that in the past soldiers who had visited the hamlet had beaten up young men on a number of occasions. 46. From their hiding place he could see the hamlet and the soldiers. The soldiers told the villagers to gather outside the village and then started to search the houses. During the search the soldiers destroyed the contents of the houses such as refrigerators, cupboards and food supplies. The soldiers then burned and destroyed some parts of the houses using hand grenades, axes and shovels. The witness was later told that before leaving the village just before evening, the soldiers had warned the villagers that they had three days to evacuate the village. 47. On the fourth day following the soldiers' first visit, the witness again ran to a hiding place in the mountains when he saw soldiers approaching the village. The villagers were given an opportunity to grab whatever they could from their houses following which the houses were set on fire and many animals were killed by the soldiers. After the soldiers left, the villagers left the hamlet and went to the neighbouring villages. The witness and his family moved to a derelict house in Yardere village. 48. The soldiers returned to the hamlet many times, including once on 30 June 1992 when they set fire to the orchards, burned the remaining parts of the houses and, on their way to and from the hamlet, set fire to the dense oak forest. 49. The witness would like to return to his village if the State stopped putting pressure on them. 50. Mr İlhan – son-in-law and nephew of the applicant – was living in Kaynak hamlet at the time of the alleged events. Soldiers used to come to the hamlet in the past and on one of those occasions they had told the villagers that there had been an attack on the gendarme station and asked the villagers to leave the hamlet. 51. On 21 April 1992 soldiers came to the hamlet, gathered the villagers together and asked them why they had not yet left the hamlet. The soldiers then destroyed some parts of the houses in the hamlet, using hand grenades and pickaxes. Before leaving the hamlet, they told the villagers to leave within three days. On the third day the soldiers returned to the village and burned a few more houses, including the barn and the roof of the witness' own house. 52. The witness and his family left the hamlet and went to Yardere. His two-day old twin sons lost their lives on the way. A few days later, he returned to the hamlet to visit it and saw that the applicant's house had also been burned down. After these events soldiers continued to go to the hamlet and on each of their visits they burned the remaining parts of the houses. The witness heard that approximately one year after the events, the soldiers had burned down the orchards and other trees around the village. 53. Mr Çirik was living in Yardere village at the time of the alleged events. He heard the sound of gunshots and bombs coming from the direction of Kaynak hamlet. Four or five days later villagers from Kaynak hamlet came to Yardere and told them that they were being chased by the military. These villagers were then housed in Yardere village. At a later date, the orchards and other trees were set on fire. 54. Captain Göçmen was an army captain and commanding officer of the Mardin Provincial Gendarme Headquarters at the time of the alleged events. His headquarters had overall responsibility for a number of villages, including that of the applicant's hamlet, within the administrative jurisdiction of Mardin. 55. He never asked any villager to become a village guard. 56. One evening in April 1992, PKK members raided Konaklı gendarme station. The following day four or five terrorists were arrested. Two of them were from Kaynak hamlet and their surname was İlhan. These two persons stated that they had a hiding place in Kaynak hamlet which they showed to Captain Göçmen on or around 21 April 1992. A number of weapons were found in this hiding place and it was destroyed by the soldiers to prevent the terrorists from using it again in the future. No houses were burned down or demolished by the soldiers during this search. The reports and other documents pertaining to the arrests and the finding of the hiding place and weapons were prepared and submitted to the local public prosecutor. 57. He could not remember whether he had ever been questioned by the authorities in relation to the allegations made by the applicant. The reason for his inability to remember was that, in his opinion, these allegations were fabricated and therefore not serious, which was why he had not paid any attention to them. 58. The inhabitants of Kaynak hamlet were in the habit of leaving the hamlet every summer to go to Yardere village where there was more water for their animals. They would then return to the hamlet at the end of the summer. It was possible that the villagers had left the hamlet in the summer of 1992 following the discovery of the hiding place and the weapons, because they might have feared that the PKK would punish them. 59. Sergeant Yılmaz is a gendarme NCO and was commanding officer of Konaklı Gendarme Station at the time of the alleged events. 60. A terrorist with the surname İlhan, who had been apprehended previously, told them that there was a hiding place in Kaynak hamlet. The witness and a number of other gendarme officers and soldiers visited the hamlet together with the arrested person on or around 21 April 1992 and recovered a number of weapons from a hiding place. The hiding place was then destroyed by the soldiers. The soldiers did not burn or destroy any of the houses in the hamlet. A report was prepared detailing the events of the day and a sketch indicating the location of the hiding place was drawn up. These documents would have been sent to the local prosecutor in line with the applicable procedure. 61. The villagers must have left the hamlet in July or August 1992 because of their fear of the PKK and gone to live in villages where there were gendarme stations. 62. He could not remember whether he had ever been questioned by the authorities in relation to the allegations made by the applicant. 63. Sergeant Kuşçu is a gendarme NCO who was commanding officer of Akıncı Gendarme Station at the time of the alleged events. He had heard about the attack on the Konaklı gendarme station but did not remember any details of this attack. Similarly, he remembered having heard that an operation had been conducted following this attack but did not know any of the details. He had never been to Kaynak hamlet and had only seen it from afar. He never heard about the allegations concerning the alleged destruction of houses in Kaynak. The applicant had never been detained at his station. 64. Mr Değirmenci is a gendarme expert sergeant who worked at Konaklı Gendarme Station until the end of June 1992. His immediate superior was Akın Yılmaz. There had been an attack on Konaklı gendarme station on 2 April 1992 and a terrorist, who had been arrested three days after this incident, was detained at the Mardin Provincial Gendarme Headquarters. On 21 April 1992 an operation was carried out in Kaynak hamlet during which the arrested terrorist showed the soldiers a hiding place in which a number of weapons were found. The hiding place was subsequently destroyed by the soldiers using pickaxes. This operation was carried out with the participation of approximately 40 gendarme officers and soldiers from the gendarme headquarters in Mardin, and the Konaklı and Akıncılar stations. Sergeant Duran Kuşçu and Ahmet Kurt, a gendarme NCO, also took part in the operation. Overall command of the operation rested with Captain Mehmet Göçmen. A report was prepared on the spot and signed by the commanders involved in the operation. During this operation no houses were burned down. 65. The witness had never been questioned by the domestic authorities about the allegations made by the applicant. 66. Sergeant Çalışkan is a gendarme NCO who succeeded Akın Yılmaz as commanding officer of Konaklı Gendarme Station in July 1992. He was entrusted by the emergency governor with the duty to investigate the allegations made by the applicant. He visited Kaynak hamlet to question the applicant but there was no one living in the village. All the houses and vineyards were intact. During his time in office until 1995 no one lived in the hamlet. He questioned a number of villagers in Yardere about the allegations but did not remember their names. He also did not remember checking the official records at the station or questioning his predecessor to verify whether an operation had indeed been conducted in Kaynak on 21 April 1992 as alleged. Furthermore, he did not deem it necessary to append any such records to his report since he was of the view that the gendarme headquarters in Mardin would already have such reports in their files. 67. The witness heard from his colleagues and also from the villagers in Yardere that Kaynak hamlet had been visited by soldiers and a hiding place for terrorists had been found. He was not sure whether this was a relevant piece of information which he should have conveyed to the emergency governor in his investigation report. 68. Sergeant Göl is a gendarme NCO who prepared the report of 14 November 1994 (see paragraph 33 above) during his time at the Mardin Provincial Gendarme Headquarters. This report was prepared at the request of the emergency governor who had instructed him to investigate the allegations made by the applicant. In the course of his investigation he visited the hamlet, examined a number of documents and questioned several villagers. When he visited the village there were no signs of any burning or demolition of houses; the houses were still standing, but the roofs of some of the houses had been destroyed due to natural causes. 69. The witness stated that there were no reports at the gendarme headquarters in Mardin concerning the operation that had taken place on 21 April 1992; had such an operation taken place there would have been reports. 70. The witness was living in the village of Yardere at the time of the alleged events but did not hear the allegations about the destruction of the houses in Kaynak. He had not been to Kaynak since 1992. The applicant's family came to live in Yardere at some stage in 1992. The vineyards and trees owned by the applicant's family were still there and had not been burned. The witness and other villagers left their village in 1994 due to the intensity of the clashes between the PKK and Turkish armed forces, and went to Oğuzköy where there is a gendarme station. He should like to return to his village if the Government allowed him. 71. The witness was living in Yardere at the time of the alleged events. He subsequently became the headman of the village in 1994. 72. The applicant's family came to Yardere village at some stage in 1992. It was a lie that soldiers burned some of the houses. He visited Kaynak hamlet one day where he, “looked at the house. That house did not have an owner; it was not maintained. It was dilapidated”. 73. The witness and his family left Yardere in 1994 together with other villagers. He should like to return to his village but this required the permission of the authorities.

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8. The applicant companies are limited liability companies established under the law of the Netherlands. They have their registered office in Kwadendamme. 9. At some stage in 1989, officials of the Fiscal Intelligence and Information Service (Fiscale Inlichtingen- en Opsporingsdienst, “FIOD”) instituted an investigation into activities of the applicant companies and their director, Mr Wouterse, as they suspected forgery (valsheid in geschrifte) and tax fraud. On 29 October 1990 the FIOD searched the premises of the applicant companies and seized documents and items belonging to the companies. That same day Mr Wouterse was interviewed. The FIOD’s investigation was concluded on 7 August 1991. The official report of the investigation was completed on 17 August 1991. Twenty-one witnesses were heard during the investigation. 10. In April 1992 the scope for an out-of-court settlement in the cases of the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse was explored. In a letter of 24 April 1992 counsel for the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse asked the Public Prosecutor to allow them a period of three weeks in which to consider the question whether to request a preliminary judicial investigation (gerechtelijk vooronderzoek) so that witnesses could be heard by the FIOD or the investigating judge (rechter-commissaris). On 28 July 1992 the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse requested a preliminary judicial investigation, which was then applied for on 4 August 1992. 11. On 28 October 1992 the investigating judge sent a number of official records of evidence taken from witnesses to counsel for the applicant companies and asked him for the names of any further witnesses. On 10 November 1992 the investigating judge informed counsel that he had heard extensive testimony from a large number of witnesses and that in doing so he had given counsel the benefit of the doubt “with regard to the question of whether hearing these witnesses was necessary to the preliminary judicial investigation”. As to five new witnesses whose names counsel had put forward, he stated that counsel should provide detailed reasons why it was necessary for the purposes of the preliminary judicial investigation to hear them. 12. The preliminary judicial investigation into the applicant companies’ activities was concluded on 9 February 1993. 13. The applicant companies and Mr Wouterse submitted a request to the investigating judge on 16 February 1993 to reopen the preliminary judicial investigation because they still had five witnesses they wished to be heard. The investigating judge rejected this request in a decision of 19 February 1993 on the grounds that the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse had not established that hearing the five witnesses was in the interests of the investigation. The investigating judge also took the view that the defence would not by any reasonable standards be prejudiced if the five witnesses were not heard. 14. On 25 August 1993 the preliminary judicial investigation into the applicant companies was closed. Notice of closure was served on 3 September 1993. On 5 October 1993 notification of further proceedings against the applicant companies was sent to counsel. 15. On 29 December 1993 summonses were served on Mr Wouterse. The cases against the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse were dealt with at the same sitting but were not joined. 16. Following a hearing on 20 January 1994, the Middelburg Regional Court (arrondissementsrechtbank) convicted the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse on 3 February 1994. It imposed fines of 600,000 Netherlands guilders (NLG – 272,000 euros (EUR)) and NLG 1,000,000 (EUR 454,000) respectively on the applicant companies, and sentenced Mr Wouterse to two years’ imprisonment. 17. Both the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse lodged appeals with the Court of Appeal (gerechtshof) of The Hague on 9 February 1994. The Public Prosecutions Department (openbaar ministerie) lodged a cross appeal the next day. A first hearing in all three cases took place on 28 June 1995. Prior to the second hearing, scheduled for 4 December 1995, the Advocate General (advocaat-generaal) to the Court of Appeal initiated negotiations with counsel for the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse aimed at securing the withdrawal of the appeals. In a letter of 2 November 1995, counsel wrote as follows to the Advocate General: “Mr Wouterse is in principle willing to accept that the judgments of the Middelburg Regional Court in the criminal proceedings against [the applicant companies] become final and conclusive. However, my client is only prepared to withdraw the appeals if the Public Prosecutions Department explicitly abandons the execution of those judgments and if the tax authorities also forgo the implementation of further measures of collection in respect of [the applicant companies] and/or Mr Wouterse personally. As regards the tax proceedings which are currently still pending as well as potential future fiscal and/or civil proceedings, the tax authorities and the Public Prosecutions Department should already at the present time undertake to waive their right to invoke the formal force of law of these judgments and/or their content. ...” In reply, the Advocate General wrote on 9 November 1995: “I suggested withdrawing the appeals in the cases of [the applicant companies] for practical reasons since you still have not provided me with any clarification of the structure of the legal entities, and in particular of the fact that there was no natural person with responsibility for them; you promised both of these things at the hearing. ... Both the Public Prosecutions Department and the tax authorities will, either together or individually, make use of the (content of the) judgments in the widest sense of the word where this appears useful to them. ...” 18. The Public Prosecutions Department withdrew its appeals on 1 December 1995. 19. Just before the hearing of 4 December 1995 was about to start, Mr Wouterse and the Advocate General reached an agreement under the terms of which Mr Wouterse would withdraw his and the applicant companies’ appeals. In a letter to Mr Wouterse, also of 4 December 1995, counsel confirmed that agreement, stating that the appeals would be withdrawn and requests submitted for remission of the sentences (gratie) imposed by the Middelburg Regional Court. Remission, according to counsel in his letter, would be in the form of a reduction in the fines imposed on the applicant companies in the pending tax proceedings, while the sentence imposed on Mr Wouterse would be reduced to one year’s imprisonment, of which six months would be suspended and the remainder converted into a number of hours of community service. 20. According to counsel and Mr Wouterse, the Advocate General had further undertaken that a positive recommendation on the requests for remission of sentence would be issued, both by the Advocate General himself and the Court of Appeal. 21. In its judgments of 4 December 1995, the Court of Appeal noted that the appeals had been withdrawn and that no hearing of the substance of the cases had taken place. 22. Also on 4 December 1995 counsel informed a colleague – counsel for the applicant companies in the tax proceedings – of the withdrawal of the appeals in the criminal proceedings, stating that remission of sentence would be sought in respect of the judgments of the Middelburg Regional Court “which had now become final and conclusive”. 23. Requests for remission of sentence were lodged with the Ministry of Justice on 21 December 1995. The requests were forwarded for advice to the Middelburg Regional Court on 28 December 1995. On 2 February 1996 the Advocate General at the Court of Appeal of The Hague informed the Ministry that he was prepared to advise on the requests. 24. At the request of the Minister of Justice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Middelburg Regional Court advised on the requests for remission of sentence on 5 August 1996. Its recommendation was that the requests of both the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse be dismissed. 25. On 17 September 1996 the Minister of Justice sought information from the Advocate General pursuant to section 12 of the Pardons Act (Gratiewet). On 22 October 1996, referring to probation and psychiatric reports, the Advocate General issued a favourable opinion on Mr Wouterse’s request. As far as the applicant companies were concerned, however, the Advocate General saw no grounds not to collect the fines imposed by the Regional Court in part or in full, in addition to the outstanding tax. 26. On 5 November 1996 the Court of Appeal of The Hague also gave a favourable opinion in respect of Mr Wouterse, but an unfavourable opinion with regard to the applicant companies. 27. On 14 January 1997 the requests for remission of sentence made on behalf of the applicant companies were rejected. The next day, counsel for the applicant companies and Mr Wouterse wrote to the Advocate General, informing him that he could not square those rejections with the undertakings given by the Advocate General. In a letter of reply dated 17 February 1997, the Advocate General denied that he had given such an undertaking as regards the applicant companies. 28. On 29 January 1997 Mr Wouterse again lodged appeals with the Court of Appeal of The Hague against the three judgments of the Regional Court of 3 February 1994. That same day the Public Prosecutor at the Middelburg Regional Court informed Mr Wouterse that he would proceed with the execution of the sentences imposed on the applicant companies by that court, in the light of the fact that the appeals against the judgments had been withdrawn in December 1994 and had thus become final and conclusive. 29. On 20 March 1997 the Minister of Justice requested the Middelburg Regional Court once again to advise on Mr Wouterse’s request for remission of sentence in view of the favourable recommendations from the Advocate General and the Court of Appeal. 30. The Public Prosecution Department gave a favourable opinion on Mr Wouterse’s request on 1 May 1997. The Middelburg Regional Court concurred with the recommendation of the Advocate General and the Court of Appeal on 16 June 1997. 31. Meanwhile, at a hearing before the Court of Appeal on 2 June 1997, the Advocate General recommended that the appeals be declared inadmissible since it was not possible to reinstate an appeal once it had been withdrawn. He stated that although he had suggested to Mr Wouterse that he might wish to withdraw his appeal and lodge a request for remission of sentence, he had never given an undertaking that such a request would be granted, but only that he would make a recommendation to that effect. He had made such a recommendation, but no decision had as yet been taken. In any event, as Mr Wouterse had been legally represented, he could have obtained advice from his counsel on the procedure. The Advocate General further confirmed that he had also suggested that the appeals in the cases against the applicant companies be withdrawn. He had done so because there was no longer any advantage to be gained since the companies were bankrupt. 32. In reply, Mr Wouterse argued that he had erred in his decision to withdraw the appeals and would certainly not have withdrawn them had he known that it was the Minister of Justice who had the final say on the requests for remission of sentence; the undertaking given by the Advocate General had led him to believe that the requests would be granted. Mr Wouterse further stated that the applicant companies were not bankrupt and continued to exist. 33. At a subsequent hearing on 8 August 1997, the Advocate General informed the Court of Appeal that on 19 July 1997 the request for remission of sentence in the case against Mr Wouterse had been granted. Neither Mr Wouterse nor his counsel had previously been informed of that decision. Mr Wouterse subsequently decided to withdraw his appeal. 34. In its judgments of 1 December 1997 in the cases against the applicant companies, the Court of Appeal held as follows: “The talks between the Advocate General on the one hand and counsel and Wouterse – in his capacity both as the accused in the criminal proceedings against himself and as the representative in the criminal proceedings against the companies – on the other, took place at the initiative of the Advocate General. According to the Advocate General, his aim was to prevent the execution of the custodial sentence imposed on Wouterse by the first-instance court in view of the reports concerning Wouterse drawn up by a psychiatrist and the probation services. The Advocate General had further assumed that the companies would be unable to make any redress. The Court of Appeal considers it likely that Wouterse ... was taken by surprise by this course of events and was under the impression that he would be able to rely on a favourable outcome if he withdrew the appeals. In the opinion of the court, it is incomprehensible that the Advocate General should have advised as he did ... Both Wouterse and the companies ... had an interest in the appeals. In addition, it is difficult to see why the court, in its determination of the criminal charges against Wouterse, might not have been expected to have regard to the reports concerning his mental welfare, as the Advocate General had done and in accordance with his advice. The solution favoured by the Advocate General on the other hand, that is to say a request for remission of sentence supported by him, was by no means certain to succeed. After all, the withdrawal of the appeal meant that it was firstly for the Public Prosecutor and the Regional Court to advise on the request for remission of sentence and their advice was apparently not to grant the request. It is true that it appears from the documents in the file that the Advocate General nevertheless attempted to find acceptance for his advice within the Ministry of Justice and that a decision in favour of Wouterse – in the shape of community service – was eventually made, but this decision was a long time coming and was preceded by a rejection of the companies’ requests for remission. Due to the fact that a decision on his request for remission remained outstanding and in view of the rejection of the requests of the applicant companies, Wouterse again lodged an appeal in all three cases, partly also because the Public Prosecutor appears to be planning to proceed with the execution of the fines imposed in the criminal proceedings against the companies. Wouterse fears that this execution may affect himself and/or his spouse personally. ... In view of the above, the court is of the opinion that Wouterse was persuaded to withdraw the appeal on improper grounds (op oneigenlijke gronden) ... by the Advocate General, that this has prejudiced the accused’s reasonable interests in this case and that, accordingly, the newly lodged appeal should be considered as a prolongation of the original appeal.” The Court of Appeal then proceeded to find that a reasonable time within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention had been exceeded and disallowed the prosecution of the cases against the applicant companies. 35. The Advocate General filed appeals on points of law (beroep in cassatie) with the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad). On 22 September 1998 the Supreme Court upheld the appeals. It ruled that, in view of the closed system of legal remedies, the Court of Appeal’s judgments of 4 December 1995 had become final and conclusive (onherroepelijk) since the legal remedy available against those judgments – an appeal on points of law – had not been exercised within the fourteen-day period allowed by statute. Given that the Court of Appeal had established in those judgments that the appeals against the decisions of the Regional Court had been withdrawn, the accused’s newly lodged appeals could not be declared admissible.

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5. The applicant was born in 1929 and lives in Bucharest. 6. On 26 September 1991, the local commission in Pătrăuţi for the application of Law no. 18/1991 (“the local commission”) issued a certificate to the applicant recognising his ownership of a plot of land measuring 1,500 square metres. 7. In 1993, the Suceava county commission for the application of Law no. 18/1991 (“the county commission”) issued ownership titles to the applicant's neighbours for several plots of land which had become State property in 1944. 8. In 1993 the applicant brought an action in the Suceava District Court seeking the restitution of the aforementioned land, which he had inherited before the collectivisation. On 9 June 1993 the District Court ordered the restitution of part of the claimed land, measuring 3,087 square metres, on the site known by the name “Acasă”. Both litigants appealed against this decision. On 25 February 1994 the Bucharest County Court quashed the decision and remitted the case to the Suceava District Court. On 13 March 1995 the District Court ordered the same partial restitution to the applicant. No appeal was lodged and the decision became final. 9. On 9 November 1993 the applicant had filed an action with the Bucharest County Court seeking to compel the local commission to enforce the judgment of 9 June 1993 and the certificate of 26 September 1991. He also claimed compensation for the profits derived from the cultivation of the land by third parties. 10. On 25 January 1996 the County Court required the local commission to restore to the applicant the two plots of land (3,087 square metres and 1,500 square metres) as ordered in the final judgment of 13 March 1995 and the certificate of 26 September 1991. In the same decision, the County Court dismissed the applicant's claim for cultivation profits as the evidence produced was insufficient to make an evaluation. No appeal was lodged and the decision became final. 11. On 29 May 1998, in response to complaints by the applicant about the non-enforcement of the above judgment, the prefect of the county informed the applicant that, as long as there was a valid ownership title in respect of the land in question (issued to the applicant's neighbours) which had not been declared null and void, the judgment could not be enforced. The prefect suggested that the applicant lodge with the competent court an action for that purpose. 12. On 16 March 1999, the applicant brought an action seeking a declaration that the ownership title issued on 24 May 1993 in favour of H.M., one of the neighbours, was null and void. 13. In a judgment of 28 June 1999 given by the Suceava District Court, upheld by the final decision of 24 April 2001 of the Suceava Court of Appeal, the action was rejected on the ground that the applicant had not proven his ownership rights over the plot of land in question. 14. In 2000 the applicant brought an action in the Suceava District Court to compel the local commission to enforce the judgment of 13 March 1995. On 15 May 2001 the District Court dismissed the action because of the res judicata effect of the County Court's decision of 25 January 1996. 15. It appears from the parties' submissions that the judgments of 13 March 1995 and 25 January 1996 have to date not been enforced.

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5. The first and fifth applicants were born in 1960. The second applicant was born in 1959. The third applicant was born in 1969. The fourth applicant was born in 1945. The sixth applicant was born in 1965. The applicants are nationals of Ukraine and reside in Beryslav, the Kherson Region. 6. In April 1998 the applicants initiated proceedings in the Beryslav City Court (the “Beryslav Court”) against the Department of Education of the Beryslav Municipal Council (the “Department”), seeking to recover an additional salary payment allegedly due to them for their time-in-service. 7. On 13 May 1998 the Beryslav Court allowed the applicants' claims and ordered the Department to pay the applicants the additional salary (time-in-service bonuses). In particular, it ordered that the first applicant be paid UAH 570.85[1] in compensation, the second – UAH 367.52[2], the third – UAH 204.3[3], the fourth – UAH 863.4[4], the fifth – UAH 561.4[5], and the sixth applicant – UAH 292.3[6]. 8. On 18 May 1998 the Beryslav City Bailiffs' service (the “Bailiffs”) initiated enforcement proceedings for the judgment of 13 May 1998. 9. On 2 August 1999 the Beryslav Court suspended the execution of the judgment for three months due to the lack of funds in the budget of the Department. 10. On 7 March 2001 the Bailiffs informed the applicants that the Beryslav Court had suspended the execution of the judgment of 13 May 1998. On 13 August 2002 the Bailiffs informed the applicants that the judgment of 13 May 1998 would be executed when the State had provided the necessary budgetary funding. The judgment remained unenforced due to the Department's lack of funds. 11. On 31 July 2003 the amounts due to them pursuant to the judgment of 13 May 1998 were transferred to the applicants. They received the following amounts (the initial sums awarded by that judgment having been subjected to taxation): the first applicant – UAH 401.2[7], the second applicant – UAH 276.35[8], the third applicant – UAH 173.18[9], the fourth applicant – UAH 640.46[10], the fifth applicant – UAH 419.94[11], and the sixth applicant – UAH 242.98[12].

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4. The applicant was born in 1950 and lives in the district of Kuşadası in the province of Aydın. 5. On 9 June 1989 the Kuşadası District Council (hereinafter “the Council”) and the applicant signed an agreement. By virtue of this agreement the Council unconditionally allocated part of the historic castle in Kuşadası to the applicant to open and run a museum for an indefinite period. On 18 July 1989 the applicant was issued with a special title deed to the property enabling him to open the museum. 6. On 26 May 1990 the museum was opened to the public following the grant of a licence by the Ministry of Culture. 7. On 22 April 1991 the Council annulled the agreement of 9 June 1989 on the ground that the applicant had not signed a protocol with the Mayor of Kuşadası within 15 days from the date of the opening of the museum. Pursuant to such a protocol the applicant would have undertaken to pay the Council 40% of the money generated from the sale of the entrance tickets to visitors to the museum. Items displayed in the museum were removed from the museum by the Council's employees. 8. On 27 June 1991 the applicant brought an action before the Aydın Administrative Court requesting the annulment of the Council's decision of 22 April 1991. 9. On 12 November 1991 the Aydın Administrative Court annulled the decision on the ground that the Council had never informed the applicant about the protocol or warned him about its intention to rescind the agreement. The Council appealed against the decision. 10. On 2 May 1995 the Supreme Administrative Court quashed the Aydın Administrative Court's decision of 12 November 1991. 11. On 28 September 1995 the Aydın Administrative Court acceded to the Supreme Administrative Court's decision and rejected the applicant's request to annul the Council's decision. The court noted that a clause in the initial agreement between the Council and the applicant had stipulated that 40% of the income would be handed over to the Council. The court further observed that the applicant had been reminded by the Council about this clause on 24 May 1990 and had been urged to sign the protocol. 12. On 27 February 1997 the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the applicant's appeal. 13. On 3 April 1997 the applicant applied to the Supreme Administrative Court and requested the rectification of the latter's decision of 27 February 1997. 14. On 23 December 1998 the Supreme Administrative Court refused the applicant's request for rectification.

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9. The applicant, Mrs Svetlana Borisovna Naumenko, was born on 26 January 1956 and currently resides in Odessa. 10. On 5 May 1991 the applicant was recognised as having been a relief worker at the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Plant disaster. The appropriate certificate (an identity card) was issued to the applicant by the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. 11. In November 1991 the applicant was recognised as falling within the second category of invalidity in relation to her participation in the relief work at Chernobyl. 12. On 22 April 1992 the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic annulled the certificate issued on 5 May 1991 because the applicant had not stayed and worked in the “Chernobyl alienation zone” (тридцятикілометрова зона або зона відчудження)[*]. 13. On 7 November 1992 the Ministry of Health dismissed a petition filed by the chief doctor of the Odessa City Ambulance Service (the applicant's place of employment) requesting that the employees (including the applicant) of the Odessa City Ambulance Service who had worked in the alienation zone be given the status of relief workers. 14. On 1 September 1993 the Ministry of Chernobyl Affairs informed the chief doctor of the Odessa City Ambulance Service that there were no documents proving that the employees had stayed in the alienation zone. 15. In February 1994 the applicant lodged complaints with the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa, seeking to establish that she had indeed stayed in the alienation zone. On 3 March 1994 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa delivered a judgment in which it accepted that the applicant had stayed in the alienation zone on 27 and 29 May 1986. The judgment became enforceable on 14 March 1994. 16. On 6 October 1994 the Odessa Regional Court dismissed as groundless the motion filed by the Chairman of the Odessa Regional Council's Commission on the Status of Victims of the Chernobyl Catastrophe to reverse the judgment of 3 March 1994. 17. On 28 December 1994 the Odessa Regional Council issued a certificate (an identity card) acknowledging the applicant's status as a victim of the Chernobyl disaster, as established by the decision of 3 March 1994. 18. On 8 June 1995 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution no. 404 introducing amendments to its earlier Resolution of 25 August 1992 no. 501 on the Procedure for the Issue of Certificates (Identity Cards) to Victims of the Chernobyl Catastrophe. By virtue of these amendments, court judgments could not serve as a basis for the issue of certificates (identity cards) nor provide proof of being a victim of the disaster and thereby give entitlement to special State benefits and social payments. 19. On 14 December 1995 the Commission on Disputes of the Ministry of Chernobyl Affairs refused to confirm the applicant's status as a Chernobyl victim since the relief work had taken place outside the alienation zone. 20. On 18 January 1996 the Odessa Regional Council's Commission on the Status of Victims of the Chernobyl Catastrophe (the “Commission”) annulled the decision of 28 December 1994 by which a certificate was issued to the applicant. 21. On 6 March 1996 the Chairman of the Department of Social Security of the Odessa Regional Council adopted a decision withdrawing the certificate from the applicant, suspending her social security payments and annulling the benefits awarded to her as a victim of the Chernobyl disaster. 22. On 18 June 1996 the Commission adopted a decision annulling the certificate. 23. In August 1996 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court. 24. On 9 August 1996 the Supreme Court informed the applicant by letter that the refusal to issue a certificate could be appealed in accordance with the procedure established by law. 25. On 12 January 1999 the applicant instituted proceedings in the Primorsky District Court of Odessa in order to annul the decision of 18 January 1996 and to oblige the Commission to recognise her status as a Chernobyl victim and to re-issue the certificate. 26. On 26 January 1999 the District Court allowed her claims and declared the actions of the Commission unlawful. It also annulled the Commission's decisions and ordered it to issue a document recognising the applicant's status as a Chernobyl victim. The decision became enforceable on 6 February 1999. 27. On 6 February 1999 the Commission annulled its decision of 18 January 1996 and confirmed the applicant's status as a relief worker. The applicant's name was entered in the register of disabled Chernobyl relief workers. 28. In April 1999 the Deputy Chairman of the Odessa Regional Council's Commission on the Status of Chernobyl Victims filed a motion with the President of the Odessa Regional Court, requesting the President to lodge a protest against the decision of 26 January 1999 with a view to quashing it. 29. On 7 May 1999 the President of the Odessa Regional Court dismissed this petition as unsubstantiated. 30. On 14 January 2000 the Commission issued a Chernobyl victim identity card to the applicant. The applicant's name was also entered in the list of persons who had requested improved living conditions. 31. On 21 March 2000 the applicant filed a motion with the Primorsky District Court of Odessa for an interpretation of its judgment of 26 January 1999. She also requested that the Commission calculate her benefits and pension as from 18 January 1996 and compensate her for arrears in benefits from that same date. 32. On 28 March 2000 the Primorsky District Court of Odessa allowed the applicant's claims and ruled that the amount of compensation, arrears and benefits was to be calculated and paid to the applicant as from 18 January 1996. 33. On 15 June 2000 the applicant requested the Primorsky District Court of Odessa to issue her a writ of execution in respect of the ruling of 28 March 2000. On 13 July 2000 the Primorsky District Court of Odessa allowed the applicant's request and issued this writ. 34. The execution proceedings commenced on 19 July 2000, i.e. two days after the Illichevsk District Execution Service of Odessa Region had received the writ. 35. On 11 August 2000 the Illichevsk District Execution Service held that it had no jurisdiction over the enforcement of the ruling in the applicant's case. 36. On 29 August 2000 (28 August 2000 according to the Government) the Deputy President of the Odessa Regional Court lodged a protest with the Presidium of the Odessa Regional Court, requesting that the case be re-examined and the judgment of the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa of 3 March 1994 establishing the fact of the applicant's stay in the alienation zone reversed. 37. On 6 September 2000 the Presidium of the Odessa Regional Court allowed the protest and quashed the decision of 3 March 1994. It also remitted the case to the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa for re-consideration. 38. On 16 July 2001 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa upheld the applicant's complaint, finding that she had stayed in the alienation zone on 27 and 29 May 1986. 39. On 14 August 2001 the Odessa Regional State Administration lodged an appeal against the judgment of 16 July 2001. 40. On 12 October 2001 the case file was transferred to the Odessa Regional Court of Appeal. However, it was sent back to the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa on 25 October 2001 since it was necessary to rule on the request for leave to appeal against the decision of 16 July 2001. 41. On 12 November 2001 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa found that the Odessa Regional State Administration had failed to comply with the formalities envisaged by law for the introduction of appeals. The Administration was given until 20 November 2001 to rectify this shortcoming. 42. On 23 November 2001 the Odessa Regional Council rectified the shortcoming and appealed against the decision of 16 July 2001, seeking its annulment. 43. On 6 December 2001 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa extended until 10 December 2001 the time-limit for the Odessa Regional State Administration to lodge a petition. 44. On 28 December 2001 the Odessa Regional Court of Appeal sent the case file to the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa requesting it to rule on the formal defects in the appeal that had been introduced out of time. 45. On 29 January 2002 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa allowed the Administration's motion to extend the time-limit for filing an appeal with the Odessa Regional Court of Appeal. 46. On 1 February 2002 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa sent the case file to the Odessa Regional Court of Appeal. 47. On 22 February 2002 the Odessa Regional Court of Appeal decided to initiate appeal proceedings in the case and scheduled a hearing on the merits for 14 May 2002. 48. On 14 May 2002 the Odessa Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 16 July 2001 and remitted the case to the same first-instance court. 49. On 17 July 2002 the case file was remitted to the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa for further consideration. 50. Between 12 August 2002 and 23 September 2002 the case could not be heard as the judge was on leave. 51. The case was scheduled for examination on 18 October 2002. 52. The hearing was adjourned to 8 November 2002 as the Ministry of Health, the State enterprise RUZOD and the Ministry of the Interior had failed to comply with the court's order of 17 July 2002 to provide relevant documentary evidence of the applicant's involvement in relief work at Chernobyl. The evidence requested by the court did not arrive until 18 October 2002. 53. On 8 November 2002 the Illichevsk District Court of Odessa held a hearing in the applicant's case. On the same date the court postponed the hearing until 29 November 2002 in order to summon specific witnesses. 54. On 29 November 2002 the hearing was rescheduled for 19 December 2002 as the Administration had requested that additional witnesses be summoned. 55. On 19 December 2002 the court heard the additional witnesses. It also scheduled another hearing for 16 January 2003 in order to allow time for the transfer of the case file relating to the applicant's status as a Chernobyl relief worker from the Primorsky District Court of Odessa. 56. On 16 January 2003 the hearing was rescheduled as the Administration's representative did not have a valid letter of authority. The next hearing was scheduled for 22 January 2003. 57. On 22 January 2003 the applicant lodged a motion with the court seeking the adjournment of the hearing in her case so that she could provide additional information about her claims. The hearing was rescheduled for 10 February 2003. 58. On 6 March 2003 the Malinovsky District Court of Odessa (the case having been transferred to this court in accordance with the territorial division of the districts of Odessa) found that the applicant had been a relief worker at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and had stayed in the “alienation zone”. There was no appeal against this decision and it became final on 8 April 2003. 59. On 13 March 2003 the Malinovsky District State Execution Service initiated execution proceedings in the case. 60. The decision of 6 March 2003 was executed on 8 May 2003 once the applicant had received the Chernobyl victim certificate. 61. On 12 May 2003 the Malinovsky District State Execution Service terminated the execution proceedings since they had been completed. 62. On 13 November 2003 the Malinovsky District Court of Odessa gave an interpretation of the judgment of 6 March 2003 to the effect that the applicant stayed in the alienation zone from 26 May to 4 June 1986. 63. 24 May 2004 the Malinovsky Distrtict Court of Odessa awarded the applicant UAH 13,253.01 in unpaid pension for the period from 1 September 1996 to 1 November 2003. It also held that the applicant's monthly salary should be UAH 307,65.

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4. The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Germany. 5. The applicant wrote an article entitled “Kurdistan: will it become a common colony of Europe?” in “Newroz”, a weekly newspaper published in Istanbul. 6. The article read: “The Turkish bourgeoisie has being advancing their intention of associating with the European Community since the date of the Treaty of Rome. However, the economic and political problems of Turkey have not been solved since that date. The conditions for association have not been established either. On the other hand, the founders of the European Union are not keen on taking on board a huge problem with its fifteen million unemployed people and serious economic and social problems. Considering the still unresolved problems of German unification and the unexpected economic integration of East European countries, the acceptance of Turkey by the Community definitely seems impossible. However, Europe does not want to keep out Turkey completely. It is keen on keeping Turkey within its hinterland as an investment area and a market. The dilemma of either being part of Europe or outside Europe is a common thread. Briefly, the structural problem of Turkey and the unwillingness of Europe for association with it intersect. On the one hand, the pressures on Turkey from the various institutions of European association on matters such as “Democracy”, “Human Rights”, “the Kurdish Problem”, etc. reflect the reaction of domestic public opinion in Europe. On the other hand, these pressures are being used as an excuse to keep Turkey out. The above issue has to be emphasised in order to point out the defects in the sincerity both of the approaches to the solution of the Kurdish problem and the idea that the European institutions are the purest supporters of democracy and human rights. The customs union seems an acquired right or an opportunity for Turkey. However, it also seems very difficult for Turkey, having regard to her political and economical problems. The way to the customs union and the European Union will result in important changes for the Kurdish National Movement. In the first instance, Kurdistan, already shared by the colonialist Middle East States, will become a common colony of Europe along with her Turkish part. Accordingly, Kurdistan's political and social problems which originate from her colonial status will be directly addressed to Europe. It will become easier for Turkey to control Kurdistan by economic means than has been the case with its control through military force and political violence. This means that Kurdistan will become an economic and political environment for Turkey such that she will have neither the need for, nor the possibility to keep, Kurdistan as a classic colony. One of the direct political effects of this situation will be Europe's insistence on the direct application of its rules to solve the Kurdish problem. Europe is closely interested in both national matters and in the Kurdistan problem and has its own experiences of colonialism. Another political effect is that most of the Kurdish refugee organisations in Europe are supporting and promoting the European solution. This approach considers the future of the Kurdish community in a Turkish Republic associated with Europe. Kurdish intellectuals in Europe are also supporting this approach and conveying their political message to Kurdistan. Any possible tension with Europe will have a direct effect on the politics of the subject groups. The improvement of relations or a possible customs union with the European Union will benefit this approach and will have increased political effect or will gain more acceptance from the Turkish Government in consequence. However, the Kurdish Revolution has already abolished the classical colonial conditions and has stressed the need for a local/national solution. The dimensions of the problem and the strict militarist bureaucracy of the Turkish political structure prove that Europe is not and will not be the determining factor for either Turkey or Kurdistan.” 7. On 13 February 1995 the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court accused the applicant of disseminating propaganda against the unity of the Turkish nation and the “indivisible unity of the State”. He requested, inter alia, that the applicant be convicted under section 8 of Law No. 3713. He relied on the terms of the above article in support of his application. During the proceedings an amendment to section 8 entered into force (Law no. 4126) and, in consequence, the public prosecutor pressed for the applicant's conviction on the strength of the new amendment which increased the level of the fine for the offence with which he was charged but reduced the term of imprisonment which could be imposed. 8. In the proceedings before the Istanbul State Security Court the applicant acknowledged that he had drafted the article and asserted that the expression of an opinion could not constitute an offence. 9. On 13 December 1996 the Istanbul State Security Court, composed of three judges including a military judge, found the applicant guilty as charged. It ruled that the impugned article referred to a particular region of Turkey as “Kurdistan” and that the applicant's comments, taken as a whole, amounted to separatist propaganda. The court sentenced the applicant under section 8(1) of Law no. 3713, as amended by Law no. 4126, to one year, eight months and ten days' imprisonment and a fine of 111,111,111 Turkish liras (TRL) (847 euros (EUR)), to be paid in twenty monthly instalments. 10. On 12 June 1997 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the State Security Court. The judgment of the Court of Cassation was deposited with the Registry of the first-instance court on 10 July 1997.

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4. The applicants were born in 1935 and 1968 respectively and live in Saint‑Petersburg. 5. The applicants invested money in the construction of a block of flats. The contractors failed to provide the applicants with a flat in time. 6. On 26 August 1996 the applicants brought an action against the contractors before the Primorskiy District Court of Saint-Petersburg (“the district court”). 7. The district court initiated proceedings in the case on 6 December 1996, after the applicants had paid a court fee. 8. On 10 February 1998 the district court refused to entertain the application because of the applicants' alleged failure to attend hearings. This decision was not served on the applicants. 9. On 23 June 1998 the applicants, who claimed that they had never been summoned, appealed and asked for the restoration of the relevant time limit. 10. On 26 November 1998 the Saint-Petersburg City Court quashed the district court's decision of 10 February 1998 as unlawful in view of the lack of evidence that the applicants had ever been summoned to the hearings. It ordered the district court to examine the case. 11. On 31 December 1998 the district court scheduled a hearing for 31 March 1999. 12. The hearing was adjourned on 31 March 1999 to 8 July 1999 and on 8 July 1999 to 8 December 1999 on the ground of the defendants' failure to appear. 13. On 8 December 1999 the hearing was adjourned to 3 May 2000 as the judge was ill. 14. On 3 May 2000 the hearing was adjourned to 30 November 2000 because of the failure of the defendants to appear. 15. During 1999‑2000 the applicants filed a number of complaints with the district court, the Saint-Petersburg City Court and the Supreme Court requesting the acceleration of the examination of their case. 16. On 30 November 2000 the hearing was adjourned to 9 March 2001 as the judge was ill. 17. Between 9 March 2001 and 31 October 2001 the hearing was adjourned twice at the request of both parties. 18. On 31 October 2001 the hearing was adjourned to 11 February 2002 because the defendant failed to appear. 19. On 11 April 2002 the district court examined the case and rejected the applicants' claim for a flat on the ground that all the flats in the block in question had already been distributed among other investors. The court noted that as regards the investments made, the applicants' interests were protected in the framework of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings against the contractors. 20. On 15 April 2002 the applicants appealed. 21. On 14 November 2002 the Saint-Petersburg City Court upheld the judgment.

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10. The applicants, Mr Vincenzo Del Latte and Mr Angelo Del Latte, were born in 1966 and 1967 respectively and live in Volendam, the Netherlands. 11. On 22 June 1996 the applicants went together to the home of one Y., with whom they had quarrelled in a bar earlier. Finding Y. at home, one of them – apparently Vincenzo Del Latte – fired three shots from a gun in his general direction. 12. The applicants were arrested on the same day and charged with the attempted murder, or in the alternative, the attempted manslaughter of Y. The applicant Angelo Del Latte was in addition charged, in the further alternative, with aiding and abetting the attempted murder or manslaughter by Vincenzo Del Latte. 13. The applicants were taken into police custody (inverzekeringstelling) and thereafter kept in detention on remand (voorlopige hechtenis). 14. A first trial hearing took place before the Haarlem Regional Court (arrondissementsrechtbank) on 30 September 1996. On 14 October 1996 the Regional Court gave an interlocutory judgment remitting the case to the investigating judge (rechter-commissaris) for additional investigations. A second trial hearing was held on 7 January 1997. 15. On 9 January 1997 the Regional Court gave judgment acquitting the applicants of all charges. This entailed the applicants' immediate release from detention on remand. The prosecution appealed. 16. Following a hearing on 21 November 1997, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (gerechtshof) gave judgment on 5 December 1997 upholding the Regional Court's acquittal. Since in the Netherlands no appeal on points of law is possible against an acquittal (Article 430 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van Strafvordering) – hereinafter “CCP”), this brought the criminal proceedings to an end. 17. Both applicants applied to the Court of Appeal in January 1998, each seeking monetary compensation in an amount of 31,200 Netherlands guilders (NLG) for the time spent in pre-trial detention (Article 89 CCP – see below). 18. A hearing was held on 24 April 1998. 19. On 5 June 1998 the Court of Appeal gave decisions dismissing the applicants' claims. Its reasoning, identical in both decisions, was the following (emphasis added): “The Court of Appeal finds that the file contains sufficient evidence to prove that the applicant together with his brother went to the home of the victim [Y.] in Edam-Volendam and that shots were fired by one of them through [Y.]'s living-room window with a firearm. At that moment [Y.] was in that living-room. However, it has not been established conclusively (onomstotelijk) that the shooting was intended to kill [Y.]. However, in view of the other circumstances as they appear from the file, the actions of the applicant and his brother amounted to threats, within the meaning of Article 285 of the Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht – hereinafter “CC”). The behaviour of the applicant together with his brother in any case justified that he be taken into police custody and subsequently held in detention on remand. The Haarlem Regional Court, and also the Court of Appeal, have had to consider the case on the basis of the indictment prepared by the public prosecutor (officier van justitie). This indictment was limited to attempted murder/manslaughter. It did not contain any charge of threatening to commit a crime directed against life. The Regional Court and the Court of Appeal found insufficient evidence to support the charges contained in the indictment, and the applicant had to be acquitted as a consequence. In the light of the above, the Court of Appeal's acquittal can be qualified as a 'technical' acquittal, since adding a further alternative charge, as indicated above, would have led to a conviction. In the circumstances the Court of Appeal finds no reasons in equity to award the applicant any compensation for the police custody and detention on remand.”

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5. The applicant was born in 1955 and was imprisoned in the central prison of Ankara at the time of the introduction of his application. He currently lives in Ankara. 6. On 31 May 1995 an article titled “The International Atatürk Peace Award” (“Uluslararası Atatürk Barış Ödülü”) was printed by the applicant in the daily Yeni Politika newspaper. On the same day the newspaper was seized by security forces upon the order of the Istanbul public prosecutor at the printing office, before being distributed. The impugned article read: “Peace, just like freedom, is a sacred creation of human consciousness and desire. This treasure deserves constant struggle, sincerity, alertness and solidarity for it. Peace, just like freedom, requires sacrifice and effort. It is certain that all peoples of the world understood the value and meaning of keeping peace better after the two world wars whose pain will continue to horrify the human consciousness for centuries. The rise of the anti-war movements, both at the national and international level, is the reflection of this consciousness. In fact, history has proven that for a permanent peace it is essential that an end be put to all forms of exploitation and discrimination and that the social system rest on the foundations of tolerance, mutual respect for rights, justice and the rule of law. This undisputable principle is also the only guarantee for today, both nationally and internationally. Nowadays, peace movements in many countries, in addition to their own peace efforts in their countries, monitor the events out of their countries like a radar device and try to offer solidarity with people who fight for peace and freedom. In order to realize this purpose, national committees are being set up and the peace efforts of individuals and institutions are supported with annual peace awards. These committees’ decisions are generally taken after meticulous inquiries concerning the nominees. Among these awards, the Nobel Peace Prize is the most distinguished one. As it is known, in the recent years the Republic of Turkey, having been influenced by the above-mentioned activities, introduced the International Atatürk Peace Award. By doing this, the statesmen, who have stripped concepts like freedom, equality, democracy, justice and law of their substance and who believe that they have succeeded in deceiving their own people and the international community with poor caricatures of those concepts, likewise have diluted and distorted the concept of peace. First of all, those who cannot establish democracy in all the institutions and regulations of their country, those who ignore human rights and who want to destroy all values of the people with racist and ravaging policies should not have the right to use a high concept like peace, insincerely, for their political purposes. Which country, where people are tortured and killed in custody, made to “disappear”, shot in the middle of a street; where villages and towns are evacuated, forests are burned down, gives a peace award? No. Nobody has the right to pollute the concept of peace and no one should. It is known that the roots of the increasingly dirty war in Turkey today go back to the first years of the Republic. And who is responsible for the period between 1925 and 1938 when the identity and rights of the Kurdish people were denied and the experiments of brutal genocide were put into practice? Who is the architect of the policies of the Republic of Turkey which aimed at denying and exterminating Kurds from history? What is it, if not hypocrisy, to pronounce the name of the person who is the godfather of today’s dirty war together with the word ‘peace’ and to organize a peace prize in his name? No!...No!... No one should have the right to abuse a mighty concept like peace in such a way. In fact the reason for which Nelson Mandela, who became a symbol by fighting against racist discrimination in South Africa, refused to accept the International Atatürk Peace Award is this hypocrisy and the inhuman policies pursued against the Kurds. A committee consisting, inter alia, of state officials gave the International Atatürk Peace Award of 1995 to the Red Crescent on 19 May. As its name suggests, it is an international prize. Does not the fact that by giving the prize to a national institution and not to a peace defender outside Turkey, thereby, trying to avoid the risk of being rejected as it was the case with Mandela, demonstrates the helplessness and loss of credibility of the state? Is it not the Red Crescent which ignores the Kurdish villagers who were forced to live in plastic tents in urban shanty towns after their villages have been burned down, distributing candies to Kurdish children who were forced to shout “How happy I am that I am a Turk” by soldiers during the occupation of Southern Kurdistan. It also acted as a camouflage for the agents of the MIT (The National Intelligence Organisation) who were bribing in Duhok. It is the Red Crescent which was warned and censured several times by the International Red Cross for disregarding the Geneva Conventions. It should not be a surprise if this award is given to the Special War Unit next year. It is a peculiar manifestation of history that while the State of Turkey is lowering itself, peace awards from Denmark, Germany and Vienna are being given to the Diyarbakır MP of the DEP in prison, Leyla Zana, for being a symbol of the Kurdish people’s fight for freedom and democracy. Leyla Zana is also a strong candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here is the state policy for an unjustified and hypocritical war on one side and the legitimate and just fight for freedom on the other side. These are the two sides of the same medal and their difference reflects itself on the international level. Once more history gives its final judgment: those who try to block the way of the wheel of history will lose and those who are correct and who support peace and freedom will absolutely win.” 7. On 19 July 1995 the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court filed a bill of indictment charging the applicant under Article 312 § § 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code with incitement to hatred and hostility by making distinctions on the basis of race and region. 8. In the context of the criminal proceedings against him, the applicant acknowledged that he drafted the article. He further asserted that he expressed his opinions and that his article did not contain any element which could constitute an offence. 9. On 3 April 1996 the Istanbul State Security Court, composed of three judges including a military judge, found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 600,000 Turkish liras. The judgment reasoned as follows: “Considering the article titled “The International Atatürk Peace Award” in its entirety, the court is of the opinion that the accused committed the offence of incitement to hatred and hostility by making distinctions on the basis of race and region since he stated that people with Kurdish origin living in the eastern and south‑eastern regions of Turkey were subjected to inhuman treatment on the basis of their identity.” 10. On 3 July 1996 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the first-instance court.

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11. The case concerns the granting of permits to operate a gold mine in Ovacık, in the district of Bergama (İzmir) The applicants live in Bergama and the surrounding villages. 12. Mr Sefa Taşkın, born in 1950, was formerly the mayor of Bergama. He now lives in Dikili, ten kilometres away from the Ovacık gold mine. Mr Tahsin Sezer, born in 1952, lives with his family in the village of Çamköy, which is 300 metres from the mine. He is a farmer and owns land in the surrounding area. Mr Ali Karacaoğlu, born in 1950, lives with his family in the village of Çamköy. He owns land adjacent to the mine, on which he grows tobacco and olive trees. Mrs Günseli Karacaoğlu, born in 1976, is the wife of the muhtar (elected local official) of the village of Çamköy. She is a livestock farmer. Mr Muhterem Doğrul, born in 1949, lives in Çamköy. He is a livestock farmer. He and his family own an olive grove adjacent to the mine. Mr İbrahim Dağ, born in 1951, lives in Çamköy. He is a livestock farmer and owns agricultural land near the mine, on some of which olive trees have been planted. Mr Ali Duran, born in 1976, lives with his family in Çamköy. He is a livestock farmer. Mr Sezer Umaç, born in 1978, used to live in the village of Süleymanlı, which is 900 metres from the mine. He asserts that he left the village recently on account of damage to the environment. Mrs Ayşe Öçkan is the widow of Mr İzzet Öçkan, who died on 13 January 2004. She lives in the Bergama area and owns land near the mine. Mr Hasan Geniş, born in 1968, lives in the village of Süleymanlı. He is a driver. 13. The applicants alleged that, as a result of the Ovacık gold mine’s development and operation, they had suffered and continued to suffer the effects of environmental damage; specifically, these include the movement of people and noise pollution caused by the use of machinery and explosives. 14. On 16 August 1989 the public limited company E.M. Eurogold Madencilik (“the company”), subsequently renamed Normandy Madencilik A.Ş., received authorisation to begin prospecting for gold. 15. On 4 July and 12 August 1991 the Directorate of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry for Forests issued the two required permits to the company. 16. On 14 January 1992 the İzmir Directorate of Public Works sent a letter to the Ministry of the Environment requesting its opinion on the Ovacık gold mine. 17 On 12 February 1992 the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources issued the company with an operating permit for the Ovacık gold mine. This permit was valid for ten years and authorised the use of cyanide leaching in the gold extraction process. 18. On 22 June 1992 the company began felling trees in part of the forestry area granted to it. The rest of the forest was left untouched in order to form a protection zone. 19. In accordance with section 10 of the Environment Act (Law no. 2872 – see paragraph 91 below), the procedure for an environmental impact report was launched on the Ministry of the Environment’s initiative. 20. On 26 October 1992 a public meeting was held as part of the preparations for the impact report. During that meeting, the public criticised, inter alia, the tree felling and the use of explosives and sodium cyanide; they also expressed their concerns about the seepage of waste into underground water supplies. The experts attending the meeting were asked a number of questions about the waste-retaining dam, the risks in the event of an earthquake and the state in which the gold mine would be left after its closure. In particular, there were calls for a referendum and for the necessary measures to be taken. The experts described other countries’ experiences in this area. Mr İpekoğlu explained that this type of activity always carried a certain risk, which had to be managed correctly. Mr Erdem criticised the way in which the impact study was being prepared and recommended that a new procedure be started. The mayor, Mr Taşkın, explained that the municipal council had given considerable thought to the disputed gold mine and its impact on the environment. He stated that he was not against its operation; however, he did ask that the necessary measures be taken, particularly with regard to the waste-retaining dam and the introduction of a rigorous monitoring system. Finally, he pointed out that an earthquake had occurred in the region in 1938. 21. After twenty-seven months of preparation, the impact report was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment. On 19 October 1994, basing its decision largely on the conclusions of that report, the Ministry decided to issue an operating permit for the Ovacık gold mine. 22. The mine was ready to start operating as of November 1997, when the other administrative procedures had been completed and, according to the Government, all necessary measures had been taken in order to comply with national and international standards. 23. On 8 November 1994 some of the residents of Bergama and the neighbouring villages, including the applicants, applied to the İzmir Administrative Court requesting judicial review of the Ministry of the Environment’s decision to issue a permit. They based their arguments, inter alia, on the dangers inherent in the company’s use of cyanide to extract the gold, and especially the risks of contamination of the groundwater and destruction of the local flora and fauna. They also criticised the risk posed to human health and safety by that extraction method. 24. On 2 July 1996 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicants’ request. It held that the gold mine fulfilled the criteria set out in the environmental impact report and that the decision in issue had been adopted in accordance with the authorisation procedure for environmentally sensitive projects. 25. On 25 April 1997, with a view to protecting public order and preventing disturbances and in view of the numerous protests which had followed the delivery of the Administrative Court’s judgment, the İzmir provincial governor ordered that the mine’s operation be suspended for one month. 26. On 13 May 1997 the Supreme Administrative Court, to which the applicants had appealed, overturned the lower court’s judgment. It assessed the physical, ecological, aesthetic, social and cultural effects of the mining activity in question as described in the environmental impact survey and the various expert reports which had been submitted to it. It held that those reports demonstrated the risk posed to the local ecosystem and to human health and safety by sodium cyanide use; it concluded that the operating permit in issue did not serve the public interest and that the safety measures which the company had undertaken to implement did not suffice to eliminate the risks involved in such an activity. The relevant passages of the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment read as follows: “The environmental impact report and expert reports examined the impact of cyanide use on the atmosphere, underground water sources, flora and fauna, the disturbance linked to noise and vibrations, and regional planning issues. [It is noted that] the potential for soil erosion in the region through the effects of water (flooding) and wind is relatively high and the level of erosion of forestry land falls into Categories 2 and 3 and, in certain areas, Category 1 ... The soil is permeable; the area forms part of the [high-risk zone] for earthquakes. Rainfall in the area in question will result in flooding in summer and spring on account of its distribution and force; flooding occurs in these seasons in the [proposed] tailings area. The region’s inhabitants use the groundwater; in the event of seepage, it could become polluted by toxic waste. Cyanide has a high pH value, which is influenced by rainfall: when the pH level falls, the cyanide may transform into hydrogen cyanide (HCN). HCN, a gas with a relatively low boiling point (25.7o), is likely to enter the atmosphere ... [In addition,] the risk of seepage of materials into the groundwater may last twenty to fifty years ... [and,] in the event of seepage into the atmosphere or soil, there may be adverse consequences for the environment and for the flora and fauna. [However, the above-mentioned reports note that guarantees such as] the operating company’s good faith, scrupulous observance of the conditions set out in the operating contract, and trust in the monitoring and supervision to be carried out by the central and local authorities led to the conclusion that the decision in question served the public interest ... It appears from the above-mentioned reports that cyanide use in gold mining and the other heavy elements which are subsequently released constitute a potential risk which would endanger the environment and human health; in particular, when cyanide, an extremely toxic substance, mixes with soil, water and air, it becomes harmful to all living beings. Consequently, it is possible that waste material containing cyanide, after pumping to the retaining dams, could seep into and pollute water sources and other sites [where water is used] ... The region’s flora and fauna are also threatened. [Accordingly], it must be borne in mind that cyanide use poses a considerable risk to human health and the environment ... In the light of the technical and legal conclusions and bearing in mind the State’s obligation to protect the right to life [and] to a healthy environment ..., it is appropriate to overturn the judgment appealed against, given that the gold mine’s disputed operational methods entail the risks set out in the environmental impact report and the expert reports and that, should those risks be realised, human health would be clearly affected, directly or indirectly, through environmental damage ...” 27. On 15 October 1997, in compliance with the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment, the Administrative Court annulled the Ministry of the Environment’s decision to issue a permit. 29. By virtue of section 52(4) of Law no. 2577 on administrative procedure (“Law no. 2577”), the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment of 13 May 1997 entailed ipso facto a stay of execution of the Ministry of the Environment’s decision to issue a permit (see paragraph 97 below). 30. In a letter of 26 June 1997, the İzmir Bar Association asked the İzmir provincial governor’s office to ensure that the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment was enforced and, accordingly, to order that all operations be halted at the mine. 31. On 27 June 1997 the İzmir provincial governor’s office replied that there had been no final judgment and that the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources had expressed its support for the continuing operation of the mine. 32. On 20 October 1997 the Ministry of the Environment was served with the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment. On 23 October 1997 the Ministry invited the relevant authorities to reconsider the conditions attached to the operating permits in issue in view of the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment. 33. On 24 December 1997 the applicants sent letters containing enforcement notices to the Minister of the Environment, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister for Forests, as well as to the İzmir provincial governor, requesting enforcement of the administrative courts’ decisions. 34. On 6 January 1998 the applicants brought an action in damages before the Ankara District Court against, among others, the Prime Minister, the ministries concerned and the İzmir provincial governor for non-enforcement of the administrative courts’ decisions. 35. On 27 February 1998 the İzmir provisional governor’s office ordered that the mine be closed. According to the Government, the mine carried out no mining activities until April 2001. 36. On 3 March 1998 the public prosecutor at the Bergama Police Court brought criminal proceedings against the senior managers of the mining company, alleging that the company had used cyanidation in extraction operations at the mine without prior authorisation. 37. On 27 March 1998 the İzmir gendarmerie drew up a report following inspection of the site. It noted the use of three tonnes of cyanide, which had facilitated the extraction of a nugget of mixed gold and silver weighing 932 grams. This report also indicated that eighteen tonnes of cyanide were still stocked at the site. 39. On 25 September 2001 the Court of Cassation overturned the judgment of 25 November 1999 and remitted the case to the first-instance court. It found inertia on the part of the ministers concerned, who had taken no measures to prevent extraction using the cyanidation process within the time-limit provided for in section 28(1) of Law no. 2577 (see paragraph 96 below), despite the fact that they had been notified of the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment annulling the mine’s operating permit. 40. On 16 October 2002 the Ankara District Court, hearing the case on remittal, followed the Court of Cassation’s judgment and allowed the applicants’ claim. 42. On 12 October 1998, 28 January 1999 and 3 March 1999, the company contacted various ministries in order to obtain a permit. Specifically, it claimed to have taken additional measures to ensure better safety in the gold mine’s operation and referred, inter alia, to a risk assessment report on this question drawn up by the British company Golder Associates Ltd. 43. The then Prime Minister intervened directly with regard to the company’s request. On an application from him, the Supreme Administrative Court, in an advisory opinion of 5 December 1999, ruled that its judgment of 13 May 1997 could not be interpreted as an absolute prohibition on the use of cyanide in gold mining operations and that there were grounds for taking specific circumstances into consideration. 44. In a separate development, the Prime Minister instructed the Turkish Institute of Scientific and Technical Research (“TÜBİTAK”) in March 1999 to prepare a report assessing the potential impact of cyanide use in the gold-mining operations. In October 1999 TÜBİTAK’s report was submitted. It had been prepared by ten scientists who were experts in environmental issues, environmental law, chemistry, hydrogeology, geology, engineering geology and seismology. The report concluded that the risks to human life and the environment set out in the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment had been completely removed or reduced to a level within the acceptable limits, given that the mine was to use environmentally friendly advanced technology based on the “zero discharge” principle and that the risk of adverse impact on the ecosystem was, according to scientific criteria, much lower than the maximum acceptable level. 45. On 5 January 2000 the Prime Minister submitted the TÜBİTAK report to the Ministry of the Environment, requesting its opinion on the operation of the gold mine in question. 46. On 31 January 2000 the Ministry indicated its approval of the mine’s activities, in the light of the report’s conclusions. 47. On 5 April 2000 the Prime Minister’s Office drew up a report on the operation of the mine. The report concluded that, having regard to the additional measures taken by the company, the conclusions of the TÜBİTAK report, the Ministry of the Environment’s favourable opinion and the opinion of the President’s Administration, which had emphasised the economic importance of an investment of this type, the operation of the mine could be authorised. 48. On 1 June 2001 the First Division of the İzmir Administrative Court gave judgment following an application for judicial review, brought by eighteen residents of Bergama, including Mr Sefa Taşkın, with regard to the report issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on 5 April 2000. The Division decided to annul the report, which, in its opinion, constituted an enforceable administrative decision giving rise to the issuing of the requested permits. It held that, notwithstanding the measures taken by the company, it had been found in judicial decisions which had become final that the “risk and threat” in question resulted from the use of sodium cyanide in the gold mine concerned and that it was impossible to conclude that those risks could be avoided by implementing new measures. Equally, it had been established that the risk connected with the accumulation of heavy elements or cyanide could persist for twenty to fifty years and was likely to infringe the right of the area’s inhabitants to a healthy environment. Accordingly, it was appropriate to conclude that the decision in issue could circumvent a final judicial decision and was incompatible with the principle of the rule of law. 49. On 26 July 2001, at the Prime Minister’s request, the Supreme Administrative Court decided to suspend execution of the judgment of 1 June 2001. It found that the report of 5 April 2000 did not constitute an enforceable decision and was not open to appeal before the administrative courts. In addition, it held that only the ministries concerned, namely those of the Environment, of the Interior, of Health, of Regional Planning, of Energy and Natural Resources and for Forests were entitled to rule on this matter. 50. On 14 February 2001 the Fourth Division of the İzmir Administrative Court, on an application for judicial review brought by fourteen residents of Bergama, found that no environmental impact report had been drawn up by the Ministry of the Environment in connection with the operation of the gold mine. Consequently, it dismissed the application without examining the merits on the ground that no enforceable administrative decision had been taken. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld this judgment on 26 September 2001. 51. On 28 March 2003, on an application by a Mrs Lemke, a resident of Bergama, the First Division of the İzmir Administrative Court decided to set aside the report of 5 April 2000. 53. On 6 October 2000 the Directorate General of Forests adopted a decision which extended the operating permit which had been issued to the company on the basis of the TÜBİTAK report. 54. Initially, in a judgment of 21 November 2001, the Fourth Division of the İzmir Administrative Court dismissed the application for a stay of execution of the Directorate General of Forests’ decision. 55. However, on 23 January 2002, the First Division of the İzmir Administrative Court, on an application from Mrs Lemke, decided to suspend execution of the decision of 6 October 2000, considering that the issuing of such a permit was incompatible with the rule of law and that irreparable damage would result from its enforcement. 57. In a judgment of 7 June 2002, the Fourth Division of the İzmir Administrative Court dismissed an application for judicial review lodged by eighteen residents of Bergama against the decision of 6 October 2000, considering that the latter had been based on the issuing of a permit dated 12 February 1992, which was valid for a ten-year period. 59. In parallel, on 3 May 2002 the Directorate General of Forests gave permission, inter alia, for the establishment of a security area around the gold mine and for the construction of roads, a drilling zone and a waste-retaining dam. 60. On 13 November 2003 the Third Division of the İzmir Administrative Court, ruling on an application by Mrs Lemke, dismissed the application for a stay of execution of the Directorate General of Forests’ decision of 3 May 2002. That refusal was confirmed on 24 December 2003 by the İzmir Regional Administrative Court. 62. On 22 December 2000 the Ministry of Health adopted a decision authorising continued use of the cyanidation process at the mine for an experimental one-year period. The company was notified of this authorisation by the İzmir provincial governor’s office on 24 January 2001. On 2 February 2001 a supervisory and audit committee was set up at the İzmir provincial governor’s office. The company began mining operations on 13 April 2001. 63. On 24 May 2001 the application for judicial review lodged by several Bergama residents (Mrs Genç and others) was dismissed by the Third Division of the İzmir Administrative Court on the ground that the decision being challenged did not constitute an enforceable act. 65. In a judgment of 10 January 2002, the İzmir Administrative Court, on an application by the İzmir Bar Association, decided to suspend execution of the provisional permit issued by the Ministry of Health, holding that the issuing of such a permit was incompatible with the rule of law. 67. On 3 December 2002 the İzmir Administrative Court dismissed the application for judicial review brought by the İzmir Bar Association against the provisional permit on the ground that it did not have standing to bring the proceedings. On 12 November 2003 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Administrative Court’s judgment. 68. On 12 February 2004 the Ministry of the Environment and Forests extended the permit concerning “the chemical processing unit and waste pond” for a period of three years. 69. In a judgment of 27 May 2004, the Third Division of the İzmir Administrative Court set aside the provisional permit issued by the Ministry of Health on 22 December 2000. In particular, it considered that the risks highlighted in the judgment of 15 October 1997 were, inter alia, linked to the use of sodium cyanide in the gold mine concerned and to the climatic conditions and features of the region, which was situated in an earthquake zone. It held that those risks and threats could not be eliminated by supplementary measures which continued to be based on the same leaching process. It also concluded that the issuing of the permit in issue was incompatible with the principle of the rule of law, in that that administrative decision was in reality intended to amend a judicial decision that had become final. 71. On 13 January 2001 the Ministry of the Environment issued a three-year permit for the “chemical processing unit and waste pond”. On 16 February 2001 it also authorised the company to import sixty tonnes of sodium cyanide. 72. On 24 May 2001 the Third Division of the İzmir Administrative Court dismissed an application for judicial review brought by fourteen residents of Bergama against the issuing of a provisional operating permit to the company. It held that there was no enforceable administrative decision. 73. On 10 and 23 January 2002 the İzmir Administrative Court, acting on two applications for annulment of the provisional permit submitted by the İzmir Bar Association and a resident of the region, and having regard to the considerations set forth in the Supreme Administrative Court’s judgment of 13 May 1997, which had become final, ordered the suspension of the permit. 75. On 29 March 2002 the Council of Ministers adopted a “decision of principle” stating that the gold mine situated in the vicinity of Ovacık and Çamköy, in the district of Bergama (İzmir) and belonging to the company Normandy Madencilik A.Ş., could continue its activities. The decision was not made public. At the Court’s request, the Government sent the Court the text of the decision, which reads as follows: “According to the reports drawn up hitherto, it has been established that the gold mine situated in the vicinity of Ovacık and Çamköy, in the district of Bergama (İzmir), is a mining concern which contains mineral reserves amounting to 24 tonnes of gold and 24 tonnes of silver, provides employment for 362 persons and is worth 1,200 million United States dollars [USD] in added value to our country, including USD 280 million of direct revenue. It has been established that the decision to be taken in respect of this investment is of some importance, in that it will pave the way for six other gold mines. These mines, which have been located through prospecting costing a total of USD 200 million, will, with an investment of USD 500 million, create 1,450 jobs and be worth USD 2,500 million to the economy in direct terms and USD 10,000 million indirectly. Furthermore, according to experts in this field, our country has more than 6,500 tonnes of potential gold deposits, which represents a market value of USD 70,000 million, or USD 300,000 million taking added value into account. According to the report prepared by the ten scientists from the Turkish Institute of Scientific and Technical Research in October 1999, ‘the suspected risks to human health and the environment have been completely removed or reduced to levels considerably lower than the maximum acceptable limits’. Furthermore, given that the results of checks carried out during the test period permitted by the Ministry of Health were below the reference values, no negative data have been detected. The ‘Chemical substances’ section of the report by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), which presented the concept of sustainable development to international public opinion for the first time, indicates that chemical substances represent 10% of international trade and that there are 70,000 to 80,000 types of chemical substance. Toxicity data is unavailable for 80% of these. We note that the toxicity data for cyanide are known and that the cyanide leaching process, in development for over a century, is now at the leading edge of technology and can be applied without damage to human health provided that the necessary precautions are taken. In examining the progress made by the Bergama/Ovacık gold mine over the past twelve years, it is appropriate to note that the cyanide leaching process described in the 1991 environmental impact report – that is, carried out without filtering, based solely on clay pressure and subject to natural decomposition in the waste pond – has been discontinued. Advanced technology is now in place: the base of the waste pond is lined with clay and a high-density polyethylene geomembrane, and a cyanide filtering unit, a heavy-metals purification system [duraylama], an inspection shaft and various measuring tools are also used. For the above reasons, and bearing in mind their contribution to the country’s economy, it is considered advisable that the gold and silver mining concerns in the vicinity of Ovacık and Çamköy, in the district of Bergama (İzmir), operated by the company Normandy Madencilik A.Ş. under permit no. IR3549 of 12 February 1992, should continue their activities.” 76. On 30 July 2002 the Eighth Division of the Supreme Administrative Court declared inadmissible an application for judicial review brought by the İzmir Bar Association seeking annulment of the Council of Ministers’ decision of 29 March 2002 on the ground of procedural irregularity. 77. On 7 March 2004 the Supreme Administrative Court, sitting as a full court, set aside the judgment of 30 July 2002. In particular, it held that the Council of Ministers’ decision had not been published in the Official Gazette and had not been made public, although it was clear that the resumption of the gold mine’s activities had been based on it. The Supreme Administrative Court held that, in view of the appellant’s inability to obtain a copy of the disputed decision, the court ought to have obtained one of its own motion with a view to ensuring effective exercise of the judicial appeal. 78. On 23 June 2004 the Sixth Division of the Supreme Administrative Court ordered a stay of execution of the Council of Ministers’ decision. It noted, inter alia: “After the judgment which cancelled the Ministry of the Environment’s authorisation, it is clear that this Ministry did not decide to commission a new environmental impact report which would have enabled the operating company to demonstrate that it had taken measures to reduce or completely remove the adverse effects of the activity in question, as highlighted in the previously cited judgments ... Consequently, the Council of Ministers’ decision to authorise the activities of the gold mine in question was unlawful, given that the decision to issue a permit, based on the environmental impact report, had been overturned by the courts and that no other decision had been adopted pursuant to the Environment Act and the related regulations ...” 79. The application for judicial review of the Council of Ministers’ decision is still pending before the Supreme Administrative Court. 80. On 18 August 2004 the İzmir provincial governor’s office, referring to the judgment of 23 June 2004, ordered that production at the mine be halted. 81. In a letter of 27 August 2004, the Ministry of the Environment and Forests informed the Normandy Madencilik A.Ş. company that it was issuing a favourable opinion on the final environmental impact report submitted by the company. 82. The Normandy Madencilik A.Ş. company explained that, once the required permits had been issued in 1994, 1996 and November 1997, the gold mine was ready to start production. From 20 to 23 February 1998 production took place on an experimental basis. These activities were intended to provide an opportunity to check that the equipment was operating correctly, and were not geared towards commercial production. During this experimental period, 150 tonnes of ore were processed, producing 0.932 kg of gold, whereas the mine’s daily operational capacity was 1,000 tonnes of ore. 83. On 19 February 1998 the İzmir provincial governor’s office was informed of the experimental production. On 27 February 1998 it ordered the closure of the mine (see paragraph 35 above). In addition, it instituted criminal proceedings, abandoned in February 2001, against the company and its managers. 84. The rate of cyanide concentration in the tailings pond was measured until 27 February 1998. Those measurements show that the concentration rate was considerably lower than the internationally accepted norm. Furthermore, there was no seepage from the tailings pond into the surrounding environment. 85. The company pointed to the fact that there had been no activity at the gold mine after the administrative courts had ruled on the applications for judicial review. Subsequently, draconian new measures, which exceeded international standards, had been taken to ensure compliance with the specifications set out in the judicial decisions. In addition, two reports on the risks connected to the tailings pond and the use of sodium cyanide had been drawn up. Both concluded that those risks were negligible. 86. In 1999, on the basis of the risk assessment reports, the company reapplied for an operating permit for the gold mine in question. 87. Following the TÜBİTAK report, drawn up at the Prime Minister’s request, the company obtained the necessary permits and began production at the mine in April 2001. It is still operating at present. 88. Since the resumption of production at the mine, several studies to assess the risks or operating conditions have been carried out by Golder Associates Ltd, by a monitoring and auditing committee set up by the İzmir provincial governor’s office and by the ministries concerned. 89. In addition, the company disseminates a monthly report entitled “The Ovacık Gold Mine’s Monthly Environmental Report” to the public, non-governmental organisations and universities.

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7. The applicant was born in 1941 and lives in Vaasa, Finland. 8. The applicant is a journalist at the regional daily Pohjalainen which is published in Vaasa. In two articles published in January and February 1996 she described the allegedly unprofessional behaviour of an unnamed surgeon, “X”, which allegedly had caused the death of a patient in the Seinäjoki Central Hospital on 7 December 1992. The patient's top rib had been pressing on her artery, thereby hampering the blood flow in her left arm which would occasionally go numb. The surgery had consisted of shortening the top rib by 5-8 centimetres. Complications had arisen after the rib had been shortened and the patient was established to have died from the bursting of her subclavian vein and the blood flow into her pleural cavity. 9. The patient's widower, Mr Haapalainen, had filed a criminal complaint against X and another surgeon who had assisted during the operation. The National Medico-Legal Board (terveydenhuollon oikeusturvakeskus, rättsskyddscentralen för hälsovården) had not found it possible to establish at what stage of her operation Mrs Haapalainen had suffered the injury leading to her death. Consequently, no causal link could be established between the injury and the conduct of either of the two surgeons. 10. The Central Criminal Police had conducted a pre-trial investigation into the death. In April 1994 the Vaasa County Prosecutor had decided not to press charges against X, as there was no evidence that he was guilty either of an offence in office caused by negligence or of involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutor had reasoned, inter alia, as follows: “... From the point of view of criminal law it must be examined whether the subclavian vein burst as a result of conduct of which someone may be held guilty and whether errors were committed during the after-care. ... The [expert] opinions have not found that the subclavian vein burst as a result of maltreatment or negligence attributable to [X] or the other operating surgeon. ... [The pre-trial record contains] a number of statements concerning [X's] possible alcohol consumption. ... In respect of the day of the operation the information is contradictory. ... Therefore there is insufficient evidence to find that [X] was under the influence of alcohol while operating on Mrs Haapalainen and that such influence affected his ability to carry out his duties. ... Nor has it been possible to determine whether [X's] shaking hands impacted in any significant way on the conduct of his surgery. ...” 11. The applicant's first article of 4 January 1996 bore the title “If only I could get a good grip on life again” (Kun saisi vielä joskus elämästä kunnolla kiinni). It contained an interview with Mr Haapalainen. The text accompanying his picture read as follows: “How is it possible that a surgeon is allowed to conduct surgery with alcohol in his blood – is it not a fact that pilots only get to manoeuvre a plane when they are absolutely sober, wonders Jorma Haapalainen, who lost his wife.” The introductory text on the front page bore the title: “How to survive all of this? (Miten tästä kaikesta selviää?). It read as follows: “Jorma Haapalainen, a father of two in Old Vaasa is trying to get a grip on his life again. Three years ago the wet Independence Day of a Seinäjoki surgeon cost the life of [Mr Haapalainen's] wife. – Whose is the responsibility, asks Jorma.” The front page also carried a picture of the couple. 12. On 9 January 1996 Pohjalainen published a second article by the applicant entitled: “A position of responsibility never goes with alcohol” (Vastuullinen työ ja alkoholi eivät koskaan sovi yhteen). It contained interviews with the Chief Physician of the Helsinki University Hospital and a Chief Controller of Finnair and discussed the need for surgeons and pilots to be sober and also otherwise in an appropriate condition in order to perform their tasks. The article made no reference to the previous article, nor did it mention Mr or Mrs Haapalainen or X 13. A third article by the applicant – published on 27 February 1996 – was entitled “The case of Eeva did teach us something” (Jotakin Eevan tapaus sentään opetti) and made reference to her article of 4 January 1996. It read, inter alia, as follows: “[The article of 4 January] raised the question of patient safety: how was it possible that a relatively young woman in good shape died from routine surgery. The pre-trial records speak, among other things, of the wrong form of collegiality. ...” Under the subheadings “We were concerned for our patients” and “Complications arose after the surgeries” the article cited four extracts from statements by hospital staff heard during the pre-trial investigation. The extracts read, inter alia as follows: “'Surgeon X has been the specialist doctor on the ward for two years and a half. Soon after he came to work here alcohol-related problems occurred. Often he had a visible hangover, which showed in his not being neatly dressed, in his reddish and swollen face, in his shaking hands and in his breath which smelled freshly of alcohol.' 'We were concerned for the patients on whom surgeon X was operating. The Monday mornings were the worst, when [his] hands were also shaking the most. We would inform the other doctors on the ward of our observations, mainly Dr Y and Dr Z. In particular before a more important surgery we would ask another doctor to attend it. On many occasions Dr Y and Dr Z would attend because we had so requested.' 'The patients operated on by surgeon X have suffered from more post-operative complications. The patients have had bleeding. ...' 'Apparently patients have also made their own observations: I remember the case of a patient – due to arrive for an operation – who enquired who was going to operate on him. Since no surgeon had yet been designated, the patient informed us he would not come at all, unless Dr Z would perform the surgery. After the incident on 7 December 1992 we have been receiving many telephone calls like this one ...' These unpolished statements can be found in the pre-trial record drawn up by the Vaasa branch of the Central Criminal Police. [The record] is a public document and may therefore be cited in this newspaper. ...” Under a subheading entitled “Dubious appointment” (Valinta hiersi) the article described certain hesitations which had preceded X's appointment in 1990. Under a subheading entitled “The best interests of the patient seem to have been forgotten” (Potilaan paras taisi unohtua) the article continued as follows: “The pre-trial records clearly reflect the collegiality within the medical team, as shown in a wish to cover up a colleague's clear problem. ... A nurse who attended the round [preceding Mrs Haapalainen's operation] attempted to remedy the situation: 'During the round surgeon X came over to my left side. Then I noticed that he was clearly drunk. ... I tried to establish eye contact with the other doctors in order to indicate [my concern] to them. I got no such opportunity. I even tried to have one of the two other doctors stay behind after the round but they had already gone off to the coffee room.' ... The pre-trial record gives the impression that the memory of either of the two [surgeons] is failing. Even the Board for Patient Injuries arrive[d] at the conclusion that no one [could] be considered guilty, though, sadly, the patient died. Judging from [an X-ray] picture, the piece of bone [osteophyte] which remained inside [Mrs Haapalainen] after the operation was at any rate so sharp that it could have been fatal in itself even at a later stage. ...” The article of 27 February 1996 then continued with statements by chief physicians and chief surgeons of four central university hospitals, essentially reassuring the reader that a surgeon who was drunk, ill or just tired would not be allowed to operate. Finally, the article contained a statement by the Chief Physician of the Seinäjoki Hospital “who at the time took a rather humane, even though strict approach”: “When more serious problems started occurring in surgeon X's work, we established another parallel position for a surgeon specialised in the same field, and things started working well. After [Mrs Haapalainen's] death, surgeon X was prohibited from operating for two years. In the beginning when he came to work he had to perform a breathalyser test. – Now surgeon X is the physician responsible for one of the wards and occasionally assists during surgery. Everything has been going well: even his hands are no longer shaking.” The article was illustrated with a drawing depicting a seemingly intoxicated surgeon using a pen to mark where to cut open the patient's stomach. 14. The public prosecutor, joined by X, charged the applicant before the Vaasa District Court (käräjäoikeus, tingsrätt) on two counts of intentional defamation. In the article of 4 January 1996 she had defamed X “without better knowledge” (ei vastoin parempaa tietoa, icke emot bättre vetande). In the article of 27 February 1996 she had defamed X “despite better knowledge” (vastoin parempaa tietoa, emot bättre vetande), that is to say by imputing an offence to him whilst knowing that he had not committed one. 15. The editor-in-chief of Pohjalainen, Mr Elenius, was charged with negligent abuse of the freedom of the press (painovapauden tuottamuksellinen väärinkäyttö, vållande till missbruk av yttrandefriheten) within the meaning of section 32 of the Freedom of the Press Act (painovapauslaki, tryckfrihetslag 1/1919). The prosecution argued that, regardless of the fact that he had become aware of the possibility that the applicant's article of 4 January 1996 might have defamed X and of the fact that the applicant was intending to write a further article, he had failed to supervise the publication of the applicant's article of 27 February 1996 by demanding that the article be approved by him. 16. The applicant denied both charges, arguing that X could not have been identified on the basis of her articles and that she had not even been aware of his identity when writing her first article. That article had concentrated on describing Mr Haapalainen's feelings as the surviving widower, whereas the article of 27 February 1996 had discussed patient safety. She had quoted from official documents and her articles had not forced X to close his private practice, as alleged by him. Mr Elenius also denied the charges against him, stating inter alia that after the first article had been published he had offered to publish a response by X. No such response had been forthcoming. The articles had been based on various sources and official documents accessible to the public. Moreover, the press was entitled to deal with the activities of a public hospital and patient security within such institutions. 17. On 14 September 1998 the District Court, relying on chapter 27, section 1, of the Penal Code (rikoslaki, strafflag) as in force at the relevant time, convicted the applicant of defamation committed “despite better knowledge” and by using a printed matter (painotuotteen kautta vastoin parempaa tietoa tehty herjaus, smädelse genom tryckalster emot bättre vetande). The conviction was grounded only on her article of 27 February 1996, whereas she was acquitted of defamation committed “without better knowledge” by means of her article of 4 January 1996. She was sentenced to 25 daily income-based fines at the rate of 166 Finnish Marks (FIM) (corresponding to 27.90 euros (EUR)), totalling FIM 4.150 (EUR 698). 18. Mr Elenius was convicted as charged and sentenced to 12 daily fines at the rate of FIM 333 (EUR 56), totalling FIM 3,996 (EUR 672). 19. The defendants were ordered to reimburse jointly a witness fee in the amount of FIM 685.90 (EUR 115.36) as well as the complainant's legal costs in the amount of FIM 20,276 (EUR 3,410.20). 20. In examining the charges against the applicant as based on her article of 4 January 1996, the District Court took note of the banner headline and picture texts as well as of a third statement appearing in the text and which found it strange that nobody had intervened to prevent the surgeon from conducting the operation, even though everyone must have seen in what condition he was. The last-mentioned statement and the picture text had to be understood as having been expressed by Mr Haapalainen. The article had contained an allegation that the surgeon had been drunk or had been suffering from a hangover while operating on Mrs Haapalainen and that this had led to her death, without specifying in any detail why. The District Court further found that as the article of 4 January 1996 had contained a statement to the effect that the surgeon had been prohibited from conducting further operations, it had given the reader the impression that he or she had been punished for some sort of breach of official duties. 21. Turning to the article of 27 February 1996, the District Court noted that it had contained a reference to the first one and had asked how it was possible that a relatively young woman in good physical condition could die as a result of a routine surgery. The article had then cited statements from the pre-trial record which had discussed the surgeon's alcohol problem and the attitude of hospitals to that problem generally. Moreover, although the National Medico-Legal Board[1] had been of the opinion that no one could be considered guilty of Mrs Haapalainen's death, the osteophyte which had remained in her body after the operation could have been fatal at any later stage. The article of 27 February 1996 had given the reader the impression that the surgeon had been drunk or had been suffering from a hangover while operating on Mrs Haapalainen. The final statement in that article – to the effect that “surgeon X was now doing fine” – strengthened the impression that his or her alcohol problem had been acute at the time of the operation in question. Even though the article's reference to a sharp osteophyte had been somewhat misleading in light of the National Medico-Legal Board's opinion, this article had not taken any position as to the cause of Mrs Haapalainen's death. The District Court further found that even though X could not have been identified on the basis of the first article, the article of 27 February 1996 did render him identifiable to his potential clients in the Seinäjoki area. 22. Considering the fact that the articles had been published in a daily with an interval of some six weeks between them, the applicant's possible guilt had to be determined in respect of each of the articles. Her first article had been based solely on information provided by Mr Haapalainen, although already then she had been aware both that a police investigation had been conducted into the suspected maltreatment and that the public prosecutor had decided not to bring charges against the operating surgeon. Subsequently, but before writing her article of 27 February 1996, she had obtained from the office of the Central Criminal Police the complete pre-trial investigation record, the opinion of the National Medico-Legal Board and the County Prosecutor's decision. 23. In elaborating on the applicant's possible guilt the court reasoned as follows: “The court acknowledges the freedom of the press to report critically on hospitals and, among other issues, on any alcohol abuse that might have been established in such an institution. A critical reviewer must nevertheless bear in mind that his or her statements may amount to criminal defamation. The readership has the right to expect that the facts forming the basis of an article have been verified and that any erroneous piece of information has been corrected. The persons dealt with in the articles are entitled to demand that they be based on correct facts and a person who has been criticised must be given the right to respond. These principles are also to be found in the ethical guidelines adopted within the [journalistic] profession. Ms Selistö's conduct does not meet the aforementioned criteria. The surgery performed by [X] has been carefully scrutinised without any error [on his part] having been established. Regardless of this, Ms Selistö's article [of 27 February 1996] contains a groundless allegation that the surgeon conducted an operation in a drunken state or while suffering from a hangover. When writing her article [of 27 February 1996] Ms Selistö had become aware that it was capable of subjecting the surgeon who had operated Mrs Haapalainen to contempt and of damaging his livelihood. The article [of 27 February 1996] contains many direct quotations from the pre-trial record ... which had been made public – in particular from the statements of a nurse. The court does not find that this renders Ms Selistö's conduct less reprehensible. The large pre-trial investigation material contains elements pro and contra and in the overall assessment, for example in the County Prosecutor's reasons, the statements of the nurse in question have not been given any weight. Ms Selistö selected only those elements that supported her [own] opinion without clearly stating that the National Medico-Legal Board had provided a reasoned opinion and that the County Prosecutor had made a reasoned decision not to bring charges. In the District Court's view the statements of the nurse arguably could have been used in an article discussing, at a general level, the alcohol problems existing in hospitals. In the article now in question the nurse's statements have been reported together with the death of Mrs Haapalainen. In the Supreme Court's precedent no. 1971 II 77 the defendants were convicted of defamation for not having checked the veracity of information contained in a circular before dispatching it. The District Court finds that Ms Selistö had no reasonable cause to believe that the allegations contained in the article [of 27 February 1996] were true. [She] could and should have verified the facts of the story. [Her] negligence in this respect is attributable to her as an intentional offence. ...” 24. On 26 May 1999 the Vaasa Court of Appeal (hovioikeus, hovrätt), after a re-hearing, found the applicant guilty of continued defamation “despite better knowledge” and by using a printed matter. Her sentence was increased to 50 daily fines, totalling FIM 8,300 (EUR 1,396). Mr Elenius was likewise found guilty of negligent abuse of the freedom of the press and his sentence was increased to 25 daily fines, totalling FIM 8,325 (EUR 1,400). 25. The appellate court considered that the allegation against X which had appeared in the articles had been particularly serious, had defamed his honour fundamentally and had diminished his social status and professional prospects. The articles had been visibly published in a mass medium, where they had been given much print space. In light of the general sentencing practice, the defendants' conduct as well as the nature and seriousness of the defaming statement, the sentences inflicted by the District Court had been too lenient. 26. The appellate court considered that the applicant's articles had been so linked together, both by their substance and by the local circumstances they had dealt with, that the two alleged forms of defamation had to be considered as one single act. The court reasoned, inter alia, as follows: “Ms Selistö and Mr Elenius have argued that the subject of patient safety which had been discussed, in particular, in the article of 27 February 1996 is such an important issue in society that the press must be entitled to express even strong criticism without being prevented from doing so by the criminal law provisions on defamation. [They] have further argued that they had strong and plausible grounds for believing that the information published in the articles had been truthful. Public health care is a societal issue of such magnitude as to entitle the press to express criticism. Given his position as a practising surgeon in a public hospital, [X's] activities were of such public-office nature that he had to accept even strong criticism of his behaviour. That criticism nevertheless had to be appropriate and based on facts. A mass medium may not always be able to obtain a confirmation of the absolute veracity of information to be published. The information to be published must at any rate be sufficiently grounded and all negative allegations or allegations directed against a specific person which may be defamatory when published, must be examined critically. Confirmation of the veracity of the allegations should as far as possible be sought from more than one source. The more serious and hurtful the criticism, the stronger the duty to have the truthfulness of information confirmed. ... The information gleaned from the interview with Mr Haapalainen and the elements selected from the pre-trial investigation record, all of which supported the view that [X's] conduct had been reprehensible, was not such reliable information as to provide Ms Selistö with sufficient grounds for the allegations contained in her article of 27 February 1996 and for the tone thereof. In addition, Ms Selistö has conceded that at the time of writing that article she had been aware of the conclusion reached by the National Medico-Legal Board in its opinion as well as of the fact that [X] had not been charged. Ms Selistö nonetheless failed to verify in detail the terms of [the Board's] opinion as well as of the outcome of the pre-trial investigation, even though that could easily have been done. In these circumstances Ms Selistö must be found to have accused, in the articles of 4 January and 27 February 1996, a person identifiable as [X] of an offence as well as of reprehensible conduct, without having verified the allegations and without having had any objectively weighty grounds or likely reasons for considering the defamatory allegations truthful. [X] was not given the possibility of presenting his views in respect of either article. ... ... Even though [X] was not named in the articles, the information stated therein was so detailed that [he] could nevertheless be recognised as the surgeon whom the articles had concerned. ...” 27. On 18 October 1999 the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus, högsta domstolen) refused Ms Selistö and Mr Elenius leave to appeal. 28. On 22 March 2001 the Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman (eduskunnan apulaisoikeusasiamies, riksdagens biträdande justitieombudsman) responded to a petition by Mr Haapalainen. She noted, inter alia, that the National Medico-Legal Board had initiated an inquiry into X's professional conduct in the beginning of 1994. He had been prohibited from conducting surgeries until September 1995, when he had been found capable of resuming his work as a surgeon. As for the County Prosecutor's decision not to press charges against X the Deputy Ombudsman found that a conclusion to the contrary would have been more justified as suspicions concerning gross maltreatment should preferably be examined by a court of law. She stated that this was not tantamount to a finding that the County Prosecutor had overstepped his margin of discretion in breach of the law or his duties. In any case the legal successors of Mrs Haapalainen had enjoyed an independent right to bring private prosecution proceedings. The case had been investigated as suspected manslaughter, for which any criminal proceedings had been time-barred already by the time of the petition. While the Deputy Ombudsman still had the right to bring charges for aggravated manslaughter, she concluded that this was no longer appropriate.

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12. The late Olof Bruncrona’s heirs Marcus and Petter Bruncrona are Finnish nationals born in 1964 and 1967 and resident in Helsinki. The estate of Olof Bruncrona also acts as an applicant. 13. The applicants are the owners of the real property Karsby (registered as number 1:44; “the Karsby mansion”) in the village of the same name, currently part of the city of Tammisaari (Ekenäs). 14. The applicants claim ownership in the form of a right of permanent usufruct[1] (in Finnish vakaa hallinta-oikeus; in Swedish ständig besittningsrätt) in respect of the property Bergö-Högholm (registered as number 1:0) in the village of the same name, also within the city limits of Tammisaari. The property comprises 165.4 hectares of water and some islands totalling 27.6 hectares. The islands originally belonged to the Swedish Crown (“Crown land”; kruununluontoinen maa, jord av krononatur). 15. Around the early 18th century the then owners of the Karsby mansion (kartano, säteri) were afforded the right to make use of the Bergö-Högholm islands in return for an annual levy (sääntönäisvero, stadga or stadgad ränta). The levy was collected from 1723 onwards. That arrangement was maintained by a decision of the Senate of the then Grand Duchy on 9 May 1862. The decision noted the following: (In Swedish) “... så emedan dessa holmar äro påförde stadgade räntor och sedan medlet af förra århundradet opåtaldt innehafts ... pröve VI skäligt förklara desamma skola som hitintills förbliva under sagde säteri ... emot erläggande af de förre stadgade räntorne, hvarom anteckning likväl bör i jordeboken införas...” (Translation into English) “... since these islands are subject to payment of an annual levy and have been made use of in an undisturbed manner since the middle of the last century ... we find it reasonable that they should remain, as heretofore, attached to the said mansion ... in return for payment of the annual levy, which should be entered into the land register ...” 16. When land taxation was abolished in 1924 the duty to pay a levy was replaced by a liability to pay State wealth tax (varallisuusvero, förmögenhetsskatt). Up to that year the levy had amounted to the equivalent of 1.29 euros (EUR) at today’s value. 17. The Bergö-Högholm property was formed through a supplementary land-parcelling procedure in 1975. At the same time it was registered as ordinary real property instead of Crown land, the State being indicated as its owner. According to the record of the land parcelling the owner description was incomplete, but the property was leased to the Karsby mansion. During the land-parcelling proceedings the owners of the Karsby mansion submitted that they did not question the State’s ownership. However, they claimed that they had a right of disposal (dispositionsrätt in Swedish). 18. The owners of the Karsby mansion made use of the Bergö-Högholm islands and the surrounding waters in an undisturbed manner until 1984, when the National Forestry Board granted fishing rights to a third party without Olof Bruncrona’s consent. 19. In 1985 Olof Bruncrona initiated proceedings with a view to having his ownership of the Bergö-Högholm property confirmed. In a judgment of 9 October 1987 the Tammisaari District Court (kihlakunnanoikeus, häradsrätten) found it established that the claimant and the previous owners of the Karsby mansion had been enjoying a right of permanent usufruct in respect of the property, that right having developed into ownership. 20. The District Court’s judgment was quashed by the Helsinki Court of Appeal (hovioikeus, hovrätten) on 22 November 1989. The appellate court found that the State had originally let the islands to the then owners of the Karsby mansion. This lease had been maintained in 1862. The State had thus never given up its ownership, but had simply tacitly consented to the Karsby mansion’s use of the property, initially subject to payment of a rent or levy and later subject to payment of wealth tax. 21. On 4 July 1990 the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus, högsta domstolen) refused leave to appeal. 22. The registration (lainhuuto, lagfart) of the State as the lawful owner of the property in 1991 was challenged by Olof Bruncrona in a new civil suit seeking to obtain confirmation of his right of permanent usufruct in respect of the Bergö-Högholm property and – should that right be deemed to have developed into ownership – confirmation of his ownership. Olof Bruncrona died on 24 May 1993 and his estate continued the lawsuit. 23. In a judgment of 18 October 1993 the District Court confirmed the applicants’ right of permanent usufruct and revoked the State’s title to the property. 24. The District Court’s judgment was quashed by the Court of Appeal on 21 March 1996 on grounds similar to those relied on in its earlier judgment. It found, inter alia, that: (a) the ownership issue had been finally settled in the first set of proceedings; (b) the first reference to the islands of Bergö and Högholm had appeared in a judgment book (tuomiokirja, dombok) of the County of Tenala in 1672, and a yearly payment had been made in respect of the islands; (c) it could be deduced from the written material submitted to the Court of Appeal that the islands had been leased to the owner of the Karsby mansion in the 1720s; (d) in the 1750s the owner of the Karsby mansion had attempted to transform the islands from Crown land into tax land (see “Relevant domestic law and practice” below), but the official list of land thus transformed – drawn up in 1769 – had not included the islands; (e) in 1862 the Senate had decided that the islands were to remain under the control of the Karsby mansion in return for the prescribed payments, rather than the lease being put up for tender for a period of six years, as had been suggested in the light of the practice with regard to certain other plots of Crown land; (f) the owners of the Karsby mansion had enjoyed undisturbed possession of the islands until 1984, when the State had granted a fishing licence to a third party in respect of the waters surrounding the islands; and (g) a right of permanent usufruct in respect of Crown land continued to be recognised under Finnish law, on condition that there was a clear legal basis for the right. 25. The Court of Appeal concluded that originally the Crown had leased the islands to the Karsby mansion, and that the Senate had upheld that lease in its decision of 9 May 1862. The payment of rent (in Finnish vuokranmaksu) had later ceased and the mansion had paid tax in respect of the property, just as in respect of any other real property belonging to it. The Senate’s decision had not established any right of permanent usufruct in favour of the Karsby mansion, and the applicants had not presented any evidence of any other acquisition upon which such a right could be founded. 26. On 12 November 1997 the Supreme Court refused leave to appeal. 27. Meanwhile, following Olof Bruncrona’s death in May 1993, Marcus and Petter Bruncrona had declared that the Bergö-Högholm property formed part of the overall estate of the deceased for the purposes of the inventory of his possessions (perukirja, bouppteckning). Inheritance tax was levied inter alia in respect of the Bergö-Högholm property. 28. In a letter of 22 January 1998 the National Forestry and Park Service requested the applicants to vacate the Bergö-Högholm property. The applicants have apparently not yet complied with the request and no enforcement proceedings have been initiated to date. At the hearing before the Court on 14 October 2003 the Government argued that the letter in question amounted to the termination of the lease. The nature of the letter was disputed by the applicants. 29. Meanwhile, in 1984 the Private Forestry Association of Western Uusimaa (Nyland) had certified that the owners of the Karsby mansion had covered all the reforestation and other costs relating to the Bergö-Högholm islands and had also collected the full yield from the forestry activities carried out on the islands. 30. At the time of lodging their application with the Court the applicants were allegedly still obliged to pay wealth tax on the Bergö-Högholm property. In August 2001 the Government informed the Court that the taxation authorities would correct the relevant property register (maatilarekisteri, jordbruksregistret) with effect from 25 September 2001. The State would then be indicated as the rightful owner of the Bergö-Högholm property.

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8. On 3 January 1997 the applicant appeared before the magistrates' court, charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and failing to answer bail. He was legally represented. The applicant elected to be tried in the Crown Court. The stipendiary magistrate therefore adjourned the proceedings to enable a committal hearing to take place at a later date and proceeded to consider whether the applicant should be granted bail. During the course of that consideration, the applicant “reacted adversely” in court, causing a disturbance which led the magistrate to conclude that there existed a future risk of a breach of the peace by him. The magistrate therefore made an order binding the applicant over to keep the peace and to be of good behaviour under the Justices of the Peace Act 1361. 9. The applicant was “bound over” in his own recognisance of 50 pounds sterling (GBP) together with a surety of GBP 250. The precise terms of the order were found by the Divisional Court (in the later judicial review proceedings) to be unclear. However, the Divisional Court proceeded on the assumption that the order of the magistrates' court had fixed a period of 28 days' imprisonment in default of the applicant's own recognisance and/or a suitable surety. The magistrate did not give any opportunity for the applicant or his representative to make submissions about the terms of the order before it was imposed. 10. It appears that later on the day on which the binding over order was imposed, in the absence of both the applicant and his representative, the surety presented himself to the magistrate, who himself took the recognisance. The magistrate appears to have deemed the proposed surety unsuitable and to have done so on the ground that he did not have any readily available money. The applicant was committed to custody on the same day for 28 days. The Divisional Court later noted that he had remained in custody until 16 January 1997 or a little later. 11. On 2 June 1997 the applicant was granted leave to apply for judicial review of the decision to impose the binding over order. 12. On 20 January 1998 the Divisional Court granted the application for judicial review. The nature of the applicant's case was stated by the Divisional Court to be as follows: “It is not suggested by Mr. Daniel, for the applicant, that the magistrate had no power under [the Justices of the Peace Act 1361] or common law to impose a binding over order without consent, to require a surety or to impose a sentence of imprisonment in lieu. What is suggested is that there was a breach of natural justice or procedural irregularity in the way in which the magistrate dealt with the matter, without investigating further, or giving specific opportunity to the applicant or his legal representative to make representations about the terms of any binding over order.” 13. The Divisional Court (Lord Justice Simon Brown and Mr Justice Mance) agreed that the binding over order had been procedurally irregular and granted a declaration to that effect. During the course of their judgments, the judges of the Divisional Court held that: (a) previous domestic case-law had established that there were circumstances where failing to hear a defendant or his representative prior to imposing a binding over order containing a requirement of a recognisance could amount to a breach of the rules of natural justice. Mr Justice Mance quoted, inter alia, the headnote of the case of R. v. Central Criminal Court ex parte Boulding [1984] 1 QB 813 that: “... although there was no general obligation upon a court to afford a defendant an opportunity to be heard prior to binding him over, it was a breach of the rules of natural justice, unless the recognisance was of a trivial sum, for a court to bind a person over without inquiring into his means and giving him an opportunity to make representations as to the size of the recognisance.” (b) the position where there was a requirement for a surety was even clearer. A surety required the separate approval of the court as to his suitability. This was outside the control of the person to be bound over and yet could have drastic consequences for him where, as in the present case, it resulted in his serving a period of imprisonment imposed as an alternative; (c) in such circumstances, magistrates needed to take particular care lest, in effect, they imposed a binding order which amounted to an automatic sentence of imprisonment without appreciating what they were doing; (d) a defendant ought not to be put at peril of a prison sentence in default of finding a surety unless he had first been specifically invited to address the magistrates' court upon that point; (e) the magistrate did not expressly invite or give opportunity for any submissions, or indeed any discussion between the applicant and his representative, about the proposed terms of the binding over order before he imposed it. While the magistrate stated during the course of the judicial review proceedings that he would have been prepared to listen to anything that the applicant's representative would have wished to say, the High Court accepted that the applicant's representative was effectively presented with a “fait accompli” of a nature which she had not come across before. In responding to an argument put forward on behalf of the magistrate that an advocate was under a duty to bring any procedural irregularity to the attention of the court during the hearing and not reserve such matter to be raised on appeal, Mr Justice Mance said: “That is of course right, but it assumes that the advocate appreciates that what happens does amount to a procedural irregularity and understands at the time the nature of the point. Here [the applicant's representative] does not appear to have had the confidence of whatever belief she had that something was not quite right, she did not raise the matter, and I do not think that the applicant should suffer from any failure, if there was any on her part, to react as another advocate, perhaps more familiar with this area of the law and practice, might have done.” (f) had the applicant or his representative been able to make submissions about the proposed order the magistrate might have been persuaded to impose different terms. Mr Justice Mance stated: “What Mr Burnett [counsel for the respondent] has submitted is that it cannot be shown that it would have made any difference if the magistrate had given to the applicant [and his counsel] an opportunity to make representations. However, it seems to me certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility, that if a proper opportunity had been given to [the applicant's counsel] to consider and address the matter after brief discussion between herself, the applicant and the friend [the proposed surety] the stringency of the proposed order - particularly in the alternative ... it had of 28 days' imprisonment - would have been one of the points on which she would have focused; the risk and consequences of a suitable surety being found, and in particular, of the friend at court ... not being regarded as suitable might well also have been highlighted. Mr Burnett did not seek to controvert that. The magistrate might, in such circumstances, have been persuaded to a different result. This is all, of course, speculative, but speculation though it may be, the reason why it is speculation is that the magistrate failed, in my judgment, to give the applicant or, on his behalf, [the applicant's representative] proper time or a proper opportunity to address the terms of the proposed bind over order, particularly so far as they involved a requirement that the applicant produce a surety in the sum of £250.”

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6. The details concerning the applicants are contained in the Court's files and may be consulted in the Court archives. 7. Each applicant failed to pay sums due in respect of either local taxes (community charge, council tax or non-domestic rates), or court-imposed fines. In respect of the failure to pay local taxes, the magistrates' court had in each case determined that the applicants were liable to pay (issuing a liability order); in fines cases, the magistrates' court had imposed the fine as the sentence followed a criminal conviction. 8. Each applicant fell into arrears with the payments due from them. These cases involved the enforcement proceedings in respect of their arrears in the magistrates' court. Each applicant appeared before the court, following the issuing of an application for their committal to prison as a result of their failure to pay the sums due. At that hearing the magistrates found that the non-payment was due to the applicant's wilful refusal or culpable neglect. As a result each applicant was sentenced to a period of imprisonment. The sentence was suspended on terms that the applicant makes periodic payments towards the outstanding sum. When the applicant failed to comply with the terms imposed, a further hearing was held in the magistrates' court at which the suspended term of imprisonment was activated. Each applicant spent a period of time in prison. 9. Legal aid was not available for the enforcement proceedings prior to 1 June 1997 and none of the applicants were legally represented at the hearings in front of the magistrates. 10. Following their imprisonment, an application was made on behalf of each applicant, by way of either judicial review or case stated, which resulted in the High Court quashing the orders made by the magistrates. In three cases (Parker (46416/99), Daldry (58896/00), Dann (3859/02)), the orders of the magistrates were quashed in a judgment of the High Court. In the remaining cases the orders were quashed following the High Court's approval of a consent order agreed between the applicants and the magistrates who had sentenced them.

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10. The applicants are six women from northern Iraq, born in 1950, 1970, 1951, 1939, 1949 and 1947 respectively. The first applicant brought the application on her own behalf and on behalf of her deceased son, Ismail Hassan Sherif. The remaining applicants brought the application on their own behalf and on behalf of their deceased husbands, Ahmad Fatah Hassan, Abdula Teli Hussein, Abdulkadir Izat Khan Hassan, Abdulrahman Mohammad Sherriff and Guli Zekri Guli respectively. The fourth applicant has also brought the application on behalf of her deceased son, Sarabast Abdulkadir Izzat. 11. The facts of the case are in dispute between the parties. 12. The applicants are shepherdesses who earn their living by shepherding sheep in the valleys and hills surrounding their village of Azadi in Sarsang province near the Turkish border. Their deceased relatives were likewise employed. 13. On 1 April 1995 the applicants learned that the Turkish army, which had crossed earlier into Iraq, was in their area. They saw military activity and witnessed military helicopters transporting soldiers and food in the valley below their village. 14. On the morning of 2 April 1995 Ismail Hassan Sherif, Ahmad Fatah Hassan, Abdula Teli Hussein, Abdulkadir Izat Khan Hassan, Abdulrahman Mohammad Sherriff, Guli Zekri Guli and Sarabast Abdulkadir Izatthe, together with the first, third, fourth and fifth applicants, left the village to take their flocks of sheep to the hills. The second and sixth applicants remained in the village to take care of their children. 15. After the party of eleven shepherds (the first, third, fourth and fifth applicants and Ismail Hassan Sherif, Ahmad Fatah Hassan, Abdula Teli Hussein, Abdulkadir Izat Khan Hassan, Abdulrahman Mohammad Sherriff, Guli Zekri Guli and Sarabast Abdulkadir Izzat) had walked for fifteen minutes in the direction of Spna, with the four women walking in front of the seven men, they met Turkish soldiers. The latter started to shout abuse at the eleven shepherds, hitting them with their rifle butts, kicking them and slapping them on the face. They separated the women from the men. They told the women to return to the village and then took the men away. The four applicants returned to the village and told the other villagers what had happened. 16. In the meantime, the second and sixth applicants had begun to worry about their husbands. They had heard gunfire and had been told by a fellow villager that the Turkish army was nearby and that the shooting had come from the direction of a cave situated outside the village in the direction of Spna. The villager thought that Turkish soldiers had been firing inside the cave. As a result, the second and sixth applicants together with three other identified women decided to go to look for their men in the direction of the cave. This occurred before the first, third, fourth and fifth applicants had returned to the village. When the second and sixth applicants and the three other women reached the Turkish soldiers they saw the shepherds with them. The soldiers fired in their direction. The women left and went down into the valley. There they met another group of soldiers and requested permission to talk to the men. The soldiers pointed their guns at them and the women left. 17. Instead of going to the village, the five women tried to hide in the valley but were spotted by the soldiers who threatened to kill them. Eventually the women reached the cave, but the men were not there. They saw a military helicopter land. They asked the soldiers for permission to see their men but the soldiers refused. The five women continued their search until about 1 p.m. with no success. They returned to the village and told their fellow villagers about what had happened. 18. Some of the village men, accompanied by members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (“the KDP”), went to Anshki, a nearby town where a bigger Turkish military unit was based. This unit was responsible for overseeing the military operation in the area. The village men asked the officer in charge to release the shepherds and to allow them to fetch their sheep from the hills. The officer claimed at first that he did not know anything about the shepherds. He subsequently promised the representatives of the KDP that the shepherds would be released. As this did not happen, the KDP representatives made several additional attempts to obtain information. The officer said that if the shepherds had been detained, they would be released. He eventually gave permission for the men to fetch the sheep. He denied that the shepherds had been detained, but warned the men not to look for them. When the men asked why not, the officer became angry and did not reply. When the men went to fetch the sheep, they looked for the shepherds but could not find them. 19. On 3 April 1995 the Turkish army withdrew from the area around the village and the village men set off in the direction of Spna to look for the seven shepherds who had gone missing. In an area close to where the seven shepherds had last been seen with the Turkish soldiers they found the bodies of Ismail Hassan Sherif, Ahmad Fatah Hassan, Abdulkadir Izat Khan Hassan, Sarabast Abdulkadir Izat and Abdulrahman Mohammad Sherriff. The bodies had several bullet wounds and had been badly mutilated - ears, tongues and genitals were missing. The bodies were taken to the main road and from there to Azadi hospital in Dohuk where autopsies were conducted. 20. On 4 April 1995 the KDP held a press conference in Dohuk. Mr SN, the KDP Chief for the Amedi region, stated that, upon receiving information that several shepherds had been arrested by Turkish soldiers, he had visited the Turkish army commander in Kadish and had asked for their release. He had handed him a list of names. The commander had told him that he would take action. The commander had radioed his troops and had told SN that the men and sheep would be released. SN had returned to his office. Having received no news, he had returned to the commander who had promised that the shepherds would be released after the military operation. SN made four or five representations to the commander during that day. The Turkish army having withdrawn during the night, SN returned to the commander the following morning. On that occasion the commander denied that the shepherds had been arrested. He told SN that they might have been killed. At the press conference SN exhibited the list he had given to the Turkish commander containing the names of the seven shepherds. The six applicants were also present at the conference and answered questions. 21. On 5 April 1995 the bodies of Abdula Teli Hussein and Guli Zekri Guli were also found in a state similar to that of the bodies of the other five shepherds. 22. On 5 April 1995 the husband of the first applicant was killed in a separate incident. The four brothers of the husband of the fifth applicant were also killed in a separate incident. These incidents do not form part of the present application. 23. On 7 April 1995 the six applicants and other witnesses were interviewed by Dr RA and Mr Kerim Yildiz in the presence of the muhtar of the Tamim area of Sarsang province. 24. The six applicants have since filed several petitions with the authorities of the region requesting that an investigation be conducted into the deaths of their relatives. They applied to the Governor of Dohuk and gave statements. The Governor said that the deaths would be investigated. However, the applicants have not been informed of any follow-up to the Governor's undertaking. 25. The respondent Government confirm that a Turkish military operation took place in northern Iraq between 19 March 1995 and 16 April 1995. The Turkish forces advanced to Mount Medina. The records of the armed forces do not show the presence of any Turkish soldiers in the area indicated by the applicants, the Azadi village being ten kilometres south of the operation zone. There is no record of a complaint having been made to any of the officers of the units operating in the Mount Medina region. 26. Following the events, the applicants' statements were taken on 7 June 1995 by Dr Rızgar Amin and Kerim Yıldız in the Azadi village of Sarsang province in the governorate of Dohuk (Iraq) close to the Turkish border. (a)Halima Musa Issa 27. The applicant was the mother of Ismail Hassan Sheriff, who was allegedly killed under torture by members of the Turkish army on 2 April 1995, and the wife of Mala Hassan Mohammad Sheriff who was also allegedly killed by members of the Turkish army in a separate incident on 5 April 1995. The applicant claimed the following in relation to the alleged incidents: “I and the rest of the villagers heard that the Turkish army was in the area the day before my son was killed. We had seen many military helicopters dropping soldiers and food in the valley near our village. In the morning of 2 April 1995, I prepared food for my shepherd son as usual. We decided to go out to herd sheep. We thought the Turkish army would not harm us. We (seven shepherds and four women) left the village and walked towards the Spna area. The women were walking in front of the men. Then we met many Turkish soldiers who immediately arrested us and began to hit us. They slapped us around the face, kicked us and were very angry and rude. Then they separated us and asked the women to go back to the village. We saw the soldiers take the seven shepherds towards the cave. We went back to the village and told the rest of the village about what had happened. Some of the men from the village went and asked one of the Turkish army officers to let them retrieve the flocks of sheep from the valley, but he refused and denied having arrested our men. Then some men went to Anshki and asked for the Turkish army officer in charge and requested him to release the shepherds and to let them recover their flocks of sheep. The men went at least five times that day to get information about the men. The Turkish army officer said that if the men were arrested they would be released. He gave permission for the men to bring back the flocks of sheep, but denied knowing anything about our shepherds and warned the men not to go and look for our shepherds. When they asked why they should not go looking for our shepherds, the officer got angry and did not answer. Once again, some villagers went to the valley to look for our shepherds. They found our flocks of sheep in the early afternoon but still did not know what had happened to our shepherds. We also informed the party (KDP). They said that they met with the Turkish military officers on many occasions but this did not change our men's fate. The following day, after the Turkish army withdrew from our area, the men went to the surrounding area to look for our shepherds. They found my son and four other shepherds that day. Their bodies were brought back to the main road and from there their bodies were taken to the hospital in Dohuk for medical examination. The other two bodies were found two days later. The witness replied to the following questions: Q:Where do you come from originally? A:We are originally from the village of Terina and have been living in Azadi collective village ever since being moved here under Saddam's regime. Q:How far is the place where they killed your son? A:Around ¼ hours' walk from our village. Q:How old was your son? A:He was 20 years' old. Q:Who were the other three women who were with you that day? A:Fatima Darwesh, Fatima Salim and Salia Shawan. Q:Can they give us testimonies? A:Yes. Q:How far from here is the place where they killed your son? A:About 15 minutes' walk. Q:Who do you think killed your son? A:The Turks. Q:How do you know that it was the Turks who killed your son? A:I know it was the Turks. My son was innocent like the other shepherds and the Turks killed them. I saw the Turkish soldiers take away my son and the rest of the shepherds. Q:Why would the Turkish army kill your son? A:I don't know. He did not do anything wrong. He was innocent. They killed an innocent man. They (the Turks) want to kill Kurds. Q:Was your son armed? A:No, apart from a lighter he did not have anything on him. Q:Do you have any witnesses that the Turkish army killed your son? A:Yes. We were four women who saw the Turkish army take away our men. You can also ask the Party (KDP) because they talked to the Turkish army officers. Q:How did they kill your son? A:They cut him to pieces. His ears were cut off, they took his tongue out of his mouth. I cannot describe it to you. They have not left anything. They have chained him and dragged him. His body was full of bullets, his genitals were cut. Q:Have you submitted a petition anywhere in relation to the Turkish army? A:Yes. Q:Where? A:In Sarsang, Dohuk, and I and the others have spoken to many foreign groups. Q:Is there an investigation into the killings? A:No, they [Dohok Governor] keep telling us that they will investigate. Each one takes statements from us and they say God will help you. Q:Have you been given autopsy reports on your son and husband? A:No, I haven't. I will try to get one for you. Q:Do you have anything more to add to your statement? A:I would not be able to tell you everything that happened because my heart is burning. I know my son and husband were innocent and did not have any problem with anybody. The Turks left me with my children and I do not know how I will live. Please help to find out the truth.” (b)Beebin Ahmad Omer 28. The applicant was the wife of Ahmad Fatah Hassan, a shepherd who was allegedly killed by members of the Turkish army. In her statement the applicant alleged the following: “It was early in the morning, on 2 April, and I was at home when I heard the sound of gunshots in the distance. We had heard that the Turkish army was in the area and our shepherds were out with the sheep, so I was concerned. I went out to find out what was happening. Some other people were outside and a man was telling them that the Turkish army was near our village and that the shooting was coming from the direction of the cave. That is in the direction of Spna, not far from the village. The man said that it seemed to him that the Turkish troops were firing inside the cave. We talked about what to do and we thought that we would go to find the shepherds. I and the other women went out to look for the men. We thought that we would not be harmed if it was only women who went to look. When we saw the soldiers from a distance, our men were with them. The soldiers saw us and they began to fire at us to frighten us. We went away from them and watched what was happening. We saw our shepherds with the Turkish soldiers but we could not do anything. We saw some more soldiers down in the valley and we went over to them to ask them to let us go to the shepherds. We begged them, but they pointed guns at us so we went away from them. We spent some time searching for the men and checked the cave, but there was no one there. We were still looking for the shepherds when we saw a Turkish army helicopter land nearby. We went to another group of Turkish soldiers and asked them to let us see the shepherds but they didn't let us. We searched for a long time but we could not find the shepherds. Then we went back to the village to tell the men of the village about what had happened. They went to the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party Officials) to get help and some men went to the Turkish officers in the area to have the men released. The men, headed by the local KDP chief, went to the Turkish officer in charge at Anskhi to ask him to let the men go and to let the sheep be brought back but he said he did not know anything. We had seen our shepherds with the Turkish soldiers and so we were frightened for the safety of the shepherds. The next day some people went out again to search for the men. They found the five bodies near the cave. My husband's body was among them. The bodies were brought to the main road so they could be taken to Azadi hospital in Dohuk. The village people kept looking for the other two missing shepherds. Two days later they found their bodies.” (c)Safia Shawan Ibrahim 29. The applicant was the wife of Abdula Teli Hussein, one of the shepherds allegedly killed by members of the Turkish army. She stated: “That morning, the 2nd of April 1995, I set out with my husband and the other shepherds and women to tend to the sheep. There were seven shepherds and four women including myself. We had not gone very far from the village when we met the Turkish soldiers. There was a large number of soldiers and they surrounded us. They started to attack us and hit us with their rifle butts and shouted abuse at us. They hit the women as well as the men. After some time they told the women to go back to the village. The men were still with the soldiers when we left. At this time there were seven shepherds with the soldiers. We went back to the village and told the men of the village what had happened. The men of the village set out to go to the Turkish army officers to ask them to let the shepherds go as they were not doing any wrong. The men made many representations to the army officials throughout the day and they went to Anshki to make further representations. They said that they were told to return to the village and warned not to look for the men. The men went out to look for the shepherds and found the flocks of sheep but there was no trace of the shepherds. The following day the village men once again went off to look for the shepherds. They found the bodies of five of them. Two days later the bodies of the other two were found. I saw the body of my husband. He had been killed by many bullets. The body was taken to the hospital. I want you to take the necessary action against the soldiers for what they have done to my husband.” (d)Fatime Darwish Murty Khan 30. The applicant was the mother of Sarbest Abdulkadir Izat and the wife of Abdulkadir Izat Khan (Hassan), who was allegedly killed under torture by members of the Turkish army between the 2 and 3 April 1995. She claimed the following: “From our village we could see the army down in the valley on the day before the incident in which my husband was killed. On the morning of 2 April 1995 I went with my husband and son to herd sheep. We met with the other women and men and set off in the direction of Spna. We went with the men because the men thought that if we were with them there would not be any trouble. We walked ahead of the men. There were seven men and four women in the group. The Turkish soldiers stopped us. They hit us and beat us with their rifle butts and humiliated us. I was frightened for my life. The soldiers told us to go back and they took our shepherds away with them. We ran back to the village and told the men in the village what had happened. We went back to the valley and spent the rest of the day looking for our shepherds. Some men went to the Turkish soldiers to ask them to let our shepherds go. Then some men went to Anshki and asked a high-ranking Turkish army officer to release our shepherds and to let us bring the sheep back. The men went many times that day to get information about our shepherds. Party (KDP) representatives also went to the Turkish army officers many times, but nothing happened. The next day the bodies of my husband and son were found with terrible things done to them. They were found in the cave. The bodies of three other shepherds were found with them. The other two shepherds' bodies were found a few days later. It was a terrible thing that was done to our shepherds. My husband and son did not do anything wrong. I do not know why they did this to him and the others. Please help us. We have nothing left.” (e)Fahima Salim Muran 31. The applicant was the wife of Mohammad Sheriff, who was allegedly killed under torture by the Turkish army between 2 and 3 April 1995. She stated: “The day of the incident I got ready to go out to herd sheep with my husband and the other shepherds. We had heard that the Turkish army was in the area but we did not feel in danger. We went to do our work. I was going with my husband to the hills to herd the sheep. We all went together. I walked with the other women. We were walking along when the soldiers appeared in front of us. They came all around us and attacked us with their rifle butts and beat us. They were shouting at us all the time they were beating us. Then we were told to go back to the village and the men were still with the soldiers. We saw the soldiers take our men towards the cave. There were seven men. We were four women. We went back to the village and told the rest of the villagers about what had happened. I know that some of the men went and asked one of the Turkish army officers to let them bring the flocks of sheep back from the valley and petitioned the officer to release the men. Later that day the men also went to Anshki to the larger military base and asked the officer in charge to let our men go and to return the flocks of sheep, but they did not get any information about our men. The men were warned not to go looking for the shepherds. The body of my husband was found the next day. His body was in pieces. He had been shot many times. I don't know why the Turks did this to him. He was an innocent man and we were on our way to herd our sheep. The Turks killed my husband and they also killed his four brothers [in a separate incident]. We had no trouble with the army and there was no reason to kill our men. The body of my husband was brought to the hospital in Dohuk for medical examination. The Turks are gone now, but I am left with my children with no father. I do not know who to petition about the terrible things that have happened to us.” (f)Basna Rashid Omer 32. The applicant was the wife of Guli Zekri Guli, one of the shepherds allegedly killed by members of the Turkish army. The applicant claimed the following in her statements: “It was early in the morning of 2 April 1995 and I woke up to prepare breakfast for my children. While I was preparing breakfast I heard the sound of gunfire. I was startled and went out of the house. I saw our villager and asked him what had happened. He told me that the Turkish army was near our village, and that the shooting came from the direction of the cave. The only cave near the village is in the direction of Spna. He told me that it seemed to him that the Turkish troops were firing inside the cave. After a while I and four other women, Beebin, Binafis, Safia, Bahia, left the village to go in the direction of the gunfire. We were very concerned about our husbands and sons who were grazing our animals in the mountains. Then we saw the shepherds with the Turkish soldiers. We went towards them and when we were still far away from them the Turkish troops suddenly fired on us without any warning. Probably they wanted to frighten us, so that we would not approach them. We saw our shepherds being taken away by the soldiers. We went further down in the valley and met some other Turkish soldiers. We begged them to release our shepherds and to let us talk to them. They told us that they would kill us if we did not go back to the village. Despite many pleas and much begging they forced us to go back to the village. We had to leave the soldiers and we went and hid ourselves in a place in the valley in order to be able to see what the soldiers were going to do next. Four soldiers saw us and came over to us and threatened us to go back to our village or we would be killed. They were very angry when they saw us and told us “We don't want to see you around again. Go back to your home, otherwise we will kill you.” We left our hiding place and went to the cave to look for the shepherds. Our men were not there. Then we saw a Turkish army helicopter land nearby. For the third time we tried to see our husbands and sons, so we went to the Turkish soldiers and asked them to let us see the shepherds, but they didn't let us. When we didn't see them in the cave we thought that they might have taken them somewhere else. We spent until about 1 p.m. in the area trying to find them. Then we decided to go back to the village. The village men came towards us when we were near the village and wanted to find out what had happened. We told them that the Turkish troops took the men, but we don't know what happened after that. The village men went to Anshki with the representatives of the party, [Kurdistan Democratic Party] KDP and met the military commander there. They told him the story and asked him to release our shepherds. The Turkish army commander first told him that he didn't know anything about the arrest of the shepherds. Later on, the Commander told the KDP people that they will soon release the shepherds, but this never happened. We were left confused and not knowing what to do. They went back to Anshki and once again asked the Turkish troops to let them see the shepherds, but they did not get any further news about our men. I can't remember everything the Turkish commander told the party men, but you can ask the party, they will tell you everything. The following day, the village people went to the valley once again to look for them and they found the dead bodies of five of them. They brought their bodies to the main road. Afterwards the village men took the bodies to Azadi hospital in Dohuk. The village people kept looking for the two other missing shepherds. Two days later they found their bodies. One of them was my husband's. They took their bodies to Azadi hospital in Dohuk. The following questions were asked. Q:How many soldiers were there? A:A lot, but I don't know how many, but the soldiers were everywhere. Q:How do you know that the soldiers were Turkish? A:Because they were speaking Turkish and it was the Turkish army which was around at the time. The Turks had been in the surrounding area over the previous few days. They were all over the place. We do not have any other army here. The Iraqi army left some time ago and their uniform was different from the Turkish army uniform. Q:You say you saw a Turkish helicopter landing nearby. How do you know it was a Turkish army helicopter and what happened? A:I told you, we haven't seen any other army in the area for sometime. The other alternative is the Iraqi army. But you see, we haven't seen the Iraqi army recently and we know what they look like. The soldiers were not Iraqi soldiers. They left some time ago. The helicopters dropped the soldiers and food in the valley. Q:You say the Turkish army threatened to kill you if you didn't leave the place? How? A:By pointing their guns at us and using bad words and shouting at us. We were asked to leave the place and this kind of thing. Q:Did you see your husband's body? Can you describe his body? A:I saw it for a short time. I saw that his ears were cut [crying] I can't describe to you, those who committed this crime cannot be human beings and I can't understand why they didn't just shoot him with a gun. Why did they kill him in this way? How can they cut the body of my husband like this? They are not human. Q:Was your husband armed? A:No, he has never carried a gun in his life. Q: Had your husband any connection with the PKK? A:No. We have never seen the PKK. We have never seen their peshmargas. We never had trouble with them. Q:So why did the Turkish troops kill your husband? A:I do not know. Because we are Kurds, maybe they do not like us. They kill us because we are defenceless and there is no one to defend us against them.” 2.Statement made by Mr Shookri Nerwayi, the KDP Chief in Amedi region in Iraq, during a press conference held in Dohok, a day after the bodies of the shepherds were found 33. Mr Nerwayi claimed the following during the press conference: “I was in Amadia town when reports came to me that the Turkish army had attacked the Spna area and the Bawrki area at 4.30 a.m. Past experience with the Turkish army has taught us that, wherever they go, they assault poor people. As an example, before the current incident two of our citizens were on their way back to Hemzeki village. The Turkish soldiers arrested them. After assaulting and beating them, killing one and wounding the other. I reported this incident to the Turkish army commander and asked him to keep us informed about their operations, so that we can ask the villagers to leave their villages before the operations to avoid civilian casualties. I heard about the Turkish army operation in Spna area, and I went early in the morning to the Turkish army commander in Kadish. I told him that I received information about the arrest of several shepherds by the Turkish army. I officially gave him this list (showing a list of names of the deceased) of the shepherds reported to have been arrested by the Turkish army. I told him that the people who had been arrested were shepherds and were known to us. I said that they were out herding their sheep and I asked the commander to send orders to release them as they were innocent people minding their own business. He told me he would take action. Indeed, he radioed his troops, and then told me that he ordered them to release the men and the sheep. I went back to my office in Kadish. During the day, as I had not heard any news of the shepherds, I made 4 or 5 representations to the Turkish army commander, asking him to release the men as soon as possible. Each time, he promised that he would order his soldiers to release them and made excuses for not releasing them. He told me after the military operation he would let the men go. The Turkish army withdrew (from the Spna area) during the night, and the following morning I went back to the Turkish army commander. At that time, he denied having arrested the men. He said go and look for them: they might have been killed. We told the shepherds' relatives, who went to the area once again and found the shepherds' bodies. I am giving this account so that you know that we made representations to the Turkish army and asked the Turkish army to release the shepherds, but they did not. I hope that you publicise the incident so that who killed these men is known. I hope that you will do something both to prevent future atrocities by Turkish army and end the oppression they bring upon us.” 34. A post-mortem examination was performed by Dr Abdula Salih, a specialist surgeon, at the Baghdad Forensic Medicine Institute of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, on the bodies of Ahmed Fattah Hassan, Ismail Hasan Muhammed, Abdulmalik Hussein, Abdulkader Izzat Khan, Abdulrahman Muhammad Sherriff, Sarias Abdulkadir and Gulei Thekeri. 35. Dr Abdula Salih diagnosed the cause of death as brain damage due to gunshot wounds. He noted the presence of gunshot wounds, cutting and other wounds on the bodies of the deceased. 36. This video recording, compiled from various Turkish TV stations, contains pictures of Turkish army presence in northern Iraq between 19 March and 2 May 1995. It further comprises interviews and news reports about the operations conducted by the Turkish army in northern Iraq. 5.A copy of a video recording about a press conference held by the Governor of Dahouk in northern Iraq regarding the killing of the applicants' relatives and pictures of the latter's mutilated bodies 37. On 4 April 1995 the Governor of Dahouk held a press conference attended by of the representatives of international human rights organisations and agencies, representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (“KDP”) and of the local assembly in northern Iraq as well as by the relatives of the deceased persons. The KDP spokesperson stated that the purpose of the press conference was to give information about the Turkish army's encroachment on northern Iraq since 19 March 1995. 38. It was alleged that Turkish armed forces were in control of the Sersing, Amadia and Spna areas. As a result of the military campaign launched by the Turkish army at the relevant time, allegedly eleven persons had died, seven persons had been wounded, thirty one houses had been burned and the inhabitants of fifty-one villages had left their homes for reasons of insecurity. 39. The KDP spokesperson alleged that on 2 April 1995 eleven persons had been arrested by members of the Turkish troops. These persons were Abdulkader Izzet, Serbest Abdulkader, Ismail Hassan Sheriff, Abdullatif Hüseyin, Abdurrahman Muhammet Sheriff, Goly Zikry, Ahmed Fatah, Fatma Darwish, Fahima Selim, Safia Zwa and Halima Mussa. The latter four persons, all women, were released and informed their relatives in their village. The villagers informed a KDP officer in charge of the Amadia region, Mr Shookri, about the arrest and detention of seven men by the Turkish army. Mr Shookri went to speak to the leader of the Turkish troops and asked him to release these men. He also submitted a petition containing the names of the persons under arrest. The leader of the Turkish troops promised that they would be released. However, following the withdrawal of the Turkish army troops, the villagers found the corpses of five of the seven men. Their bodies had been mutilated and some of them had been decapitated. At the end of the press conference, Mr Shookri took the floor and stated that the leader of the Turkish troops had denied that they had killed these men. On 4 April 1995 two men were still missing. 40. The KDP spokesperson stated that they had condemned the acts of the Turkish army in the region and called on them to withdraw. He noted that they would seek compensation from the Turkish Government for the crimes committed by the Turkish army. 41. The KDP spokesperson also called on the PKK to withdraw from northern Iraq. He remarked that the inhabitants were unable to construct houses and set up new villages along the Turkish border on account of PKK activity over the last four years. He underlined in this connection the difficulties in controlling the 340 kilometres of border. 42. At the end of the press conference, the mutilated bodies of the deceased persons and bullets removed from them were shown. 6.Statements and a report by a Turkish journalist, Koray Düzgören, who has written about the military operations of the Turkish army in northern Iraq 43. In his written statements Koray Düzgören claimed that the Turkish army had carried out cross-border operations, called “hot pursuit actions”, against PKK militants in May 1983, August 1986, March 1987 before the Gulf war and on 5 September 1991, 11 October 1991, 16 May 1992 and 7 October 1992 after the Gulf war. He alleged that these operations were aimed at preventing the incursion of PKK militants into Turkey and from dissuading the Kurdish groups from setting up a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. He noted, with reference to the statements made by the former head of the General Staff, General Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu, in August 1992 that Turkish troops were positioned in the vicinity of a small airport in the Sersing area of northern Iraq. 44. In his report dated 5 June 1996, Mr Düzgören noted that since 20 April 1996 seventeen villages had been subjected to intermittent attacks from artillery fire from the hills on the Turkish border or from helicopters and aircraft. The artillery fire discharged by the Turkish army caused damage to buildings and killed one person and wounded eleven others. In his opinion, the reason for these attacks was to create a buffer zone south of the border and to cut off the logistic support given to the PKK by the villagers in the region. 7.Chronology of cross-border operations carried out by the Turkish army, prepared by a Turkish working group “Coming Together for Peace” in June 1996 45. The Turkish security forces carried out fourteen major cross-border operations between January 1994 and November 1998. The largest operation, called “Çelik (steel) operation” and carried out with the participation of seventy to eighty thousand troops accompanied by tanks, armoured vehicles, aircraft and helicopters, lasted almost six weeks between 19 March and 2 May 1995. The Turkish troops penetrated 40-50 kilometres southwards into Iraq and 385 kilometres to the east. 8.A letter dated 23 October 2000 from Mr Safeen Dizayee, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party office in Ankara, to the Turkish Ministry for Foreign Affairs 46. The Government submitted a document, furnished by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (“KDP”), one of the two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq, which stated: “At the time of the incident Mr Newayi was a co-ordinator with the Turkish military and no accusations were made against the army since no investigation was conducted yet in order to come to any such conclusions. The families of the killed individuals, being Iraqi Kurdish citizens, approached the KDP and local authorities to report the incident, which is a natural thing to do. The PKK was active in the Bahdinan (Duhok province) region at the time of the incident and many confrontations were reported between KDP peshmergas and the PKK.” 47. A daily newspaper, “Binyıl”, reported in its edition of 5 October 2000 that one of the Kurdish Iraqi leaders, Mr Mesut Barzani, had stated during his visit to Ankara that the Turkish Government had paid compensation to the relatives of thirty-eight persons who had lost their lives during an aerial campaign of the Turkish army in northern Iraq on 15 August. Mr Barzani said that a serious investigation had been carried out into the incident. He further noted that the attack had not been deliberate and that the families had received the compensation awarded to them. According to sources close to Mr Barzani, the payment, which was unprecedented, was made in cash. 48. After having viewed video footage showing the bodies of a number of Iraqi peasants (see paragraph 42 above), Dr Milroy observed the following: “...All the bodies show a number of gunshot wounds. The cameraman tends to concentrate on the larger wounds, but smaller circular wounds are also shown. The wounds all appear to be caused by high velocity bullets. A typical gun that would fire such bullets would be a 7.62 mm or 5.56 mm rifle. The larger wounds on the bodies are exit wounds of bullets, the wounds being made larger in some cases probably by bone fragments exiting the body. The smaller wounds are the entrance wounds of the bullets. It is not possible to determine the range at which these people were shot at from this vdeo. Some of the wounds are near the genitalia, but these all appear to be bullet wounds, and there is no evidence of any other weapon being used, or of deliberate genital mutilation. The video also shows bullet shells with the marking “MKE”. MKE is the mark of the manufacturer Makina Kimya Endustrisi Kurumu of Kırıkkale, Ankara, Turkey. Overall the bodies all show multiple gunshot wounds in keeping with bullets fired from high velocity rifles.”

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7. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 8. The applicant was born in New Zealand and at all material times was domiciled there. In 1966 he came to the United Kingdom to attend flying courses and at the same time engaged in other occupations of an engineering or building contractor variety, trading under the name “King Enterprises Engineering & Hardware Co”. The applicant met Miss J. and between April 1973 and October 1991 they purchased properties together. 9. From the 1970s onwards, the applicant's tax returns were incomplete and late, in some cases by several years. From February 1982, the Inland Revenue began investigating a number of guesthouse businesses in London which were associated with the applicant and/or his partner Miss J. of which no mention had been made in the applicant's tax returns. 10. In December 1985 the General Commissioners of taxes served two notices on the applicant requiring him to provide details of the acquisition of one of the guesthouses and to produce his business records. At a meeting on 21 November 1986, the applicant states that he was informed that the Revenue would be seeking penalties as part of any settlement. 11. From this time the applicant was involved in frequent discussions and correspondence with the Revenue about his affairs. The Government stated that the Revenue held some 38 meetings with the applicant and/or his accountant between September 1986 and July 1991. 12. In June 1987 the Revenue requested a statement of assets and liabilities from the applicant. The applicant states that he objected to disclosing all his assets since due to his non-domicile status his overseas assets were of no relevance. When he had not provided the statement by November 1987, the applicant was interviewed by the Inspector of taxes and on 21 November 1987 the “Hansard statement” was read to him. The statement, revised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer from time to time, sets out the practice of the Inland Revenue in cases in which criminal proceedings may be contemplated and outlines the factors taken into account by the Revenue when deciding whether to prosecute. 13. In April 1988 the General Commissioners served a notice requiring the applicant to give details of all transfers of property and cash and of his bank accounts. The notices included a warning about the financial penalty which could be imposed for non-compliance. 14. On 18 January 1989 the applicant signed a “Statement of Personal Assets and Liabilities and Business Interests” as at 1 September 1986. He states that this was after the Special Commissioners had refused to require him to disclose his overseas assets. The same month, the Revenue issued tax assessments against the applicant for the tax years 1972/3 to 1986/7. The assessments were for income tax on guesthouse profits and bank interest which had not been declared by the applicant in his tax returns. The total claimed was in excess of 620,000 pounds sterling (GBP). For the tax years more than six years prior to the assessments being made, the Revenue could only raise assessments which were to make good a loss of tax due to the neglect or wilful default of the applicant. 15. The applicant appealed against the assessments. Initial hearings during early 1989 before the General Commissioners were adjourned on the application of the applicant or Miss J. On 24 August 1989, at the Revenue's application, the appeals were transferred to the Special Commissioners of Taxes. A hearing of one week was scheduled for November 1990. On the date set for the hearing of his appeal, the applicant applied for judicial review of the refusal of the Special Commissioners to hold a preliminary hearing at his request. The appeal was adjourned as a result. After the refusal of permission to apply for judicial review, the appeals were relisted. 16. The appeals were heard over eighteen days between May and September 1991. The Commissioners initially indicated that they were not prepared to sit one day a week for the convenience of the applicant, but after the Revenue had opened the case it was decided that, exceptionally, the hearings should be arranged to ensure that the applicant and Miss J. were able to attend. The applicant's main submissions were that he had no beneficial interest in three of the guesthouses in respect of which assessments had been made and that certain funds used to purchase property had been a loan from his father. 17. On 18 November 1991 the Special Commissioners issued their written decision. Some of the assessments were reduced to nil or discharged, but the appeals were dismissed in substance, the Commissioners finding that (for those years for which it was necessary) the purpose of the assessments had been to make good a loss of tax which was due to the applicant's wilful default or neglect. They found that the applicant had traded as a guesthouse proprietor and had derived profits from the trade. The applicant's evidence was described as “irregular in quality” and his claim that he was in partnership with other members of the family, including his infant children was found to be “a complete sham”. The revised assessments amounted to approximately GBP 120,000. 18. In or about the end of December 1991 the applicant applied for the Special Commissioners to state a case by way of appeal to the High Court against the 1991 Commissioners' decision, on the basis that they had erred in law, there being no evidence on which they could reach their determinations. The Special Commissioners drafted the case for the High Court in July 1992 and the applicant lodged his appeal on 17 August 1992. The appeal was heard and dismissed on 26 November 1993. The Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant's further appeal in October 1995. 19. Meanwhile, in December 1991 the General Commissioners issued a determination under section 88 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 that interest was payable on the assessments from specified dates on which the tax ought to have been paid, to the date of payment. The applicant appealed against the determination. 20. On 17 October 1994 the Revenue issued penalty determinations, assessed at 80% of the tax lost (the maximum penalty then being 100% of the lost tax, plus GBP 50). The penalties amounted to over GBP 50,000. The applicant appealed against the penalty determinations. 21. In April 1995 the General Commissioners agreed that the interest and penalty appeals should be transferred to the Special Commissioners. At about the same time, the Revenue discovered the existence of a further property, Roundwood Lodge, which had been purchased in 1983 and which was in the applicant's name. The Revenue took the view that the property had been purchased with funds from the profits of the applicant's business and the funds were therefore taxable. In April 1996 further assessments to income tax were therefore issued on guesthouse profits for the years from 1977/78 to 1985/86. The applicant appealed against the further assessments and the matter was later transferred to the Special Commissioners to be consolidated with other appeals. 22. Meanwhile, on March 1996 the applicant suffered a stroke which he states affected his memory and his ability to cope with pressure. In August 1996 he wrote to the Revenue to ask that the “matters in hand” be adjourned to enable him to concentrate on his recovery. He appeared before the General Commissioners on 24 October 1996 when his request for further time for preparation of various matters was granted. 23. Meanwhile, despite reminders from the Inland Revenue on 6 June 1996 and 14 November 1996, the clerk to the General Commissioners did not write to the clerk of the Special Commissioners requesting a transfer until 3 March 1997. Despite further reminders in March, April and May 1997, he failed also to request a transfer of appeals against further assessments made in April 1996. The General Commissioners asked the clerk to request a transfer of these appeals on 24 October 1996. 24. On 6 March 1997 the Special Commissioners agreed to accept jurisdiction and issued requests for information about the status of various appeals. In September 1997 the appeals were consolidated. 25. In February 1998 there was a preliminary hearing of the appeals against, (i) the December 1991 determination of interest, (ii) the 1994 penalty determination and (iii) the further assessments raised in 1996. The substantive hearing began in May 1998 and was heard over seventeen days between then and April 1999. The applicant represented himself. During the hearing he applied for a copy of the notes made by the 1991 Commissioners. When the application was refused he sought permission to judicially review the decision, which was also refused. 26. On 23 March 2000 the Special Commissioners dismissed the appeals. They held, inter alia, that they were bound by the factual findings of the 1991 Commissioners on the issue of neglect/wilful default for the years in respect of which such findings had been required. For the later years, in respect of which no determinations had been made by the 1991 Commissioners, they found wilful default and neglect on the part of the applicant (which was necessary to uphold the penalty determination). They also found that the capital statement he had prepared in 1991 was not truthful. As the amount of tax due was correctly determined by the 1991 Commissioners, the interest determination was also correct. The 80% penalties were appropriate. They allowed his appeal against the further (1996) assessments in part, by allowing some reduction in the amount claimed, but found that the applicant had been the owner of Roundwood Lodge and had purchased it with his own funds. 27. In May 2001 Mr Justice Jacob dismissed the appeals against the findings of the 2000 Commissioners. As regarded the applicant's complaints raised about the procedures under Article 6, he found that the system of imposition of penalties for fraudulent or negligent delivery of incorrect returns or statements was “criminal” for the purposes of the Convention. He noted that the system was plainly punitive and deterrent, and the potential fine was very substantial and dependent on the culpability of the taxpayer, rather than being an administrative matter. The amount of the fine imposed also depended on the degree of culpability as mitigation, essentially a criminal matter, was more where the taxpayer was less culpable. The judge agreed with the applicant that the proceedings began in 1987 when the Hansard warning was given and considered whether the length of the proceedings was unreasonable. The judge noted that the applicant made no complaint of delay up to the 1991 decision and that some of the subsequent delay had been caused by or contributed to by the applicant, inter alia, in the way in which 16 hearing days were spread over nearly a year and due to problems arising from his illness. However, he observed that nothing happened for a two year period when the case was referred to the Special Commissioners, notwithstanding reminders from the Inland Revenue. In conclusion the judge said: “The decision of the 1991 Commissioners was released on 18 November 1991. Mr King waited some 5 weeks before asking for a case stated (appeal by way of cases stated was the procedure then). There was then an 8 month delay before that was produced (delay not of Mr King's making). The appeal was launched on 17 August 1992. Judgment was given on 14 January 1994. The Revenue delayed making a penalty determination until 17 October 1994. Whilst it is understandable, and at least not unreasonable, for the Revenue to wait until the hearing of the first appeal, it makes no sense for them to have waited some 9 months thereafter. The possibility of a determination was simply left hanging. Meanwhile the parties' attention was focused on other things, namely Mr King's further appeal to the Court of Appeal and, more significantly so far as Mr King's contribution to delay was concerned, the Revenue's discovery of the purchase in 1983 by Mr King of the substantial property, Roundwood Lodge. This led to further assessments and appeals therefrom which, it was decided fairly early on, should be heard with the interest and penalty appeals. ... It seems that but for Mr King's concealment of Roundwood Lodge, the two other appeals would have been heard earlier than 1998. It is not possible to be precise as to how much delay was caused by the introduction of this factor into the case, but it is far from insignificant. Naturally it prolonged the hearing itself, but on top of that I think a fair estimate of its effect is that it delayed the penalty and interest appeals for about three years. ... The result of all this is that there was delay through no fault of Mr King of, say, five years from the date of the 1991 decision. Is that too much? Marginally, but only just, I think not. He was not thereby prejudiced. ... He merely had to pay the penalty later. But for the complication of Roundwood Lodge, however, I think the time to determination of the penalty appeals would have been inconsistent with Article 6 (1). In future cases it is highly desirable that such appeals (and penalty determinations) are put on a fast track. So far as I can see they were treated in the same way as other determinations and appeals, but it should be appreciated that more is at stake in the case of penalties. Serious consideration should be given to penalty determination being made earlier - in appropriate cases along with the assessments giving rise to the penalties. ... I see no reason why the 1991 Commissioners could not have dealt with a penalty determination appeal if such a determination had been made at the same time as the 1989 determinations or shortly thereafter.” 28. The judge found in addition that the case was a serious one in which penalties were appropriate and the figure of 80% was not too high. So far as the further assessments were concerned, the reasoning of the Commissioners was detailed and convincing. The applicant had given misleading information to the Revenue and to the 1991 Commissioners and the further assessments had been to make good a loss of tax attributable to the applicant's wilful default or neglect. There was no error of law and no reason to overturn the decision. 29. The applicant applied for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Permission was refused on paper in July 2001 and at a hearing on 3 October 2001. 30. On the question of delay, the Court of Appeal said, “The delays which occurred in relation to the penalty determination must be seen in the context of what has plainly been an extended campaign by the applicant in disputing his liabilities to the Revenue and in deferring the date on which those liabilities have to be satisfied. Moreover, I find ... the greatest difficulty in seeing how the applicant could be prejudiced simply by the fact that the penalty might have been imposed earlier.” 31. The court was not persuaded that an appeal on that basis would have any prospect of success. Although by the time of the appeal a medical report had been provided to the effect that the applicant's memory had been significantly impaired as a result of his stroke, the author was unable to date the onset of the memory loss or its duration. The report did not take the applicant's case as to prejudice any further.

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7. The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Turany. He is a soldier by profession. 8. On 22 May 1997 the applicant's neighbour damaged a fence and entered the applicant's land while fixing the connection of his house pipes to the gas supply in the street. The applicant requested that the neighbour and the workers stop the works as he had not been notified and the neighbour had not shown that he had been authorised to do so. As the neighbour and the workers refused to stop the works, the applicant attempted to prevent them from continuing. The neighbour called the police. 9. Later an employee of the municipal office in Turany asked the applicant to allow the neighbour to fix the connection. As the applicant still prevented the works from being carried out, the police took him, with his consent, to a police station where he was asked to explain his behaviour. 10. On 7 July 1997 the Martin Office of Investigation charged the applicant with an offence in that he had tried to prevent his neighbour from having a gas supply extension fixed. On 6 August 1997 the Banská Bystrica District Military Prosecutor quashed this decision as, in view of their character, the applicant's actions did not constitute a criminal offence. They could be qualified as minor offences falling under the Minor Offences Act of 1990. As a result, the case was transmitted to the rector of the Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš where the applicant was attached as a professional soldier. 11. On 27 October 1997 the rector of the Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš issued a decision by which he imposed a fine of 1,000 Slovakian korunas (SKK) on the applicant under the Minor Offences Act of 1990. The decision stated that the applicant had committed a disciplinary offence under the Military Order and that his actions constituted a minor offence under sections 49(1)(d) and 50(1) of the Minor Offences Act of 1990. According to the decision, the applicant had acted contrary to the rules of civic propriety in that he had cut through two electric wires belonging to a building company and had forcibly detached a steel pipe. He had thereby rendered difficult works which had been authorised by a public authority and had disregarded his civil obligations. Reference was made to the police case file. 12. The applicant appealed arguing that the neighbour and the authorities had acted contrary to the law. 13. On 10 December 1997 the Ministry of Defence dismissed the applicant's appeal. In March 1998 the Minister of Defence refused to review that decision. 14. On 9 January 1998 the applicant requested the Bratislava III District Court to examine the lawfulness of the decision delivered by the Ministry of Defence on 10 December 1997. On 29 May 1998 the District Court found, with reference to section 83(1) of the Minor Offences Act of 1990, that the decision in question could not be reviewed by courts. The proceedings were discontinued. The applicant appealed. On 26 November 1998 the Bratislava Regional Court discontinued the proceedings as an appeal was not available. On 29 June 1998 the Supreme Court refused to review the above decisions by which the applicant had been fined with reference to Article 248(2)(f) of the Code of Civil Procedure. 15. On 23 March 1999 the applicant complained to the Constitutional Court that, inter alia, his right to judicial protection had been violated in that he could not have the administrative decisions imposing a fine on him reviewed by a tribunal. The applicant qualified his submissions as both a petition under Article 130(3) of the Constitution and a constitutional complaint. 16. On 3 June 1999 the Constitutional Court dismissed both the petition and the constitutional complaint. In its decision the Constitutional Court recalled that it had declared unconstitutional section 83(1) of the Minor Offences Act of 1990 by a finding of 15 October 1998. As that finding had no retroactive effect and since the judicial decisions in question had been taken in accordance with the law in force at the relevant time, they did not interfere with the applicant's constitutional right to judicial protection.

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7. The first applicant was born in 1954 and lives in Helsinki, Finland. The second applicant (“the applicant company”) is a limited liability company based in Helsinki. 8. The applicant company publishes a newspaper called Iltalehti which has a circulation of approximately 120,000. On 31 October 1996 it published an article on a criminal trial concerning the drunken and disorderly behaviour, including an assault on a police officer, of Mr A., a lawyer practising in Seinäjoki. The article bore the title “His wife [is] the chairperson of the parliamentary Committee for Education and Culture – Lawyer from Seinäjoki hits policeman in restaurant” (“Vaimo eduskunnan sivistysvaliokunnan puheenjohtaja – Seinäjokelainen asianajaja iski poliisia ravintolassa”). Follow-up articles were published on 21 November and 10 December 1996 concerning the verdict whereby the defendant was convicted and sentenced to six months’ suspended imprisonment. It was reported that the defendant was the husband of Mrs A., a member of the Finnish parliament and the chairperson of its Committee for Education and Culture. The headline on 21 November read “... Husband of member of parliament hits policeman in restaurant” (“... Kansanedustajan aviomies löi poliisia ravintolassa”). The heading on 10 December 1996 read “... Husband of member of parliament receives harsh sentence for violence in restaurant” (“... Kansanedustajan miehelle kova tuomio ravintolassa riehumisesta”). 9. The trial of Mr A. had been widely publicised and discussed locally, and the role of Mrs A. – who was in no way involved in the criminal proceedings – had become the subject of, inter alia, political satire in a programme (“Iltalypsy”) broadcast on the main national television channel. 10. In April 1997 Mrs A., who did not dispute the facts as presented by Iltalehti, instituted proceedings against the applicants and two of the journalists involved on the grounds that the reporting by Iltalehti had been libellous and had invaded her privacy. She requested that the respondents be punished for invasion of privacy and defamation, and claimed compensation for non-pecuniary damage caused by the articles. Moreover, she relied on section 15 of the Parliament Act then in force (valtiopäiväjärjestys, riksdagsordningen) which stipulated that members of parliament as well as parliamentary officials were to enjoy special protection in the performance of their duties and for the duration of parliamentary sessions. Criminal offences, in the form of words or physical acts, that violated the rights of members of parliament or officials while Parliament was in session, or subsequent physical violence, were to be regarded as being committed in particularly aggravating circumstances. According to Mrs A., this provision was applicable both in relation to the criminal charges and in determining the amount of damages in her case. She argued that the articles had caused her particular suffering as she had been publicly associated with a criminal act that was in no way connected to her person or function as member of parliament. 11. As editor-in-chief of Iltalehti the first applicant, Mr Karhuvaara, admitted to being superficially aware of the type of material published but denied any detailed prior knowledge of the specific material in question. According to section 32 of the Freedom of the Press Act then in force (painovapauslaki, tryckfrihetslag; 1/1919, replaced by Act no. 460/2003 in 2004), an editor-in-chief was ultimately responsible for any original material published in his newspaper or periodical, regardless of whether he had in fact been aware of its contents. The defendants also argued that they had only mentioned in their articles that Mrs A. was married to Mr A., a fact which was not denied by Mrs A. She had not been otherwise mentioned in the articles. Moreover, the case had already been reported locally and their article contained no new information as such. They also argued that a member of parliament, as a public political figure, must tolerate more from the media than an “average citizen” and that it was particularly disturbing that a member of parliament was trying to limit the defendants’ freedom of expression. 12. On 27 March 1998 the Vantaa District Court (käräjäoikeus, tingsrätten) convicted the first applicant and the two other journalists on one count of invasion of privacy under particularly aggravating circumstances within the meaning of section 15 of the Parliament Act. The first applicant was ordered to pay eighty day-fines, amounting to 47,360 Finnish markkas (FIM) (approximately 7,965 euros (EUR)). The two other journalists were both ordered to pay fines amounting to approximately EUR 840. In addition, all the defendants, including both applicants, were ordered to pay damages as requested by the plaintiff (jointly and severally with a co-defendant, FIM 75,000 with interest from 31 October 1996, and jointly and severally with another co-defendant, FIM 100,000 with interest on FIM 50,000 from 21 November 1996 and with interest on FIM 50,000 from 10 December 1996), namely,. a total of FIM 175,000 (approximately EUR 29,400). All the defendants were ordered to reimburse Mrs A. jointly and severally in respect of her legal expenses of FIM 72,109 (EUR 12,128) with interest from 27 April 1998. The defamation charges were dropped. 13. The District Court found that, as a whole, the banner headlines, the front pages and the articles themselves were published with the purpose of drawing the readers’ attention principally to Mr A.’s marital relationship with Mrs A. and not with the purpose of depicting the events as such. It further found that the highlighted publication of Mrs A.’s name, picture and professional status was in no way necessary in order to report on the criminal trial of Mr A. It acknowledged that the protection of the private life of Mrs A., as a member of parliament, was narrower than that of other persons, but only in so far as the matters in question were connected to her public functions and there was a public interest justifying their publication. The fact that the conviction of the spouse of a politician could affect people’s voting intentions did not in itself render the matter of public interest such as to justify the publication. The District Court held that the fact that the actions of the plaintiff’s husband and the criminal proceedings against him had been well known in their home district and the fact that the local newspapers had been reporting the matter had no bearing on the defendants’ liability. According to the judgment, it was the nationwide publicity accorded by Iltalehti and the resultant infringement of the plaintiff’s protected private domain that had essentially constituted the criminal offence in question. It further held that, although the reasons underlying section 15 of the Parliament Act could be regarded as outdated, it was a mandatory provision, leading to conviction for an offence categorised as aggravated. As to the determination of the amount of compensation for suffering, the District Court noted that the plaintiff herself, especially as she was also a doctor and thus an expert, was best placed to assess her own situation and the damage she had sustained. 14. On 3 December 1998 the Helsinki Court of Appeal (hovioikeus, hovrätten) dismissed the joint appeal of the defendants and upheld the District Court’s judgment without any observations on the merits of the case, save for a minor correction of the lower court’s statement as to the alleged unlawful benefit accruing to the publishers. The Court of Appeal added that regardless of this correction the damages awarded to the plaintiff were not to be considered excessive. 15. On 25 May 1999 the Supreme Court (korkein oikeus, högsta domstolen) refused the defendants leave to appeal.

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8. The applicant was born in November 1945 and is resident in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey. 9. In August 1995, the police received a telephone call from GL alleging that the applicant had sexually abused him from December 1981 until December 1983. On 18 September 1995, GL informed the police that he had decided not to make a statement of complaint but on 29 January 1996 stated that he now wished to pursue the matter. On 2 February 1996, the police told GL that there would be a long delay in taking his statement due to other more pressing commitments. On 26 September 1996, the police started to take GL's statement, a process which continued on 18 and 19 December 1996 and several dates at the beginning of January 1997. 10. On 22 April 1996, DM telephoned the police and stated that he too had been sexually abused by the applicant from April 1973 until April 1978. DM informed the police that GL had contacted him and asked if he knew anyone else who had been sexually abused by the applicant and DM had answered that he had been. The police told DM that there would be a long delay before his statement could be taken. The police contacted DM again on 25 January 1997. His statement was taken over several days and completed on 4 February 1997. At a police interview on 25 January 1997, DM stated that he believed that the applicant had abused four other people including his brother, AM. 11. On 20 March 1997, the applicant was arrested on suspicion of indecent assaults on GL and DM. He was interviewed by the police on 21 March 1997 and was subsequently released on police bail. 12. On 4 June 1997, AM made a statement asserting that he had been abused by the applicant from November 1971 until November 1972. 13. On 2 July 1997, the police interviewed the applicant regarding the allegations made by AM. In October 1997, the police fingerprinted and took DNA swabs from the applicant. On 5 December 1997, the applicant was interviewed with respect to allegations of indecent assault made by a fourth person, MC, and was then charged with a number of counts of indecent assault. On 7 January 1998, MC withdrew his complaint. 14. From January to March 1998, the applicant made three remand appearances at the Magistrates' court. He requested a full committal hearing with consideration of the evidence. Shortly before the date set for the committal, it appeared that AM had left to work abroad. On 18 and 19 May 1998, the Magistrates' court refused the applicant's applications to discontinue the proceedings on the grounds of delay and adjourned the committal to allow AM, who was working abroad, to return and give evidence. 15. On 4 September 1998, the applicant was committed for trial on 20 counts relating to three different victims. On 18 December 1998, the trial was fixed for 14 April 1999. However, on 30 March 1999, the trial was delayed because the applicant was suffering from depression and memory loss. The applicant stated that the judge ordered a date to be fixed for trial from 1 June 1999 as he was responding well to medication and was fit to continue. In June 1999, the Crown Court refused the applicant's applications to stay the proceedings as an abuse of process or to sever the proceedings so that the applicant would be tried separately in respect of each complainant. 16. At the beginning of the trial, on 22 November 1999, the trial judge refused another application by the applicant for the proceedings to be stayed as an abuse of process. The applicant had argued that the trial judge should grant a stay on the grounds that the delay in the complainants coming forward prejudiced his defence since it was not possible to investigate the allegations or approach now deceased witnesses, and that the delay in the conduct of the police investigation allowed the contamination of evidence by contact between GL and DM. The judge considered that the delay in the complainants coming forward did not justify a stay of proceedings. He further deemed that, although the police delay in taking statements was “quite inadequate”, the applicant had not shown that any improper or negligent act or omission of the police had permitted contact between GL and DM or that anything had occurred which contaminated their evidence. The judge considered that the prosecution had discharged any onus upon them to establish that a fair trial was possible. 17. On 7 December 1999, the applicant was convicted of 16 counts of indecent assault and acquitted of four counts of buggery. He was sentenced to a total of six years' imprisonment and was made subject to the registration requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 for an indefinite period. 18. On 29 December 1999, the applicant sought leave to appeal against conviction and sentence on various grounds including that the trial judge should have stayed the proceedings as an abuse of process. On 5 February 2000, the applicant's counsel requested an extension of time to perfect the grounds of appeal. This was granted. On 3 April 2000, a single judge of the Court of Appeal refused to grant leave to appeal against conviction, finding inter alia that the trial judge was entitled to conclude that the proceedings did not constitute an abuse of process. The single judge also refused leave to appeal against sentence. 19. On 19 April 2000, the applicant renewed his application. On 12 December 2000, the full Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal against conviction, inter alia, on the ground that the trial judge should have granted the applications to stay the proceedings as an abuse of process. 20. In February 2001, the applicant's leading counsel advised that the case involved “complicated and novel arguments” and applied for an extension of legal aid to junior counsel. This was granted. In March 2001, counsel lodged the applicant's skeleton argument and at the end of the month the case was ready for listing. In May 2001, the case was stayed pending the judgment of the Court of Appeal in an Attorney-General reference case which also concerned issues of delay and abuse. 21. On 20 December 2001, the Court of Appeal refused a renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence and dismissed the appeal against conviction. As regarded the applicant's complaints of delay in the police investigation, which was alleged to have allowed the contamination of the evidence of GL and DM and created the risk of collusion between all three complainants, the Court of Appeal concluded that a stay of proceedings on the grounds of delay could only be granted in exceptional circumstances and only if the defendant showed that a fair trial was impossible. The court considered that Article 6 of the Convention was inapplicable because the applicant had been convicted before the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force but added that, even if Article 6 applied, it would not affect their assessment on the facts. It considered that, on the limited documentary material before him, the judge could not have come to any other conclusion than that a fair trial was possible. The court further deemed that there was no basis to conclude that the judge was wrong to refuse the application for a stay made at the end of the prosecution case: “Unsatisfactory though the police delay was, the police had, on GL's own evidence, advised him not to talk to others involved. He deliberately ignored this warning, including during the period when he was preparing his statement. It was not the police delay, but GL's ignoring of the police warning that led to discussion between potential witnesses. Even if the two witnesses' statements had been taken over the same period, such ignoring of police advice could not be prevented. DM was also advised not to talk to others. Even assuming that the police failed to give appropriate or sufficient warnings, it was not shown that the evidence given by Crown witnesses was thereby contaminated, in the sense of being affected or changed, whether deliberately or inadvertently, by the contacts which took place between GL and DM.”

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9. The applicant, Ayten Ünal Tekeli, is a Turkish national, born in 1965 and living in İzmir. 10. After her marriage on 25 December 1990 the applicant, who was then a trainee lawyer, took her husband’s name pursuant to Article 153 of the Turkish Civil Code. As she was known by her maiden name in her professional life, she continued putting it in front of her legal surname. However, she could not use both names together on official documents. 11. On 22 February 1995 the applicant brought proceedings in the Karşıyaka Court of First Instance (“the Court of First Instance”) for permission to use only her maiden name, “Ünal”. On 4 April 1995 the Court of First Instance dismissed the applicant’s request on the ground that, under Article 153 of the Turkish Civil Code, married women had to bear their husband’s name throughout their married life. 12. An appeal by the applicant on points of law was dismissed by the Court of Cassation on 6 June 1995. The decision was served on the applicant on 23 June 1995. 13. By one of the amendments made to Article 153 of the Civil Code on 14 May 1997, married women acquired the right to put their maiden name in front of their husband’s surname. The applicant preferred not to make use of that possibility because, in her view, the amendment in question did not satisfy her demand, which was to use her maiden name alone as her surname. On 22 November 2001 the new Civil Code was enacted. Article 187 was worded identically to the former Article 153.

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8. The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Valencia. 9. The applicant has lived in a flat in a residential quarter of Valencia since 1970. 10. Since 1974 the Valencia City Council has allowed licensed premises such as bars, pubs and discotheques to open in the vicinity of her home, making it impossible for people living in the area to sleep. 11. Local residents first complained about vandalism and noise in the locality before 1980. 12. In view of the problems caused by the noise, the Valencia City Council resolved on 22 December 1983 not to permit any more night clubs to open in the area. However, the resolution was never implemented and new licences were granted. 13. In 1993 the City Council commissioned a report by an expert. The expert found that the noise levels were unacceptable and exceeded permitted levels. At 3.35 a.m. on Saturdays they were in excess of 100 dBA Leq (decibels), ranging from 101 to 115.9 dBA Leq. 14. In a report of 31 January 1995 the police informed the Valencia City Council that nightclubs and discotheques in the sector in which the applicant lived did not systematically close on time. They said that they were able to confirm that the local residents’ complaints were founded. 15. On 28 June 1996 the City Council approved a new bylaw on noise and vibrations, which was published on 23 July 1996 in the Official Gazette of Valencia province. Article 8 of the bylaw lays down that in a family residential area (such as the one in which the applicant lives) external noise levels were not to exceed 45 dBA Leq between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Article 30 of the bylaw defines “acoustically saturated zones” as areas in which the large number of establishments, activity of the people frequenting them and passing traffic expose local residents to high noise levels and cause them serious disturbance. 16. Lastly, the bylaw specified the conditions that had to be satisfied for an area to be designated an “acoustically saturated zone” (zona acústicamente saturada) and the consequences of designation, which included a ban on new activities (such as nightclubs and discotheques) that led to acoustic saturation. 17. Following a resolution of the Valencia City Council sitting in plenary session on 27 December 1996, which was published in the Official Gazette of the Valencia province on 27 January 1997, the area in which the applicant lived was designated an acoustically saturated zone. 18. Nevertheless, on 30 January 1997 the City Council granted a licence for a discotheque to be opened in the building she lived in. The licence was subsequently declared invalid by a judgment of the Supreme Court of 17 October 2001. 19. In order to determine whether the area should be designated an acoustically saturated zone, the City Council took various sound-level readings to monitor acoustic pollution there. In each of its reports the City Council laboratory indicated that the noise levels exceeded those permitted by the bylaw. 20. The applicant was exasperated by the situation, which prevented her from sleeping and resting and caused her insomnia and serious health problems. On 21 August 1997 she lodged a preliminary claim with the Valencia City Council in which she relied on Article 15 (right to life and to physical integrity) and Article 18 § 2 (right to the privacy and inviolability of the home). She sought 3,907 euros (650,000 pesetas) for the damage she had sustained and the cost of installing double glazing. 21. Having received no reply from the authorities and in accordance with the Fundamental Rights (Protection) Act (Law no. 62/1978), the applicant lodged an application for judicial review with the Valencia High Court of Justice on 25 November 1997, alleging a violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution. 22. On 2 October 1997 the Valencia City Council lodged its written observations. It submitted that the application was premature and should be declared inadmissible, as the Council could still find a solution. This preliminary objection was dismissed in a decision of 27 October 1997. 23. On 11 December 1997 the representative of state council’s office argued that the court should find in favour of the applicant. He considered that there had been a violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution and that the applicant’s claim for damages was justified. 24. In a judgment of 21 July 1998, delivered after an adversarial hearing in public, the Valencia High Court of Justice dismissed the application for judicial review. It found that the readings had been taken in the entrance hall to the building, not in the applicant’s flat, and could not entail a violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution; it also noted that the medical expert’s report stated only that the applicant had been receiving treatment for insomnia for several years, without indicating the length of or reason for such treatment. 25. On 9 October 1998 the applicant lodged an amparo appeal with the Constitutional Court. Relying on Articles 14 (equality) and 24 (right to a fair hearing) of the Constitution, she complained that the High Court of Justice had not given sufficient reasons in its judgment or assessed the evidence. She also complained under Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution of a violation of her rights to life, physical and mental integrity, privacy and the inviolability of the home. 26. In a decision of 29 May 2000, the Constitutional Court declared the amparo appeal admissible and invited the applicant, the representative of state council’s office and the Valencia City Council to submit their observations. On the same day, it summoned the parties to a hearing on the merits on 16 May 2001. 27. At the hearing on 16 May 2001, which was attended by all the parties, the applicant repeated her factual and legal submissions, stressing that there had been a violation of her fundamental rights. 28. The Valencia City Council raised a number of preliminary objections. It further submitted that the appeal was confined to the decision of the Valencia High Court of Justice. With regard to the alleged violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution, it stated that there was no evidence of noise levels inside the applicant’s home and that the authority concerned should not bear sole responsibility for the noise to which the applicant had allegedly been exposed, as it had very limited means at its disposal to combat it. 29. The representative of state council’s office agreed with the applicant that there had been a violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution. He argued that the amparo appeal should be regarded as hybrid, since it both accused the Valencia City Council of failing to defend the fundamental rights set out in Articles 15 and 18 of the Constitution and challenged the Valencia High Court of Justice’s decision, alleging a violation of Articles 14 and 24 of the Constitution also. 30. As regards the violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution, the representative of state council’s office said that, in the light of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular in the case of López Ostra v. Spain, there had been a violation of the applicant’s right to the inviolability of her home, as her home environment had been rendered unfit for ordinary everyday living. On the basis of the Court’s case-law, he sought a broader definition of the constitutional concept of the “home”. 31. As regards noise levels inside the applicant’s home, the representative of state council’s office considered that the burden of proof had been reversed, as it was clear in the instant case that officials from the City Council had confirmed on a number of occasions that the maximum permitted noise levels were being exceeded. Consequently, he did not consider it necessary to require such proof from the applicant. 32. In a judgment of 29 May 2001, which was served on 31 May 2001, the Constitutional Court dismissed the appeal after also dismissing the Valencia City Council’s preliminary objections. It ruled that the amparo appeal was hybrid in nature, that is to say that it alleged a violation of Articles 15 and 18 § 2 of the Constitution by the Valencia City Council and a breach of Articles 14 and 24 of the Constitution by the Valencia High Court of Justice. 33. As regards the alleged violation of Articles 14 and 24 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court began by noting that it was not entitled to substitute the High Court’s assessment of the evidence with its own. As to the applicant’s allegation that the judgment did not contain sufficient reasons, it noted that the High Court’s decision could not be regarded as arbitrary or unreasonable. It further observed that the applicant had not identified the decisions on which she relied in alleging discrimination. Thus, there was no evidence of any violation of Articles 14 and 24 of the Constitution. 34. With regard to the alleged violation of Articles 15 (right to life and physical integrity) and 18 § 2 (right to privacy and to the inviolability of the home) of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court referred to the decisions in which the European Court of Human Rights had held that, in cases of exceptional gravity, repeated damage to the environment could infringe the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 § 1 of the Convention, even if did not endanger health. The Constitutional Court held, however: “... there may only be a violation of Article 15 of the Constitution if the level of acoustic saturation to which a person is exposed as a result of an act or omission of a public authority causes serious and immediate damage to his or her health.” 35. The Constitutional Court found that that test had not been satisfied in the case before it and pointed out: “... even though the appellant maintains that the noise levels to which she was exposed turned her into an insomniac, the only evidence she has adduced is a certificate stating that she was admitted to hospital and saw a doctor, without any indication of the period for which she had been suffering from lack of sleep or the cause thereof. ...” 36. The Constitutional Court found that the applicant had not established a direct link between the noise and the damage she had sustained. 37. As to the allegation of a violation of Article 18 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court further found that she had not established the existence of a nuisance in her home that amounted to a violation of the constitutional provision. It stated: “... the appellant has confined herself to making a general complaint by stating that the origin of the noise was diffuse and not restricted to a single source of production, and that the acoustic saturation resulted from a combination of noises. ... On the contrary, her entire case is based on a few sound-level readings taken inside her home which gave disparate results ... and do not establish that there has been a violation of the right relied on. ...” 38. By way of conclusion, the Constitutional Court dismissed the amparo appeal on the following ground: “Consequently, as regards the alleged violation of the rights relied on the amparo appeal must be dismissed, as the appellant has failed to prove the existence of a genuine effective breach of fundamental rights attributable to the Valencia City Council.” 39. That judgment was delivered by the Constitutional Court sitting as a full court. However, two judges expressed concurring opinions. The first said that the judgment restricted the free development of the personality at home. He considered that the conditions that had to be satisfied for there to be a violation of fundamental rights in the case under consideration were unreasonable and he defended the need to speak of a triple layer of constitutional protection, ranging from the right to physical and moral integrity (Article 15 of the Constitution) to an environment that was suitable for personal development (Article 45 § 1 of the Constitution), via the right to privacy in the home (Article 18 § 2 of the Constitution). 40. The second judge pointed out in his concurring opinion that there was a preliminary problem that had not been adequately dealt with, namely the degree to which the relevant authority was required to provide the requested protection. Determining the extent of that obligation was a prerequisite to establishing whether or not there existed a causal link between the authority’s failure to act and the alleged violation. The authorities were obliged to exercise their power when the breach of the fundamental rights attained a certain level of gravity.

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7. Between 4 July 1998 and 1 April 1999 a series of robberies and burglaries took place in the Coventry area. As a result of their investigations, the police considered that there were some nine persons involved in the commission of these offences, including the applicant and his three co-defendants. The police had difficulty obtaining evidence against those who they thought were responsible, and therefore decided to seek authority from the Chief Constable for the West Midlands to carry out a covert operation (“Operation Brassica”). The operation was to be carried out by arresting the suspects in groups, on suspicion of having committed different offences, and detaining them together in a police cell which had been specially fitted with covert audio equipment. It was hoped that the suspects would discuss the reasons for their arrest and that their ensuing conversation would be incriminating. On 17 May 1999 the Chief Constable gave authority for Operation Brassica to take place. 8. The applicant and two others were arrested on 20 May 1999. Their conversations whilst in police detention were recorded on 21 and 22 May 1999. Further covert recordings took place on 16 and 17 June 1999. The tapes formed the basis of the prosecution against the applicant. 9. The trial judge held a “voir dire” on the admissibility of the tapes. Counsel for the applicant argued that the methods of obtaining the evidence violated Articles 5, 6 and 8 of the Convention, and that they should therefore be excluded under section 78 or section 76 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The tapes were ruled admissible on 13 March 2000. During the course of his ruling, the trial judge rejected the defendants' argument that the circumstances of obtaining the evidence were oppressive and the tapes should therefore be excluded under section 76 of PACE. In considering section 78 of the Act, the trial judge said: “I find that no mala fides exist in this case and that the Chief Constable acted throughout in good faith. Although I find the decision of the Chief Constable was not in accordance with a strict interpretation of the guidelines [Home Office Guidelines on the Use of Police Surveillance Equipment], it does not mean that his authority to use a bugging device or devices is no longer of importance. Of course it is. It is a very important factor which I have to take into account in deciding to exercise my discretion under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.” 10. He went on to consider the points raised under the Convention, saying: “There is no doubt that when the defendants were arrested the main plan was that the covert operation would be put into effect, and to do this all the defendants involved should be in the cells at the same time. However, the matter has to be taken in stages and then considered jointly. Firstly, did the police have power to arrest and was the arrest lawful? The evidence before me was that the police had information that the accused had committed some or other of the crimes which they were investigating. They not only had the right but the duty, in my judgment, to arrest and investigate the further evidence ... As I have indicated already, the police clearly hoped that the covert bugging operation would bear fruit and if it did not the relevant defendant would have to be released. They were not arresting to create evidence but in the hope that evidence would be forthcoming. The wording of Article 5(1)(c) does not readily read with the English system and was clearly designed for taking an accused before a magistrate for investigation. But it obviously is intended to be adjusted to the specific system of member states. I find that there is no breach of Article 5.” [6G-7D] 11. On the question of Article 6, the trial judge said: “It has to be borne in mind but requires no specific findings from me at this stage.” [7E] 12. In considering Article 8, he said: “A man in a police cell is entitled to privacy just as much as a man sitting at his fireside in his own home. In fact it may be argued that his right should be greater. He is after all innocent until proved guilty and he is in a vulnerable situation. Any bugging of his cell to intrude on his private conversation with another person would, prima facie, amount to an invasion of his privacy and as such a breach of Article 8.1. However, it can perhaps be argued that whilst he is in a cell he not only does not have to say anything but if in fact he is free of guilt there is nothing that he can say. If, on the other hand, he is guilty then he does not deserve the same right of privacy as anyone else. The weight of his loss of privacy is another matter which I may take into account. ... the main point which I have to decide is as to whether or not the intrusion to privacy was 'in accordance with the law'. There is no statute which provides for lawful bugging of police cells nor to prohibit such an action. There are however numerous cases where it has been considered and adopted. In fairness, if bugging is done it should not be done haphazardly and certainly does not bestow on police officers unfettered power. It is to this end that, in 1984, the Home Office issued the Guidelines for the Use of Police Surveillance Equipment. As I have already said, these are merely guidelines, they are certainly not statutes. The actions of the police and the decision of the Chief Constable have to be considered together with all the other matters which have to be taken into consideration. On the basis of all those matters, I have to consider in which way I should exercise my discretion under section 78.” [7G-9A] 13. Applicant's counsel suggested five safeguards that should have been afforded to the accused if the bugging was to be lawful. The trial judge said: “I have considered each one of these matters and have rejected them all. If they were to be required in each case, no covert listening would ever be realistic or possible. As I have indicated already, such evidence can in serious cases such as this be very important and is, in my judgment, not objectionable. [9F] In the exercise of my discretion under section 78, I will allow the tapes to be used in evidence.” 14. None of the defendants gave evidence at trial. 15. The applicant together with three others was convicted on 20 July 2000 of various robbery and firearms offences. He was sentenced to a total of 8 years' imprisonment. 16. The applicant and his three co-defendants appealed to the Court of Appeal, submitting, inter alia, that the tapes should not have been admitted in evidence. 17. Lord Woolf CJ gave the judgment of the Court of Appeal on 13 February 2002, dismissing the appeal. As regards the admissibility of the tapes in evidence, the Court of Appeal considered the alleged violations of the Convention. It decided that there had been a violation of Article 8 because the surveillance was not conducted according to law. Lord Woolf CJ said: “This is because of the lack of any legal structure to which the public have access authorising the infringement. If there had been such authorisation there would have been no breach.” [§ 65] He went on to say: “The non-compliance with Article 8 does not, however, mean that the tape-recordings cannot be relied upon as evidence. ... It is the responsibility of the Government to provide remedies against this violation of Article 8. However, the remedy does not have to be the exclusion of the evidence. The remedy can be the finding, which we have now made, that there has been a breach of Article 8 or it can be an award of compensation. The European Court of Human Rights recognises that to insist on the exclusion of evidence could in itself result in a greater injustice to the public than the infringement of Article 8 creates for the appellants. The infringement is, however, a matter which the trial judge was required to take into account when exercising his discretion under section 78 of PACE.” [§§ 66-67] 18. As regards Article 5 of the Convention, the Court of Appeal rejected the applicant's argument on the basis that the arrests were for a lawful purpose as well as to enable the surveillance to take place, and the appellants were not therefore unlawfully deprived of their liberty. Lord Woolf CJ said: “The fact that the police were operating in accordance with a strategy designed to obtain additional evidence by covert recording does not turn lawful arrests into unlawful arrests.” [§ 68] 19. The argument that the admission of the tapes in evidence prevented the defendants from receiving a fair trial was also rejected. Lord Woolf CJ said: “51. The complaints of the appellants with regard to the decision of the judge are not to the relevance of the contents of the tape. They were clearly highly relevant. Instead it is argued that the way the evidence was obtained was contrary to PACE. The submission is not so much based on a contravention of the language of PACE. The allegation is that the surveillance took place contrary to the spirit of the relevant Codes of Practice ... 52. ... On the evidence there were proper grounds for the arrests and ignoring the fact that the police were working to an overall plan, there was nothing improper about the purpose for which the arrests took place. 53. .... As already indicated it was not suggested that the Chief Constable gave his authority other than in good faith. In addition whether or not the Guidelines applied to what happened in the police cells, the police considered that they were appropriately applying the Guidelines and entitled to act as they did. ... 54. Here the trial judge came to the conclusion that the Guidelines had not been complied with ... because of the requirement in the Guidelines for normal methods of investigation to have been tried and failed or be unlikely to succeed if tried ... 55. In coming to this conclusion, the trial judge may have been unduly rigorous in his approach because the object of the exercise was not to obtain evidence against one or other of the suspects in relation to a particular offence but to obtain the evidence which would enable the police to bring to justice those who were involved in the conspiracy to carry out numerous robberies in the Coventry area. Viewed in this way, it was Sergeant Fairfield's evidence that 'other policing means had failed.' ... ... 58. We are far from satisfied that when the Guidelines were formulated, they were intended to apply to surveillance of the sort that took place here of those in custody in police cells. However, even if the Guidelines were not intended to apply to suspects already in custody, as there was no alternative guidance published, we consider that it was reasonable for the Chief Constable to apply the Guidelines by analogy, unless they conflicted with PACE. ... This was a situation where the police were responding reasonably and proportionately to a very serious threat to the safety of the public and law and order and so were entitled to seek evidence not only of individual wrongdoing but of a conspiracy to commit armed robbery. ... 59. More difficult is the issue whether the surveillance in cells is inappropriate treatment of those in police custody who are intended to be protected by the safeguards contained in PACE and the Codes. ... the surveillance is not directly in conflict with any provision of PACE or the Codes ... 60. We have no doubt that it is highly desirable that a statutory code should be established for the surveillance of the sort that occurred here ... but our conclusion is that it is not contrary to the spirit of PACE or the Codes for there to be covert taping of what is said in the cells.” 20. Lord Woolf CJ went on to adopt the conclusions reached in other cases that there was no unfairness in admitting such taped evidence where there was no suggestion that the confessions were oppressively obtained or other than wholly reliable. As regarded the complaints under the Convention, he observed: “Article 6 for the purposes of the present case does not add anything to section 78. If there was no unfairness caused by the tapes being relied upon in evidence then there is no breach of Article 6.” [§ 69] 21. The Court of Appeal certified a question for consideration by the House of Lords concerning use of evidence obtained by an arrest for the purpose of eavesdropping on the defendant. 22. On 30 May 2002, leave to appeal to the House of Lords was refused.

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7. The applicant was born in 1940 and lives in Vladivostok. 8. In 1988 the applicant and her partner, Mr Filippov, together moved into a flat provided by Mr Filippov’s employer, a State enterprise. The applicant left the flat where she had previously lived to her daughter and her daughter’s family. 9. Although the applicant and Mr Filippov never married, from 1988 onwards they lived together as husband and wife. They purchased all household items for the new flat jointly. Between 1992 and 1995 Mr Filippov supported their family financially because the applicant was unemployed. According to the applicant, Mr Filippov’s relatives and their neighbours considered them to be a family. Postcards and letters were addressed to Mr and Ms Filippov and the applicant received correspondence at the new address. 10. The applicant retained her residence registration at her old address. The applicant explains that she suffered from an ear ailment and wanted to remain under the observation of her former ear-specialist. Had she changed her residence registration, she would no longer have been entitled to visit the doctor practising in her former neighbourhood. 11. The applicant and Mr Filippov spent the summer of 1998 in their country cottage. On 18 August 1998 Mr Filippov returned to the town for a week. 12. On 24 August 1998 Mr Filippov died and his body was found by a neighbour. On 26 August 1998 Mr Filippov was buried in the presence of his son and his two sisters who had been summoned by a telegram. 13. The applicant was not notified of her partner’s death or funeral service. She only learnt of it when she returned to the city late in the day on 26 August 1998. 14. On 27 August 1998 the applicant received a phone call from the local housing maintenance authority (жилищно-эксплуатационное управление), requesting an explanation as to why the flat was not empty. The applicant responded that she did not have formal residence registration in the flat, but she had lived there for more than ten years. On 1 September 1998 a representative of the housing maintenance authority visited the applicant at the flat and drafted a report to the effect that the flat was not empty. The applicant was not given a copy of the report. The representative advised the applicant to secure her right to use the flat through a court. 15. On 2 September 1998 the applicant filed a request with the housing maintenance authority to be given an occupation certificate (ордер) for the flat. Her request was refused because on 1 September 1998 an occupation certificate had already been issued to Mr Valetov, the head of the local police department and hierarchical superior of Mr Filippov’s son. 16. On 4 September 1998, on returning to the flat, the applicant found that the door had been broken open and that books and other household items were being loaded onto a lorry. The applicant states that the possessions were removed in the presence of Mr Valetov, Mr Filippov’s son, several policemen in civilian clothing, and a representative of the housing maintenance authority. Once the removal was completed, the applicant was told to vacate the premises immediately. When the applicant refused to comply with the request, she was thrown out of the flat by force. The door was replaced and the applicant was not given keys. 17. On 7 September 1998 the applicant filed a complaint against Mr Valetov with the prosecutor’s office of the Sovietskiy District of Vladivostok. The applicant requested a criminal investigation into her forcible eviction and the removal of her possessions. On 14 September 1998 the prosecutor’s office informed the applicant that her allegations were unsubstantiated and refused to open criminal proceedings. 18. On 1 October 1998 the applicant filed a civil action against the Vladivostok City Council and Mr Valetov. The applicant claimed that she should be recognised as a member of her late partner’s household and asked for the occupation certificate issued to Mr Valetov to be declared void. The applicant submitted in evidence many witness statements by relatives, by neighbours living in the same block of flats and by summer house neighbours, as well as personal photographs, letters, postcards and mail receipts. 19. On 27 November 1998 the applicant complained to the Vladivostok city prosecutor’s office about the refusal to open a criminal investigation into Mr Valetov’s actions. By a letter of 17 December 1998 the applicant was informed that the prosecutor’s office had reversed the refusal and ordered the Sovietskiy District prosecutor’s office to carry out an inquiry. 20. On 5 January 1999 the Sovietskiy District prosecutor’s office reported that an inquiry had not established any indication of a criminal offence. On 7 May 1999, after the applicant had complained again, the Vladivostok city prosecutor’s office examined the matter and confirmed this conclusion. 21. On 9 August 1999 the Sovietskiy District Court of Vladivostok dismissed the applicant’s civil action, finding as follows: “Under these circumstances, the court considers that it has been established in court that [the applicant] lived in the contested flat, which [fact] is corroborated by postcards addressed to Mr Filippov and [the applicant], a parcel delivery notice; however, [the applicant’s] residence was of a temporary nature. The court has established that Mr Filippov, while still alive, did not recognise [the applicant’s] tenancy right in respect of the contested flat; [the applicant] did not produce evidence showing that Mr Filippov had recognised her right to tenancy. Besides, it has been established that [the applicant] retained her tenancy right in respect of [her daughter’s flat] and that she had moved into the contested flat in breach of the procedure established by Article 54 § 1 of the RSFSR Housing Code... Furthermore, [the applicant’s] assertion about the presence of her personal effects (250 items) in the contested flat... is rebutted by the results of the inquiries carried out by the Sovietskiy District and Vladivostok City prosecutor’s offices, as well as the housing maintenance authority report of 4 September 1998. Under these circumstances, the court finds that [the applicant] has not acquired the tenancy right to [the contested flat]...” The court grounded its findings on the statements of Mr Filippov’s son and daughter-in-law; however, the court rejected a statement by the applicant’s daughter on the ground that she was an interested witness. It also determined that statements by five neighbours produced at the hearing were not sufficient to establish that the applicant and Mr Filippov had maintained a joint household. 22. The applicant appealed against the judgment. In her statement of the grounds of appeal of 17 August 1999 the applicant pointed to a very substantial body of evidence proving her residence in the flat (statements by witnesses, postcards, mail receipts, etc.). She alleged that her late partner’s son had conspired with his police superior to acquire the flat, which explained why they had managed to obtain in just two days the decisions of the City Council and of the housing maintenance authority, as well as the occupation certificate and residence registration stamp. She complained that she had been thrown out by force, contrary to the applicable provisions of the Housing Code. 23. On 6 October 1999 the Civil Section of the Primorskiy Regional Court upheld the decision of 9 August 1999. The Regional Court endorsed the arguments of the first instance court. 24. The applicant submitted several requests for supervisory review, all of which were turned down. 25. According to the applicant, the flat was privatised in 1999 and sold to a third party.

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7. The applicant company, “Qufaj Co. sh.p.k.”, is an Albanian company, established by decision no. 5883 of the Tirana District Court on 20 July 1992, with the object of investing in the construction business. 8. The Municipality of Tirana sold the applicant company 15,788 square metres of land in a residential area in Tirana by decision no. 165 dated 9 June 1992. 9. By decision no. 174 of 15 June 1992, the Municipality granted the applicant company planning permission to build five hundred flats. A building permit was also required before the project could start, but the Municipality failed to decide the matter for a considerable length of time, thus preventing the building works from getting under way. 10. After the Municipality had refused to grant a building permit, the applicant company brought proceedings in the Tirana District Court seeking compensation of 60,000,000 leks (ALL) for its loss. Its claim was dismissed by judgment no. 4064 of 23 June 1995. 11. On appeal, the Tirana Court of Appeal quashed the first-instance judgment and ordered the Municipality to pay the applicant ALL 60,000,000 (decision no. 1197 of 23 February 1996). 12. In the absence of an appeal by the Municipality to the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal’s judgment became final and enforceable. 13. On 16 July 1996 the President of the Court of Cassation, in a document addressed to the Municipality, stated that, after the entry into force of the new Code of Civil Procedure, he no longer had the right to initiate a supervisory review of the legality of lower court decisions. 14. On 16 July 1997 the applicant company requested the Tirana District Court to issue a warrant for the execution of the compensation award. 15. On 25 June 1998 the Tirana District Court rejected a request by the Municipality to review the merits of decision no. 5492 of 20 December 1994, there being no basis in either law or fact for it to do so. 16. On 23 July 1997, in a document no. 704/gj dated 23 July 1997, the Enforcement Office notified the Municipality that it should execute the Court of Appeal decision by paying the applicant company ALL 60,000,000. However, the Municipality repeatedly refused to comply, arguing that it had no budget for the execution of judicial decisions. 17. At the same time, the Enforcement Office requested the Exchequer and Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance (the ultimate financial institution responsible for such payments) to comply with the decision by providing the necessary funding (Article 589, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure). 18. By documents nos. 2018/3 of 19 September 1997, 2018/5 of 7 November 1997, and 4670 of 22 September 1999, the Ministry of Finance rejected the requests of the Enforcement Office, arguing that either Article 589 of the Code of Civil Procedure was not applicable, or that central funding was not possible under the State Budget Law. It added that the Municipality should contact the “District of Tirana Branch of the Treasury”, specifying the fund from which the debt should be paid and the part of the Municipality’s budget to which it should be allocated. 19. As the judgment was not executed, the applicant company brought proceedings in the Constitutional Court, claiming that local governmental institutions were obliged to guarantee the enforcement of final judicial decisions, not to impede them. 20. The Constitutional Court rejected the applicant company’s complaint, stating that the “complaint [could] not be taken into consideration because the enforcement of court decisions is outside the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court”.

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4. The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Zadar, Croatia. 5. On 15 July 1995 he lent 40,000 German marks to Z.G. and G.G. on the condition that the loan be repaid within 15 days of a request for repayment. 6. On 25 August 1995 Z.G. and G.G. died. Subsequently, proceedings concerning the inheritance of their estate commenced before the Zadar Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zadru). 7. On 4 October 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zadar Municipal Court against I.G. and M.G. (Z.G. and G.G.’s children) claiming repayment of the loan. 8. I.G. and M.G. were absent from the first hearing of 30 October 1995 as they had not been summoned. 9. The second hearing was held on 20 November 1995 in the presence of the applicant and M.G. 10. On 12 June 1997 and on 16 July 1998 the applicant requested the court to deal with his claim as soon as possible. 11. At the third hearing on 17 November 1998 the court requested the applicant to submit some additional information. 12. At the fourth hearing of 18 May 1999 the court stayed the proceedings pending the completion of the inheritance proceedings indicated in paragraph 6 above. 13. On 4 June 1999 the applicant submitted the information requested on 17 November 1998. 14. On 24 June 1999 the applicant again requested the court to deal with his claim as soon as possible. 15. I.G. and M.G. did not appear at the fifth hearing of 2 September 1999 although they were duly summoned. 16. At the sixth hearing on 21 September 1999 the court adjourned the trial sine die pursuant to a request of the representative of I.G. and M.G. 17. On 26 September 2001 the inheritance proceedings ended and the proceedings for repayment of the loan resumed on 10 January 2002. 18. On 6 February 2002 the court held the seventh hearing and, on the same date, gave its judgment allowing the applicant’s claim. That judgment became final because no appeal was lodged. 19. On 17 April 2002 the applicant obtained an order enforcing the judgment. 20. On 6 November 2002 the applicant requested the court to speed up the enforcement proceedings. 21. On 9 December 2003 the court scheduled for January 2004 an on-site assessment of the value of an apartment belonging to I.G. and M.G. An expert appointed by the court was not able to enter the apartment as I.G. and M.G. were not present. Nevertheless, the expert assessed the value of the apartment and submitted his report to the court on 2 February 2004. 22. On 17 May 2004 the court established the value of the apartment. 23. On 20 July 2004 the court held the first auction but the apartment was not sold. 24. The enforcement proceedings are still pending.

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7. The applicant was born in 1926 and lives in Ashdod, Israel. 8. On 9 January 1998 the applicant came to Russia to tend to a grave of his close relative. He had on him 1,600 US dollars which he omitted to note on his customs’ declaration. 9. On the same day the Sochi Customs Office (Сочинская таможня) found the applicant guilty of smuggling foreign currency and imposed on him a fine of an amount equal to the amount smuggled. The money that the applicant had on him was forfeited as the fine. The applicant appealed to a higher customs office and also lodged a civil action with a court. 10. On 30 July 1999 the Khostinskiy District Court of Sochi gave its judgment. The court quashed the order of the customs office of 9 January 1998 and ordered the treasury of the Russian Federation to repay the applicant 1,600 US dollars “in the form of their equivalent in Russian roubles, i.e. RUR 38,752”. The court dismissed the applicant’s claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage as having no grounds in the domestic law. 11. On 9 September 1999 the Krasnodar Regional Court upheld, on the customs office’s appeal, the judgment of 30 July 1999. 12. On 29 December 1999 and 14 January 2000 the applicant wrote to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation with a request to have the award in his favour enforced in US dollars and not in Russian roubles. He argued that he was an Israeli national and he could not receive any Russian roubles on his bank account in Israel. 13. On 13 March 2000 the Sochi Town Branch of the Federal Treasury (Отделение федерального казначейства по г. Сочи) advised the applicant that it had received the full amount of the award, but, having been unable to transfer it to the applicant’s bank in Israel, it deposited it in the applicant’s name with the Central office of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation in Sochi. 14. In response to the applicant’s letter addressed to President Putin, on 26 April 2000 the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation informed the applicant that on 31 March 2000 it had granted permission to the Sochi Branch of the Federal Treasury to convert the amount of the award into US dollars. 15. On an unspecified date the applicant asked the court to clarify the operative part of the judgment of 30 July 1999 and amend the method and form of enforcement. He requested the court to order the Federal Treasury to wire 1,600 US dollars to his account in Israel. 16. On 23 November 2000 the Khostinskiy District Court of Sochi refused the applicant’s request because the Russian rouble was the only legal tender in the Russian Federation. This decision was quashed on the applicant’s appeal by the Krasnodar Regional Court. 17. On 15 February 2001 the Khostinskiy District Court of Sochi granted the applicant’s request. The court amended the operative part of the judgment of 30 July 1999 and ordered the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation to transfer 1,600 US dollars to the applicant’s bank account in Israel. 18. The decision of 15 February 2001 was not appealed against and became final on 1 March 2001. 19. On 10 April 2001 the Khostinskiy District Court of Sochi issued a writ of execution and sent it to the bailiffs’ service in Moscow. 20. On 19 June 2001 the writ of execution was received by the 2nd Interdistrict office of court bailiffs of the Central Administrative District of Moscow (2й межрайонный отдел службы судебных приставов по ЦАО г. Москвы), having territorial jurisdiction over the seat of the federal treasury. The applicant was advised of the receipt by phone. 21. On 14 and 20 January and 20 February 2002 the applicant complained to the Chief Court Bailiff of the Russian Federation (Главный судебный пристав РФ) about non-enforcement of the judgment. 22. On 28 February 2002 one of the applicant’s complaints was forwarded to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for “taking measures to enforce the court judgment”. 23. On 7 February 2003 the applicant complained to the president of the Zamoskvoretskiy District Court of Moscow about non-enforcement of the judgment of 30 July 1999. 24. On 12 May 2003 the applicant lodged a civil action against the 2nd Interdistrict office of court bailiffs of Moscow, seeking enforcement of the judgment, interest and damages. 25. On 31 July 2003 a deputy head of the 2nd Interdistrict office of court bailiffs of Moscow submitted his observations on the applicant’s complaint. He denied that his service had received any documents from the applicant between 2000 and 2003. 26. By a letter of 6 January 2004, a deputy Chief Court Bailiff of Moscow informed the court that the Moscow bailiffs had received the writ of execution on 19 June 2001 and immediately forwarded it to the 2nd interdistrict office. On 30 October 2001 the 2nd interdistrict office had sent it to the court bailiffs of Sochi and since that time the Moscow bailiffs had no information about the whereabouts of the document. 27. On 26 April 2004 the hearing was adjourned until 31 May 2004 because the applicant’s lawyer failed to appear. 28. On 1 June 2004 the court granted the applicant’s request to join the Ministry of Finance as a co-defendant and adjourned the hearing until 10 June 2004. 29. On 10 June 2004 the court received a letter from Ms Zhenina, the applicant’s lawyer, informing it that the applicant had revoked her power of attorney. The court adjourned the hearing until 12 July 2004 and requested the applicant to confirm the revocation. 30. On 12 July 2004 the proceedings were adjourned until 25 August 2004 because the parties did not appear. 31. It appears that the proceedings are now pending and the judgment of 30 July 1999, as amended on 15 February 2001, is not yet enforced.

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8. The applicant was born in 1964 and lives in Tamsweg, Austria. 9. On 3 July 2000 the Innsbruck Regional Court (Landesgericht), sitting as a court with two professional and two lay judges (Schöffengericht), acquitted the applicant of charges of drug trafficking on a large scale and other offences under the Drugs Act (Suchtmittelgesetz) on the basis of the principle in dubio pro reo. It dismissed the applicant’s request to hear further witnesses, finding that there was no additional evidence necessary to prove the lack of credibility of the incriminating statement. 10. Immediately after the pronouncement of the acquittal, and at the same hearing, the Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s request for compensation for his detention on remand from 2 May 1999 until 23 December 1999 and from 27 December 1999 to 22 May 2000. It found that “pursuant to Section 2 (1)(b) of the Criminal Proceedings Compensation Act 1969 (Strafrechtliches Entschädigungsgesetz 1969 - “the 1969 Act”) compensation for detention on remand [might] be granted if the accused had been acquitted and the suspicion that he had committed the offence has been dispelled.“ Further, it found that “the requirements for granting compensation for detention on remand under Section 2 (1)(b) of the 1969 Act were not met as the applicant was only acquitted on the basis of the principle in dubio pro reo”. 11. On 19 September 2000 the Innsbruck Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) dismissed the applicant’s appeal. Referring to the case of Sekanina v. Austria (judgment of 25 August 1993, Series A no. 266-A, pp.15-16, § 30), it considered that only a decision which, following the accused’s acquittal, expressed the view that the latter was guilty could violate the presumption of innocence, and that in the present case no such additional finding on the suspicion against the applicant had been made. Moreover, it found that, considering the incriminating statement of witness P.R., a suspicion against the applicant persisted. 12. On 11 August 2004 the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof), upon the Procurator General’s plea of nullity for the preservation of law (Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde zur Wahrung des Gesetzes), quashed the decisions of the Regional Court and the Court of Appeal and remitted the case to the Regional Court. It found that the courts’ failure to hold a public hearing in the compensation proceedings and to announce the decisions in public violated the applicant’s rights under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. It also noted that, in the subsequent proceedings, the Regional Court would have to decide on the applicant’s compensation claim in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of the voicing of a suspicion following an acquittal, within the meaning of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention.

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5. The applicant, who was born in 1936, lives in Petrinja, Croatia. 6. The applicant was the owner of a house in Petrinja where he had lived until August 1995 when he left Croatia due to military actions in that area. 7. On 23 September 1995 Parliament enacted a law providing that the property of persons who left Croatia was to be taken into possession of the State. It also entitled the local authorities temporarily to accommodate refugees and displaced persons in such property. 8. On 24 March 1997 the Petrinja local authorities gave the applicant’s house to Z.L. and M.L. (“the occupants”) for temporary use because their house had been destroyed during the war. 9. On 10 June 1998 the applicant obtained a judgment from the Petrinja Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Petrinji) ordering the occupants to vacate his house within fifteen days. The judgment became final on 30 September 1998 when the Sisak County Court (Županijski sud u Sisku) dismissed the occupants’ appeal and upheld the first-instance judgment. 10. Since the occupants refused to vacate the applicant’s house, on 24 November 1998 the applicant applied for the enforcement of the above judgment to the Petrinja Municipal Court. On 7 December 1998 the court issued an eviction order. 11. However, pursuant to the laws in force, the eviction order could not be carried out until the State secured alternative accommodation for the occupants. The court repeatedly requested the local authorities to find temporary accommodation for the occupants and enquired with the competent Ministry on the state of repair of their house. The local authorities informed the court that they were unable to find accommodation for the occupants. 12. On 28 June 2001 the competent Ministry informed the court that the reconstruction of the occupants’ house was completed. 13. On 8 November 2001 the occupants vacated the applicant’s house. On 12 November 2001 the applicant repossessed the house.

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7. The applicant was born in 1936 and lives in Novosibirsk. 8. Since 1991 the applicant has been receiving an old-age pension. From 1 February 1998 the amount of her pension was to be determined by the Law on Calculating and Upgrading State Pensions (the “Pensions Law”). The Pensions Law introduced a new method of upgrading retirement benefits—“Individual Pensioner Coefficient” (“the IPC”). The IPC, established for the purpose of calculating individual pensions, was the ratio between the individual’s final wages at retirement and the national average wage, and was meant to maintain a link between a person’s pension and previous earnings. 9. The authority in charge of the applicant’s pension—the Pension Fund Agency of the Zayeltsovskiy District of Novosibirsk (“the Agency”)—decided that the IPC to be applied to her should be 0.525. The applicant considered this decision arbitrary as it conflicted, in her opinion, with the Pensions Law. On 12 April 1999 she brought an action against the Agency. 10. On 21 October 1999, the Zayeltsovskiy District Court of Novosibirsk (“the District Court”) found in the applicant’s favour. It held that since the defendant had misinterpreted the Pensions Law, the applicant’s pension should be recalculated with an IPC of 0.7. The Agency appealed against the judgment to the Novosibirsk Regional Court (“the Regional Court”). It alleged that the District Court had misinterpreted the Pensions Law. 11. While the appeal was pending before the Regional Court, on 24 January 2000 the Agency requested the District Court to re-consider its judgment of 21 October 1999 due to discovery of new circumstances. The Agency claimed that on 29 December 1999 the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (“the Ministry of Labour”) had passed the Instruction on the Application of Limitations established by the Pensions Law (“the Instruction”). The Instruction specified how the Pensions Law should be applied. The Agency contended that since it had been unaware of these circumstances at the moment when the judgment was passed, the judgment should be re-considered. 12. On 30 January 2000 the Agency withdrew its application because the judgment of 21 October 1999 had not by that moment come into force, having been appealed against to the Regional Court. 13. On 15 February 2000 the Regional Court upheld the judgment having agreed with the interpretation of the relevant laws given by the District Court. The decision of the Regional Court contained no reference to the Instruction. The judgment of 21 October 1999 accordingly came into force as from 15 February 2000. 14. On 21 August 2000 the Agency submitted a new application for re‑consideration of the judgment of 21 October 1999 due to discovery of new circumstances. This time the Agency claimed, in addition, that on 24 April and 25 May 2000 the Supreme Court had confirmed the lawfulness of the Instruction. 15. On 16 January 2001 the District Court granted the Agency’s application. The court applied Article 333 of the Code of Civil Procedure according to which judgments could be re-considered in case of discovery of significant circumstances which were not and could not have been known to the party concerned. The court found that the Instruction, as upheld by the Supreme Court, could serve as such a circumstance. No appeal lay against this decision. 16. After a fresh examination on 12 February 2001, the District Court rejected the applicant’s claims in full having applied the Instruction. On 27 March 2001 the Regional Court upheld the judgment on appeal.

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7. The applicants, Olavi Puolitaival and Esko Pirttiaho, are Finnish nationals who were born in 1945 and 1958 and live in Jääli and Tampere respectively. 8. The applicants were owners of a former company called Konekersantti Oy (hereinafter “the applicants' company”), which was a claimant in civil proceedings initiated on 3 December 1991 against another company called M.R. Ky (hereinafter “the M.R. company”). The proceedings concerned a dispute about the sale of movable property: the M.R. company had refused to pay the applicants' company the purchase price of an engine as they claimed, inter alia, that it did not contain all the components ordered. 9. The lawyer of the M.R. company in the proceedings before the Vaasa District Court and in the lodging of an appeal with the Vaasa Court of Appeal on 4 March 1992 was P.L., who was also at that time a judicial secretary (hovioikeudenviskaali, hovrättsfiskal) at the Vaasa Court of Appeal. Together with her husband, she owned a law firm until 1995. At the material time, P.L. worked part-time for the law firm as a partner, having been given permission to do so by the Court of Appeal. 10. In her notice of appeal of 4 March 1992 on behalf of the M.R. company P.L. submitted to the Court of Appeal, inter alia, that the applicants' company “seems to use concepts quite carelessly in its agreements in general”; that “what is essential about the case is that the seller must not act fraudulently and must not, even in good faith, draw up agreements the contents of which are unclear”; and, further, that “if we follow the logic of the City Court, overcharging is not a crime if you manage to overcharge more than one victim”. 11. The final decision in the above case was given by the Court of Appeal on 22 February 1993 in favour of the applicants. 12. The applicants' company was also the claimant in another set of civil proceedings initiated on 26 February 1992 in the Ylivieska District Court (kihlakunnanoikeus, häradsrätten), in which the respondent was an investment bank. That case concerned the bank's refusal to grant the applicants' company a bank guarantee for acquiring financing from abroad, and compensation for the ensuing loss of business profits. The applicants maintained, inter alia, that their company had been dissolved in 1992 because of the bank's failure to fulfil its contractual obligations. The applicants claimed, inter alia, 9,800,000 Finnish marks (FIM, equivalent to 1,648,242 euros (EUR)) in compensation for the business they had lost. 13. On 3 December 1992 the Ylivieska District Court refused to examine the applicants' claims as it found them to be too unspecific to provide a basis for any court proceedings. 14. On 3 November 1993 the Vaasa Court of Appeal (hovioikeus, hovrätten) remitted the case to the District Court (from 1 December 1993 käräjäoikeus, tingsrätten), finding that the District Court should have examined the applicants' claims. P.L. did not take part in those proceedings. 15. On 25 March 1994 the case was opened for re-examination by the District Court. It found that although the bank had breached its obligations towards the applicants' company, it had not caused the company's liquidation, and dismissed its claims on 30 April 1997. 16. The applicants' company appealed against that decision to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the District Court's decision and dismissed the appeal on 18 August 1998. The bench of the Court of Appeal which examined the case was composed of three judges, including P.L., who was now a judge. 17. The applicants' company requested leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, stating, inter alia, that P.L. was biased as she had taken part in other proceedings in 1992 (the first set of proceedings), in which the opposing party had been represented by the law firm in which P.L. had been a partner at that time. She had, for example, signed her client's submissions to the District Court and to the Court of Appeal. 18. Before making its decision concerning the request for leave to appeal, the Supreme Court requested a statement from P.L. The statement, dated 26 March 1996 (the date was apparently erroneous in that the year should have been 1999), read as follows: “In addition to full-time judge's duties, I practised law as a partner in a law firm on a part-time basis, with the permission of the President of the Vaasa Court of Appeal, until 1995, when the firm was closed down. Thereafter I have had no part-time duties. It is true that our law firm represented a client in a civil case between [the M.R. company] and [the applicants' company] before the Vaasa District Court. At that time the pleadings before the District Court were handled by J.I. ... and, after an appeal was lodged with the Court of Appeal, the pleadings before the Court of Appeal were handled by the advocate J.V., as I found that it was not appropriate for me to continue with the case in the Court of Appeal. At the time of participating in the consideration of the present civil case between [the applicants' company] and the investment bank, I did not even remember that our law firm, which had been closed down, had approximately seven years earlier represented a client in a different case in which [the applicants' company] was the opposing party. Thus, no question of possible disqualification arose to be considered. My personal view is that, when assessed on objective grounds, [the applicants' company] had no real reason to doubt my impartiality, considering in particular that the period of time between my earlier representation and the decision-making stage in the present case was long, and that there was no factual link between the two cases.” 19. On 11 May 1999 the Supreme Court refused the applicants' company leave to appeal. According to the decision, Judge P.L.'s statement had been communicated to the applicants for information. 20. On 20 April 2000 the applicants applied to the Supreme Court for annulment of the decision, again drawing attention, inter alia, to the alleged bias on the part of P.L. The application was refused by the Supreme Court on 21 May 2001.

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9. The applicant, Konstantin Vladimirovich Klyakhin, is a Russian national, who was born in 1966 and lives in Armavir, Krasnodar Region, in Russia. 10. On 13 August 1997 the applicant was detained and intimidated by a group of people, allegedly because they wanted him to testify against his relative K., an official in the Armavir Town Prosecutor's office. 11. On 26 August 1997 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a robbery, together with K. and a third person, U. The accusations against the applicant were made by the people who had allegedly intimidated him. 12. From 26 to 29 August 1997 the applicant was interviewed several times by an investigator from the prosecution service, sometimes in the presence of the Armavir Town Prosecutor. A lawyer was appointed, but the applicant refused to accept his services as he did not trust him. 13. On 29 August 1997 the Armavir Town Prosecutor authorised the applicant's detention on suspicion of theft. On 5 September 1997 the applicant was officially charged with involvement in a robbery. 14. The applicant appealed against the decision to detain him on 11 September 1997. On 6 October 1997 the Armavir Town Court rejected his complaint without giving any reasons. 15. The investigation was completed on 24 January 1998 and the applicant was given access to the case file between 24 and 27 January 1998. A lawyer, whom the applicant later dismissed, was present at this stage. The indictment was sent to the Armavir Town Court on 27 or 28 January 1998. 16. On 26 January 1998 the case file was transferred to the Armavir Town Court. After that date all complaints and requests submitted by the applicant to other authorities were forwarded to that court, in accordance with Section 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP). 17. On 16 February 1998 the Armavir Town Court scheduled the first hearing for 4 March 1998. The judge ordered the continued detention of the applicant and two other co-accused, K. and U., without giving reasons. 18. On 4 March 1998 a judge of the Town Court adjourned the case because the applicant had not had sufficient access to the case file. Between 19 February and 27 March 1998 the applicant was allowed additional access to the case file and was officially served with the indictment. The applicant submits that he was allowed only short periods over several days to review about 600 pages of documentation in the case file. He also submits that he was handcuffed while accessing it, and had difficulties copying the relevant documents. 19. The scheduled court hearing on 20 April 1998 did not take place, due to the absence of the victims and one of the representatives. On 22 April 1998 the judge ordered a psychiatric report on U. and adjourned the hearing. 20. It appears that further hearings were scheduled, but were adjourned or cancelled on 31 August 1998, 30 September 1998, 5 January 1999 and 20 January 1999. 21. The European Convention on Human Rights entered into force in respect of Russia on 5 May 1998. 22. On 30 September 1998 the Armavir Town Court rejected requests by the applicant and his co-accused K. for release from detention, and stated that “at this stage of proceedings their release could influence further trial hearings”. On 11 November 1998 the Krasnodar Regional Court rejected an appeal by K. against this order. 23. On 21 January 1999 the case was adjourned due to the illness of U. By the same decision, the applicant's further detention on remand was confirmed. On 25 January 1999 the applicant complained to the Armavir Town Prosecutor about his continued detention on remand. On 5 March 1999 he was informed that his detention was lawful and that he could challenge it before the Town Court. 24. The trial resumed on 29 March 1999 and on 6 April 1999 the Armavir Town Court returned the case to the prosecutor's office for an additional investigation. 25. On 8 and 16 April 1999 the applicant lodged complaints with the President of the Armavir Town Court in respect of his detention on remand. No response was received to those complaints. 26. On 27 April 1999 the Armavir Town Prosecutor appealed against the order of 5 March 1999, by which the case had been sent for additional investigation. On 16 June 1999 the Krasnodar Regional Court quashed that order and instructed the Town Court to consider the case on the merits. The Regional Court also ordered the continued detention of the applicant and his co-accused, K. and U., without giving reasons. 27. On 4 August 1999 the hearings resumed, and on 16 August 1999 the applicant was convicted of robbery and sentenced by the Armavir Town Court to five years' imprisonment. He was represented by a lawyer. The applicant appealed, and on 20 October 1999 the Krasnodar Regional Court upheld the Town Court's judgment. The applicant was not present at the appeal hearing and was informed of its outcome on 12 November 1999. The conviction of 16 August 1999 subsequently entered into force and the applicant was sent to a detention centre to serve his sentence. 28. On 2 December 1999 the Presidium of the Krasnodar Regional Court, acting by way of supervisory review of a request lodged by the Chairman of the Krasnodar Regional Court, quashed the conviction of 16 August 1999 (as confirmed on 20 October 1999) for procedural irregularities and remitted the case to the first instance court. 29. The case file was returned to the Armavir Town Court on 20 December 1999. On 30 December 1999 the applicant was returned to the Armavir town detention centre (СИЗО 18/2). A judge was appointed to hear the case on 23 March 2000. 30. On 17 April 2000 the hearing opened, and on 18 April the Armavir Town Court ordered a medical examination of the applicant in a psychiatric hospital. The report was required because of the applicant's “strange behaviour which raised doubts about his mental health”. The behaviour manifested itself in an “inadequate reaction to questions, [and] the constant submission of fictitious and ill-founded requests”. The applicant was not given a copy of that order for several months. He appealed against that decision and his continued detention on remand to the Armavir Town Court on 19, 24 and 25 April 2000, as well as on 12, 23 and 25 May 2000, but received no reply. He also appealed to the Armavir Town Prosecutor on 25 April 2000 and to the Krasnodar Regional Prosecutor's Office on 21 April 2000. Both replied that his complaints had been forwarded to the Armavir Town Court. The Government submitted that these complaints concerned the actions of the trial court judge and did not raise issues concerning the lawfulness of detention. 31. The case file was transferred to the Krasnodar psychiatric hospital on 3 May 2000. On 28 June 2000 the file was returned to the Town Court, no report having been prepared. On 20 July 2000 the judge of the Town Court adjourned the case pending another report on an out-patient basis. The applicant announced in the court room that he would begin a hunger strike, which apparently lasted until 30 July 2000. He alleged that the judge presiding in the case was not impartial, and that he had made threats against the applicant's relatives. 32. The applicant appealed against the order for a psychiatric report to the Armavir Town and Krasnodar Regional Prosecutors, to the Regional Court, to the Krasnodar Qualification Board of Judges and other administrative bodies. On 9 and 24 August 2000 the Qualification Board forwarded the applicant's complaints to the Armavir Town Court. On 28 September 2000 the Regional Court informed the applicant that his complaint had been forwarded to the Town Court, which was to forward the case file for an appeal hearing before the Regional Court. No hearing took place. 33. On 29 September 2000 the Chairman of the Armavir Town Court replied to the applicant and to the Krasnodar Qualification Board that no violations of the domestic law had been committed in the handling of the case. He dismissed the applicant's allegations that the presiding judge had threatened his relatives as “fictitious and ill-founded”. The letter concluded that there were no reasons to question the impartiality and qualifications of the presiding judge. 34. On 9 October 2000 a medical commission examined the applicant in the detention centre and found him to be of sound mind. 35. Between February and December 2000, the applicant submitted nine requests to the Armavir Town Court for additional access to the case file. His request was granted for a period from 8 to 15 December 2000, when he was allowed to have access to and make hand-written copies of relevant documents. The applicant submits that he was allowed about one and a half hours to consider the case file of some 500 pages. 36. On 18 December 2000 the case was adjourned. On 21 December 2000 the applicant appealed against the adjournment to the Krasnodar Regional Court, but his appeal was not examined. 37. On 23 January 2001 the hearing in the Armavir Town Court resumed and on 9 February 2001 the applicant was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to four years' imprisonment. The applicant did not appeal against the conviction, which entered into force ten days later. The applicant was released from detention on 9 February 2001, as he had by that time spent three years, five months and 13 days in detention and was granted an amnesty. The two co-accused, K. and U., were also sentenced to prison terms, but did not have to serve their sentences as they also benefited from an amnesty. 38. The applicant claimed that in June 1998 the administration of SIZO - 18/2, where he had been detained on remand, refused to forward his application to the Court. The applicant forwarded the letter through his relatives, who posted it on 24 July 1998. 39. The explanatory notice attached to the Court Registry's letter of 14 August 1998 was not given to the applicant. 40. The applicant further claims that on 25 March 1999 he forwarded a letter, with enclosures, to the Court, and that this letter never arrived. On 10 June 1999 the applicant sent the letter again via his mother. 41. A letter from the applicant to the Court dated 8 June 2000 was posted on 20 October 2000. The applicant lists a number of enclosures to that letter, none of which arrived. The applicant sent them again on 29 December 2000 through his relatives. 42. The applicant was not permitted by the prison administration to retain the correspondence from the Court, which was given to him for a day and then taken away. 43. The Government submitted that the applicant sent two letters addressed to the European Court while in prison - on 8 June 2000 and on 5 January 2001. Both were posted promptly by the prison authorities, and proof of posting exists. The applicant received three letters from the Court in response, dated 8 September 1998, 9 August 1999 and 11 January 2000, all of which were transmitted to him immediately in their entirety upon receipt. As proof, the Government submitted a copy of the correspondence log maintained by the prison authorities which confirmed the applicant's receipt of the Court's three letters. 44. According to the Government, in December 2003 the national legislation was amended to end censorship of correspondence with the European Court of Human Rights in detention centres. 45. It also appears that in December 2000 the applicant attempted to sue the postal service for failure to deliver his letter of 8 June 2000 to the European Court. On 16 January 2001 the Armavir Town Court refused to consider the merits of his claim for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages against the Armavir postal service. On 15 March 2001 the Krasnodar Regional Court quashed and remitted the decision of 16 January 2001. It further appears that on 11 May 2001 the Armavir Town Court rejected the applicant's claim on the merits, and the applicant did not appeal against that judgment.

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8. On 21 February 1994 the applicant filed with the Łódź Regional Court (sąd wojewódzki) an action in which he claimed damages from one of his partners in a partnership allegedly responsible for a sale of the partnership's property without the applicant's prior approval. He sued also a certain company X which had purchased that property. 9. On 10 March 1994 the court exempted the applicant from court fees. 10. On 14 March 1994 it refused the applicant's request for an interim measure. His appeal against that decision was dismissed on 16 May 1994 by the Łódź Court of Appeal (sąd apelacyjny). 11. On 5 May 1994 the applicant submitted pleadings with a ninety-five-page annex. In July and October 1994, as well as in December 1995, he submitted further pleadings and requested the summoning of five witnesses. 12. The Regional Court held a hearing on 11 January 1996. It completed the examination of the case and informed the parties that it would pronounce its judgment on 25 January 1996. Subsequently, the applicant submitted pleadings containing motions concerning evidence. On 25 January 1996 the court resumed the examination of the case. 13. The hearing scheduled for 27 February 1996 was adjourned because of the absence of a lay judge. 14. On 27 March 1996 the court held a hearing. 15. On 10 April 1996 it declared its lack of jurisdiction over the applicant's claims in respect of his partner and transferred that part of the case to the Łódź District Court (sąd rejonowy). 16. The Regional Court held hearings on 26 November 1996, as well as on 29 January, 1 April and 23 July 1997. It ordered an expert opinion. 17. On 15 September 1997 the court refused the applicant's request for an interim measure. 18. The expert opinion was submitted on 5 February 1998. 19. Subsequently, the applicant challenged that opinion. 20. At the hearing held on 11 May 1998 the court ordered a supplementary expert opinion. 21. At the hearing of 25 June 1998 the court completed the examination of the case. 22. Subsequently, the applicant filed a petition in which he complained about certain errors in the minutes from that hearing. On 7 July 1998 the court issued a decision concerning those errors. 23. On 6 July 1998 the applicant submitted pleadings. On 9 July 1998 the court resumed the proceedings and requested the applicant to specify his claim. 24. In September 1998 the applicant requested the court to summon a customs office to join the proceedings as an intervener for the applicant. 25. At the hearing held on 9 November 1998 the court dismissed that request. The applicant requested the written reasoning of that decision. On 18 November 1998 his request was rejected as not provided for by the law. 26. On 19 November 1998 the court gave judgment. It awarded the applicant 32,345.23 Polish zlotys with interest. Both the applicant and the defendant company appealed. 27. The Łódź Court of Appeal held hearings on 9 April and 1 June 1999. 28. On 15 June 1999 it gave judgment. The court amended the judgment of the first-instance court in that it dismissed the action filed by the applicant. He received a copy of the written reasoning of that judgment on 4 April 2000. On 4 May 2000 the applicant lodged with the Supreme Court a cassation appeal against that judgment. 29. On 16 January 2002 the Supreme Court dismissed that appeal.

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4. Ms Valentyna Mykolayivna Mykhaylenko was born in 1951. Mr Valentyn Andriyovych Mykhaylenko was born in 1944. Mr Grygoriy Stanislavovych Ganushevych was born in 1950. Mr Anatoliy Ivanovych Marchenko was born in 1952. Ms Oleksandra Romanivna Yudenok was born in 1948. Mr Vasyl Mykhaylovych Myshko was born in 1945. Mr Vasyl Kindratovych Bezpalko was born in 1958. Ms Galyna Stepanivna Zorenko was born in 1939. Mr Grigoriy Pavlovych Arkhitko was born in 1960. Mr Volodymyr Mykolayovych Litskevich was born in 1956. Mr Mykhaylo Pavlovych Tyshchenko was born in 1949. All the applicants live in Chernigiv, Ukraine. 5. Between 1997 and 2001 the applicants instituted separate sets of proceedings in the local domestic courts, seeking the recovery of salary arrears and other payments from their former employer, the State-owned company Atomspetsbud, which had carried out construction work at Chernobyl within the zone that had been compulsorily evacuated (see paragraphs 29-30 below). 6. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 14 April 1998, Ms Valentyna Mykhaylenko was awarded 4,849 hryvnas (UAH) in salary arrears and other payments. She received UAH 173.58 on 7 February 2000 and UAH 76.09 on 17 October 2001. However, the judgment remains largely unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 4,599.33 (the equivalent of 707.59 euros (EUR)). 7. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 15 December 2000, Mr Valentyn Mykhaylenko was awarded UAH 10,479 in salary arrears. By another decision of the same court on 16 April 2002, he was awarded UAH 2,710 in compensation for the delay in the payment of the salary arrears. The judgments remain unenforced, the total debt amounting to UAH 13,189 (the equivalent of EUR 2,029.08). 8. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 13 July 1998, Mr Grygoriy Ganushevych was awarded UAH 7,394 in salary arrears. He received UAH 219.37 on 21 January 2000 and UAH 116.03 on 18 August 2000. However, the judgment remains largely unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 7,058.60 (the equivalent of EUR 1,085.94). 9. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 11 September 1997, Mr Anatoliy Marchenko was awarded UAH 4,528 in salary arrears. By another decision of the same court on 19 September 2001, he was awarded UAH 9,671.75 in compensation for the delay in payment of those arrears. He received UAH 1,000 on 17 February 1998, UAH 126.29 on 7 February 2000 and UAH 55.27 on 20 October 2000. However, the judgments remain to a large extent unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 13,018.19 (the equivalent of EUR 2,002.80). 10. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 18 November 1998, Ms Oleksandra Yudenok was awarded UAH 5,664 in salary arrears and UAH 883 in compensation for the delay in their payment. On 7 February 2000 the applicant received UAH 234.37. The judgment remains largely unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 6,312.63 (the equivalent of EUR 971.17). 11. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 24 March 1999, Mr Vasyl Myshko was awarded UAH 8,130 in salary arrears, but only UAH 418.62 were paid to him. The judgment remains to a large extent unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 7,711.38 (the equivalent of EUR 1,186.37). 12. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 17 April 2001, Mr Vasyl Bezpalko was awarded UAH 14,764 (the equivalent of EUR 2,271.38) in salary arrears. The judgment remains unenforced. 13. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv on 4 February 1999, Ms Galyna Zorenko was awarded UAH 6,596 in salary arrears. She received UAH 236.12 on 7 February 2000 and UAH 103.51 on 10 November 2000. However, the judgment remains largely unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 6,256.37 (the equivalent of EUR 962.52) 14. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 1 April 1999, Mr Grygoriy Arkhitko was reinstated in his post and awarded UAH 6,348.62 in salary arrears. He received UAH 226.17 on 7 February 2000 and UAH 99.64 on 18 August 2000. However, the judgment remains to a large extent unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 6,022.81 (the equivalent of EUR 926.59). 15. By a decision of the Ivankivsky District Court of the Kiev Region of 10 June 1999, Mr Volodymyr Litskevich was awarded UAH 6,444.45 in salary arrears. He received UAH 61.12 on 16 November 1999, UAH 171.57 on 8 February 2000 and UAH 101.13 on 18 August 2000. However, the judgment remains largely unenforced, the outstanding debt being UAH 6,110.63 (the equivalent of EUR 940.10). 16. By a decision of the Novozavodsky District Court of Chernigiv of 16 October 2001, Mr Mykhaylo Tyshchenko was awarded UAH 8,340 (the equivalent of EUR 1,283.08) in salary arrears. The judgment remains unenforced. 17. By a letter of 17 June 1999, the Ministry of Energy informed Mr Grygoriy Ganushevych that the delay in the payment of salary arrears was due to the debtor company’s difficult economic situation, caused by the failure of third parties to pay their debts to the company. According to the Ministry, the company’s situation required a solution at State level. 18. By a letter of 5 May 2001, the same Ministry informed Mr Grygoriy Ganushevych that, despite its efforts, the debtor company’s economic situation had not improved. The Ministry mentioned that the Ministry for Emergencies and the Protection of the Population from the Consequences of the Chernobyl Catastrophe[1] (“the Ministry for Emergencies”) was Atomspetsbud’s largest debtor. The Ministry informed the applicant that the company’s management had asked it to decide on the expediency of the company’s continued existence. 19. At the end of 2001 the sixth, seventh and ninth applicants instituted separate proceedings in the Pechersky District Court of Kiev against the Ukrainian President, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice, seeking compensation for the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage caused by the non-enforcement of the judicial decisions in their favour. In three separate decisions of 29 January 2002, that court found against the applicants, stating that, in the event of non-enforcement, the applicants had the option of lodging the appropriate claims for damages against the State Bailiffs’ Service, rather than the above defendants, whose responsibility for the non-enforcement had not been proved by the claimants. The applicants did not appeal against those decisions under the ordinary appeal procedure or on points of law. 20. In their joint letter of 31 October 2002 to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, all the applicants gave notice that they had lodged applications with the European Court of Human Rights and proposed a friendly settlement of the matter. They requested full enforcement of the decisions and compensation for damage ranging from UAH 20,000 to 50,000 each. 21. In reply, the Agent of the Government informed the applicants that friendly-settlement proceedings could only be started following the Court’s admissibility decision. She further informed the applicants of the large number of writs of execution pending against the debtor company, amounting to UAH 3,849,312[2]. However, enforcement of the judgments through the seizure of property required special authorisation from the Ministry for Emergencies, since the debtor company’s property was located within the Chernobyl area, which was contaminated by radiation. No such authorisation was granted. 22. By an order of the Ministry of Energy dated 27 June 2002, the debtor company was liquidated and a liquidation commission established. 23. As a result, between 7 October 2002 and 9 July 2003 the State Bailiffs’ Service terminated the enforcement proceedings in the applicants’ cases and all the writs of execution were forwarded to the liquidation commission as creditors’ claims. The liquidation proceedings are still pending.

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8. The applicant was born in 1952 and lives in Mardin. 9. On 22 December 1980 the applicant was arrested and taken into police custody on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation. 10. On 10 March 1981 the Diyarbakır Martial Law Court ordered the applicant's detention on remand. 11. On 14 September 1981 the public prosecutor's office at the Diyarbakır Martial Law Court filed a bill of indictment with the latter, accusing the applicant of membership of an illegal organisation. The public prosecutor's office requested that the applicant be convicted and sentenced under Article 168 § 1 of the Criminal Code. 12. On 19 February 1985 the Diyarbakır Martial Law Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to twenty-four years' imprisonment. Before the Diyarbakır Martial Law Court, the applicant was tried together with 624 co-suspects. 13. Following the applicant's appeal, his case was referred to the Military Court of Cassation. 14. On 10 April 1990 the Military Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the Diyarbakır Martial Law Court on the ground that latter had misinterpreted the domestic law in respect of the offence in question. 15. On 29 July 1990 the applicant was released from detention. 16. Subsequent to promulgation of Law no. 3953 on 27 December 1993, which abolished the jurisdiction of the Martial Law Courts, the Diyarbakır Assize Court acquired jurisdiction over the applicant's case. 17. On 13 July 1998 the Diyarbakır Assize Court held that the offence fell within the scope of Article 168 § 2 and consequently the statutory time‑limit under Articles 102 and 104 of the Criminal Code had expired. It accordingly ordered that the criminal proceedings against the applicant be terminated. 18. On 10 September 1998 the judgment became final in respect of the applicant.

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5. The applicant, Mr Vadim Fedorovych Bakalov, is a Ukrainian national, who was born on 23 February 1970 and currently resides in Odessa. He is represented before the Court by Aleksandr Kazarnovskiy, a lawyer practicing in Odessa. 6. On 24 September 1997 the applicant was apprehended by police officers of the Leninskiy District Police Department of Odessa. 7. On 25 September 1997 the applicant's house was searched, during which ammunition was found. 8. On 30 September 1997 the applicant was charged with storing ammunition (Article 222-1 of the Criminal Code) and a criminal investigation was initiated against him. 9. On 26 December 1997 the investigation was terminated due to lack of proof. 10. On 25 August 1998 the applicant lodged complaints with the Kievsky District Court of Odessa, claiming unlawful detention, and the unlawful search and seizure of some of his property. The applicant alleged that the search was conducted without a warrant and that no ammunition had been found. He also sought compensation for moral damage caused by the unlawful police action. 11. On 16 August 1999 the Kievsky District Court of Odessa allowed the applicant's claims and ordered the State Treasury to pay the applicant UAH 82,472[1] in compensation. 12. On 6 June 2000 the Odessa Regional Court partly quashed this decision as regards compensation for material damage, which it remitted for fresh consideration to the Kievsky District Court of Odessa, which at a later date awarded the applicant UAH 2,020[2] in compensation for pecuniary damage. It also ordered the State Treasury to pay the applicant UAH 50,000[3] in compensation for moral damage. 13. On 31 October 2001 the applicant complained to the State Treasury about the non-execution of the judgment of 6 June 2000 given in his favour. 14. On 15 November 2001 the State Treasury informed the applicant that no funds were available for such payments in the 1999-2001 State budgets. 15. On 29 January 2002 the applicant requested the State Treasury to execute the judgment of 6 June 2000. 16. On 26 February 2002 the State Treasury informed the applicant there was no statutory procedure for the payment of compensation and therefore no payment was possible. 17. On 15 May 2002 the National Bank transferred UAH 2,020 to the applicant in compensation for pecuniary damage. 18. On 10 December 2002 the National Bank transferred UAH 50,000 to the applicant in compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

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9. The applicant was born in 1955 and is now living in the district of Şirvan (province of Siirt), the area where he was born. At the material time he was living with twelve close relatives in the slum quarter (gecekondu mahallesi) of Kazım Karabekir in Ümraniye, a district of Istanbul, where he had moved after resigning from his post as a village guard in south-eastern Turkey. 10. Since the early 1970s a household-refuse tip had been in operation in Hekimbaşı, a slum area adjoining Kazım Karabekir. On 22 January 1960 Istanbul City Council (“the city council”) had been granted use of the land, which belonged to the Forestry Commission (and therefore to the Treasury), for a term of ninety-nine years. Situated on a slope overlooking a valley, the site spread out over a surface area of approximately 35 hectares and from 1972 onwards was used as a rubbish tip by the districts of Beykoz, Üsküdar, Kadıköy and Ümraniye under the authority and responsibility of the city council and, ultimately, the ministerial authorities. When the rubbish tip started being used, the area was uninhabited and the closest built-up area was approximately 3.5 km away. However, as the years passed, rudimentary dwellings were built without any authorisation in the area surrounding the rubbish tip, which eventually developed into the slums of Ümraniye. According to an official map covering the areas of Hekimbaşı and Kazım Karabekir, produced by Ümraniye District Council’s Technical Services Department, the applicant’s house was built on the corner of Dereboyu Street and Gerze Street. That part of the settlement was adjacent to the municipal rubbish tip and since 1978 had been under the authority of a local mayor answerable to the district council. The Ümraniye tip no longer exists. The local council had it covered with earth and installed air ducts. Furthermore, land-use plans are currently being prepared for the areas of Hekimbaşı and Kazım Karabekir. The city council has planted trees on a large area of the former site of the tip and has had sports grounds laid. 11. Following the local elections of 26 March 1989, Ümraniye District Council sought to amend the urban development plan on a scale of 1:1,000. However, the decision-making authorities refused to adopt the plan as it covered an area that ran very close to the municipal rubbish tip. From 4 December of that year Ümraniye District Council began dumping heaps of earth and refuse on to the land surrounding the Ümraniye slums in order to redevelop the site of the rubbish tip. However, on 15 December 1989 M.C. and A.C., two inhabitants of the Hekimbaşı area, brought proceedings against the district council in the Fourth Division of the Üsküdar District Court to establish title to land. They complained of damage to their plantations and sought to have the work halted. In support of their application, M.C. and A.C. produced documents showing that they had been liable for council tax and property tax since 1977 under tax no. 168900. In 1983 the authorities had asked them to fill in a standard form for the declaration of illegal buildings so that their title to the properties and land could be regularised (see paragraph 54 below). On 21 August 1989, at their request, the city council’s water and mains authority had ordered a water meter to be installed in their house. Furthermore, copies of electricity bills show that M.C. and A.C., as consumers, made regular payments for the power they had used on the basis of readings taken from a meter installed for that purpose. 12. In the District Court, the district council based its defence on the fact that the land claimed by M.C. and A.C. was situated on the waste-collection site; that residence there was contrary to health regulations; and that their application for regularisation of their title conferred no rights on them. In a judgment delivered on 2 May 1991 (case no. 1989/1088), the District Court found for M.C. and A.C., holding that there had been interference with the exercise of their rights over the land in question. However, the Court of Cassation set the judgment aside on 2 March 1992. On 22 October 1992 the District Court followed the Court of Cassation’s judgment and dismissed M.C.’s and A.C.’s claims. 13. On 9 April 1991 Ümraniye District Council applied to the Third Division of the Üsküdar District Court for experts to be appointed to determine whether the rubbish tip complied with the relevant regulations, in particular the Regulations on Solid-Waste Control of 14 March 1991. The district council also applied for an assessment of the damage it had sustained, as evidence in support of an action for damages it was preparing to bring against the city council and the councils of the three other districts that used the tip. The application for an expert opinion was registered as case no. 1991/76, and on 24 April 1991 a committee of experts was set up for that purpose, comprising a professor of environmental engineering, a land registry official and a forensic medical expert. According to the experts’ report, drawn up on 7 May 1991, the rubbish tip in question did not conform to the technical requirements set forth, inter alia, in regulations 24 to 27, 30 and 38 of the Regulations of 14 March 1991 and, accordingly, presented a number of dangers liable to give rise to a major health risk for the inhabitants of the valley, particularly those living in the slum areas: no walls or fencing separated the tip from the dwellings fifty metres away from the mountain of refuse, the tip was not equipped with collection, composting, recycling or combustion systems, and no drainage or drainage-water purification systems had been installed. The experts concluded that the Ümraniye tip “exposed humans, animals and the environment to all kinds of risks”. In that connection the report, drawing attention first to the fact that some twenty contagious diseases might spread, underlined the following: “... In any waste-collection site gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide form. These substances must be collected and ... burnt under supervision. However, the tip in question is not equipped with such a system. If methane is mixed with air in a particular proportion, it can explode. This installation contains no means of preventing an explosion of the methane produced as a result of the decomposition [of the waste]. May God preserve us, as the damage could be very substantial given the neighbouring dwellings. ...” On 27 May 1991 the report was brought to the attention of the four councils in question, and on 7 June 1991 the governor was informed of it and asked to brief the Ministry of Health and the Prime Minister’s Environment Office (“the Environment Office”). 14. Kadıköy and Üsküdar District Councils and the city council applied on 3, 5 and 9 June 1991 respectively to have the expert report set aside. In their notice of application the councils’ lawyers simply stated that the report, which had been ordered and drawn up without their knowledge, contravened the Code of Civil Procedure. The three lawyers reserved the right to file supplementary pleadings in support of their objections once they had obtained all the necessary information and documents from their authorities. As none of the parties filed supplementary pleadings to that end, the proceedings were discontinued. 15. However, the Environment Office, which had been advised of the report on 18 June 1991, made a recommendation (no. 09513) urging the Istanbul Governor’s Office, the city council and Ümraniye District Council to remedy the problems identified in the present case: “... The report prepared by the committee of experts indicates that the waste-collection site in question breaches the Environment Act and the Regulations on Solid-Waste Control and consequently poses a health hazard to humans and animals. The measures provided for in regulations 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 and 38 of the Regulations on Solid-Waste Control must be implemented at the site of the tip ... I therefore ask for the necessary measures to be implemented ... and for our office to be informed of the outcome.” 16. On 27 August 1992 Şinasi Öktem, the mayor of Ümraniye, applied to the First Division of the Üsküdar District Court for the implementation of temporary measures to prevent the city council and the neighbouring district councils from using the waste-collection site. He requested, in particular, that no further waste be dumped, that the tip be closed and that redress be provided in respect of the damage sustained by his district. On 3 November 1992 Istanbul City Council’s representative opposed that request. Emphasising the city council’s efforts to maintain the roads leading to the rubbish tip and to combat the spread of diseases, stray dogs and the emission of odours, the representative submitted, in particular, that a plan to redevelop the site of the tip had been put out to tender. As regards the request for the temporary closure of the tip, the representative asserted that Ümraniye District Council was acting in bad faith in that, since it had been set up in 1987, it had done nothing to decontaminate the site. Istanbul City Council had indeed issued a call for tenders for the development of new sites conforming to modern standards. The first planning contract was awarded to the American firm CVH2M Hill International Ltd, and on 21 December 1992 and 17 February 1993 new sites were designed for the European and Anatolian sides of Istanbul respectively. The project was due for completion in the course of 1993. 17. While those proceedings were still pending, Ümraniye District Council informed the mayor of Istanbul that from 15 May 1993 the dumping of waste would no longer be authorised. 18. On 28 April 1993 at about 11 a.m. a methane explosion occurred at the site. Following a landslide caused by mounting pressure, the refuse erupted from the mountain of waste and engulfed some ten slum dwellings situated below it, including the one belonging to the applicant. Thirty-nine people died in the accident. 19. Immediately after the accident two members of the municipal police force sought to establish the facts. After taking evidence from the victims, including the applicant, who explained that he had built his house in 1988, they reported that thirteen huts had been destroyed. On the same day the members of a crisis unit set up by the Istanbul Governor’s Office also went to the site and found that the landslide had indeed been caused by a methane explosion. 20. The next day, on 29 April 1993, the Ministry of the Interior (“the Ministry”) ordered the Administrative Investigation Department (“the investigation department”) to examine the circumstances in which the disaster had occurred in order to determine whether proceedings should be instituted against the two mayors, Mr Sözen and Mr Öktem. 21. While those administrative proceedings were under way, on 30 April 1993 the Üsküdar public prosecutor (“the public prosecutor”) went to the scene of the accident, accompanied by a committee of experts composed of three civil-engineering professors from three different universities. In the light of his preliminary observations, he instructed the committee to determine how liability for the accident should be apportioned among the public authorities and the victims. 22. On 6 May 1993 the applicant lodged a complaint at the local police station. He stated: “If it was the authorities who, through their negligence, caused my house to be buried and caused the death of my partners and children, I hereby lodge a criminal complaint against the authority or authorities concerned.” The applicant’s complaint was added to the investigation file (no. 1993/6102), which the public prosecutor had already opened of his own motion. 23. On 14 May 1993 the public prosecutor heard evidence from a number of witnesses and victims of the accident. On 18 May 1993 the committee of experts submitted the report ordered by the public prosecutor. In its report the committee noted, firstly, that there was no development plan on a scale of 1:5,000 for the region, that the urban development plan on a scale of 1:1,000 had not been approved and that most of the dwellings that had been engulfed had in fact been outside the area covered by the urban development plan, on the far edge of the site of the rubbish tip. The experts confirmed that the landslide – affecting land which had already been unstable – could be explained both by the mounting pressure of the gas inside the tip and by the explosion of the gas. Reiterating the public authorities’ obligations and duties under the relevant regulations, the experts concluded that liability for the accident should be apportioned as follows: “(i) 2/8 to Istanbul City Council, for failing to act sufficiently early to prevent the technical problems which already existed when the tip was first created in 1970 and have continued to increase since then, or to indicate to the district councils concerned an alternative waste-collection site, as it was obliged to do under Law no. 3030; (ii) 2/8 to Ümraniye District Council for implementing a development plan while omitting, contrary to Regulations on Solid-Waste Control (no. 20814), to provide for a 1,000 metre-wide buffer zone to remain uninhabited, and for attracting illegal dwellings to the area and taking no steps to prevent them from being built, despite the experts’ report of 7 May 1991; (iii) 2/8 to the slum inhabitants for putting the members of their families in danger by settling near a mountain of waste; (iv) 1/8 to the Ministry of the Environment for failing to monitor the tip effectively in accordance with the Regulations on Solid-Waste Control (no. 20814); (v) 1/8 to the government for encouraging the spread of this type of settlement by declaring an amnesty in relation to illegal dwellings on a number of occasions and granting property titles to the occupants.” 24. On 21 May 1993 the public prosecutor made an order declining jurisdiction ratione personae in respect of the administrative authorities that had been held liable, namely Istanbul City Council, Ümraniye District Council, the Ministry of the Environment and the heads of government from the period between 1974 and 1993. He accordingly referred the case to the Istanbul governor, considering that it came under the Prosecution of Civil Servants Act, the application of which was a matter for the administrative council of the province of Istanbul (“the administrative council”). However, the public prosecutor stated in his order that the provisions applicable to the authorities in question were Article 230 and Article 455 § 2 of the Criminal Code, which respectively concerned the offences of negligence in the performance of public duties and negligent homicide. In so far as the case concerned the possible liability of the slum inhabitants – including the applicant – who were not only victims but had also been accused under Article 455 § 2 of the Criminal Code, the public prosecutor expressed the opinion that, as the case stood, it was not possible to disjoin their complaints, having regard to sections 10 and 15 of the above-mentioned Act. On 27 May 1993, when the investigation department had completed the preliminary inquiry, the public prosecutor’s file was transmitted to the Ministry. 25. On 27 May 1993, having regard to the conclusions of its own inquiry, the investigation department sought authorisation from the Ministry to open a criminal investigation in respect of the two mayors implicated in the case. 26. The day after that request was made Ümraniye District Council made the following announcement to the press: “The sole waste-collection site on the Anatolian side stood in the middle of our district of Ümraniye like an object of silent horror. It has broken its silence and caused death. We knew it and were expecting it. As a district council, we had been hammering at all possible doors for four years to have this waste-collection site removed. We were met with indifference by Istanbul City Council. It abandoned the decontamination works ... after laying two spades of concrete at the inauguration. The ministries and the government were aware of the facts, but failed to take much notice. We had submitted the matter to the courts and they had found in our favour, but the judicial machinery could not be put into action. ... We must now face up to our responsibilities and will all be accountable for this to the inhabitants of Ümraniye ...” 27. The authorisation sought by the investigation department was granted on 17 June 1993 and a chief inspector from the Ministry (“the chief inspector”) was accordingly put in charge of the case. In the light of the investigation file compiled in the case, the chief inspector took down statements from Mr Sözen and Mr Öktem. The latter stated, among other things, that in December 1989 his district council had begun decontamination works in the Hekimbaşı slum area, but that these had been suspended at the request of two inhabitants of the area (see paragraph 11 above). 28. The chief inspector finalised his report on 9 July 1993. It endorsed the conclusions reached by all the experts instructed hitherto and took account of all the evidence gathered by the public prosecutor. It also mentioned two other scientific opinions sent to the Istanbul Governor’s Office in May 1993, one by the Ministry of the Environment and the other by a professor of civil engineering at Boğaziçi University. These two opinions confirmed that the fatal landslide had been caused by the methane explosion. The report also indicated that on 4 May 1993 the investigation department had requested the city council to inform it of the measures actually taken in the light of the expert report of 7 May 1991, and it reproduced Mr Sözen’s reply: “Our city council has both taken the measures necessary to ensure that the old sites can be used in the least harmful way possible until the end of 1993 and completed all the preparations for the construction of one of the biggest and most modern installations ... ever undertaken in our country. We are also installing a temporary waste-collection site satisfying the requisite conditions. Alongside that, renovation work is ongoing at former sites [at the end of their life span]. In short, over the past three years our city council has been studying the problem of waste very seriously ... [and] currently the work is continuing ...” 29. The chief inspector concluded, lastly, that the death of twenty-six people and the injuries to eleven others (figures available at the material time) on 28 April 1993 had been caused by the two mayors’ failure to take appropriate steps in the performance of their duties and that they should be held to account for their negligence under Article 230 of the Criminal Code. In spite of, inter alia, the expert report and the recommendation of the Environment Office, they had knowingly breached their respective duties: Mr Öktem because he had failed to comply with his obligation to order the destruction of the illegal huts situated around the rubbish tip, as he was empowered to do under section 18 of Law no. 775, and Mr Sözen because he had refused to comply with the above-mentioned recommendation, had failed to renovate the rubbish tip or order its closure, and had not complied with any of the provisions of section 10 of Law no. 3030, which required him to order the destruction of the slum dwellings in question, if necessary by his own means. However, in his observations the chief inspector did not deal with the question whether Article 455 § 2 of the Criminal Code was applicable in the instant case. 30. In the meantime, the Department of Housing and Rudimentary Dwellings had asked the applicant to contact it, informing him that in an order (no. 1739) of 25 May 1993 the city council had allocated him a flat in a subsidised housing complex in Çobançeşme (Eyüp, Alibeyköy). On 18 June 1993 the applicant signed for possession of flat no. 7 in building C‑1 of that complex. That transaction was made official on 17 September 1993 in an order by the city council (no. 3927). On 13 November 1993 the applicant signed a notarially recorded declaration in lieu of a contract stating that the flat in question had been “sold” to him for 125,000,000 Turkish liras (TRL), a quarter of which was payable immediately and the remainder in monthly instalments of TRL 732,844. It appears likely that the initial payment was made to the Istanbul Governor’s Office, which forwarded it to the city council. The applicant paid the first monthly instalment on 9 November 1993 and continued to make payments until January 1996. In the meantime, prior to 23 February 1995, he had let his flat to a certain H.Ö. for a monthly rent of TRL 2,000,000. It appears that from January 1996 the authorities had to avail themselves of enforcement proceedings in order to recover the outstanding instalments. On 24 March 1998 the applicant, who by that time had discharged his debt to the city council, gave a notarially recorded undertaking to sell his flat to a certain E.B. in return for a down payment of 20,000 German marks. 31. In an order of 15 July 1993, the administrative council decided, by a majority, on the basis of the chief inspector’s report, to institute proceedings against Mr Sözen and Mr Öktem for breaching Article 230 of the Criminal Code. Mr Sözen and Mr Öktem appealed against that decision to the Supreme Administrative Court, which dismissed their appeal on 18 January 1995. The case file was consequently sent back to the public prosecutor, who on 30 March 1995 committed both mayors for trial in the Fifth Division of the Istanbul Criminal Court. 32. The trial before the Division began on 29 May 1995. At the hearing Mr Sözen stated, among other things, that he could not be expected to have complied with duties which were not incumbent on him or be held solely responsible for a situation which had endured since 1970. Nor could he be blamed for not having renovated the Ümraniye tip when none of the 2,000 sites in Turkey had been renovated; in that connection, relying on a number of measures which had nonetheless been taken by the city council, he argued that the tip could not have been fully redeveloped as long as waste continued to be dumped on it. Lastly, he stated: “The elements of the offence of negligence in the performance of duties have not been made out because I did not act with the intention of showing myself to be negligent [sic] and because no causal link can be established [between the incident and any negligence on his part].” Mr Öktem submitted that the groups of dwellings which had been engulfed dated back to before his election on 26 March 1989 and that since then he had never allowed slum areas to develop. Accusing the Istanbul City Council and Governor’s Office of indifference to the problems, Mr Öktem asserted that responsibility for preventing the construction of illegal dwellings lay with the forestry officials and that, in any event, his district council lacked the necessary staff to destroy such dwellings. 33. In a judgment of 4 April 1996, the Division found the two mayors guilty as charged, considering their defence to be unfounded. The judges based their conclusion, in particular, on the evidence that had already been obtained during the extensive criminal inquiries carried out between 29 April 1993 to 9 July 1993 (see paragraphs 19 and 28 above). It also appears from the judgment of 30 November 1995 that, in determining the share of liability incurred by each of the authorities in question, the judges unhesitatingly endorsed the findings of the expert report drawn up on this precise issue at the public prosecutor’s request, which had been available since 18 May 1993 (see paragraph 23 above). The judges also observed: “... although they had been informed of the [experts’] report, the two defendants took no proper preventive measures. Just as a person who shoots into a crowd should know that people will die and, accordingly, cannot then claim to have acted without intending to kill, the defendants cannot allege in the present case that they did not intend to neglect their duties. They do not bear the entire responsibility, however. ... They were negligent, as were others. In the instant case the main error consists in building dwellings beneath a refuse tip situated on a hillside and it is the inhabitants of these slum dwellings who are responsible. They should have had regard to the risk that the mountain of rubbish would one day collapse on their heads and that they would suffer damage. They should not have built dwellings fifty metres from the tip. They have paid for that recklessness with their lives ...” 34. The Division sentenced Mr Sözen and Mr Öktem to the minimum term of imprisonment provided for in Article 230 of the Criminal Code, namely three months, and to fines of TRL 160,000. Under section 4(1) of Law no. 647, the Division commuted the prison sentences to fines, so the penalties ultimately imposed were fines of TRL 610,000. Satisfied that the defendants would not reoffend, the Division also decided to suspend enforcement of the penalties in accordance with section 6 of the same Law. 35. Both mayors appealed on points of law. They submitted, in particular, that the Division had gone beyond the scope of Article 230 of the Criminal Code in its assessment of the facts, and had treated the case as one of unintentional homicide within the meaning of Article 455 of the Code. In a judgment of 10 November 1997, the Court of Cassation upheld the Division’s judgment. 36. The applicant has apparently never been informed of those proceedings or given evidence to any of the administrative bodies of investigation or the criminal courts; nor does any court decision appear to have been served on him. 37. On 3 September 1993 the applicant applied to Ümraniye District Council, Istanbul City Council and the Ministries of the Interior and the Environment, seeking compensation for both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage. The applicant’s claim was broken down as follows: TRL 150,000,000 in damages for the loss of his dwelling and household goods; TRL 2,550,000,000, TRL 10,000,000, TRL 15,000,000 and TRL 20,000,000 in compensation for the loss of financial support incurred by himself and his three surviving sons, Hüsamettin, Aydın and Halef; and TRL 900,000,000 for himself and TRL 300,000,000 for each of his three sons in respect of the non-pecuniary damage resulting from the deaths of their close relatives. 38. In letters of 16 September and 2 November 1993, the mayor of Ümraniye and the Minister for the Environment dismissed the applicant’s claims. The other authorities did not reply. 39. The applicant then sued the four authorities for damages in his own name and on behalf of his three surviving children in the Istanbul Administrative Court (“the court”). He complained that their negligent omissions had resulted in the death of his relatives and the destruction of his house and household goods, and again sought the aforementioned amounts. On 4 January 1994 the applicant was granted legal aid. 40. The court gave judgment on 30 November 1995. Basing its decision on the experts’ report of 18 May 1993 (see paragraph 23 above), it found a direct causal link between the accident of 28 April 1993 and the contributory negligence of the four authorities concerned. Accordingly, it ordered them to pay the applicant and his children TRL 100,000,000 for non-pecuniary damage and TRL 10,000,000 for pecuniary damage (at the material time those amounts were equivalent to approximately 2,077 and 208 euros respectively). The latter amount, determined on an equitable basis, was limited to the destruction of household goods, save the domestic electrical appliances, which the applicant was not supposed to own. On that point the court appears to have accepted the authorities’ argument that “these dwellings had neither water nor electricity”. The court dismissed the remainder of the claim, holding that the applicant could not maintain that he had been deprived of financial support since he had been partly responsible for the damage incurred and the victims had been young children or housewives who had not been in paid employment such as to contribute to the family’s living expenses. The court also held that the applicant was not entitled to claim compensation for the destruction of his slum dwelling given that, following the accident, he had been allocated a subsidised flat and that, although Ümraniye District Council had not exercised its power to destroy the dwelling, there had been nothing to prevent it from doing so at any time. The court decided, lastly, not to apply default interest to the sum awarded for non-pecuniary damage. 41. The parties appealed against that judgment to the Supreme Administrative Court, which dismissed their appeal in a judgment of 21 April 1998. An application by Istanbul City Council for rectification of the judgment was likewise unsuccessful, and the judgment accordingly became final and was served on the applicant on 10 August 1998. 42. The compensation awarded has still not been paid. 43. On 22 December 2000 Law no. 4616 came into force, providing for the suspension of the enforcement of judicial measures pending in respect of certain offences committed before 23 April 1999. On 22 April 2003 the Ministry of Justice informed the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office that it had been impossible to conclude the criminal investigation pending in respect of the slum inhabitants, that the only decision concerning them had been the order of 21 May 1993 declining jurisdiction and that the charge against them would become time-barred on 28 April 2003. Consequently, on 24 April 2003 the Istanbul public prosecutor decided to suspend the opening of criminal proceedings against the inhabitants, including the applicant, and four days later the criminal proceedings against them became time-barred.

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4. The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Moscow. 5. In 1996 the applicant purchased a foreign-made car at a car market in Belarus from an unidentified seller. On coming back to Moscow he applied for its registration. Registration was refused because the car had not been properly registered in Belarus and its previous owner was not known. A criminal investigation was opened. 6. On 19 March 1998 a police department of Moscow decided to discontinue the criminal proceedings. No indication of a criminal offence in the applicant’s actions was established as he was not aware that the car had been sold with forged documents and without registration with the competent traffic police department. The engine and chassis numbers were not forged and the car was not in the search list. The applicant was advised to apply to a court to be recognised as a good faith purchaser and the legal owner of the car. 7. On 22 June 1998 the applicant applied to a court. 8. On 7 August 1998 the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow delivered a judgment in the applicant’s case. However, the applicant is not aware of the contents of the judgment. He explains that the judgment was not pronounced publicly, and the court’s registry refused to give him a copy of the judgment because “[his] case, along with several others, had been taken up to the city court”. 9. On 12 August 1998 the State Automobile Inspectorate refused to register the applicant’s car because the applicant had no court judgment. 10. On 25 February 1999 the Presidium of the Moscow City Court, by way of supervisory review, quashed the judgment of 7 August 1998 and remitted the case for a new examination. 11. Between 2 August 1999 and 15 January 2001 nine hearings were scheduled. Of those, seven hearings did not take place because the representatives of the State Automobile Inspectorate and tax inspectorate no. 15 failed to appear. Two hearings did not take place because both parties did not appear. Three judges in succession dealt with the case. The applicant sent many complaints to the Moscow City Court, the Moscow Justice Department, the Moscow Courts’ Administration Department and other authorities about unreasonable delays in the hearing of his case. 12. On 19 February 2001 the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow dismissed the applicant’s action. It found that, pursuant to the Regulations on registration of automobiles and motorcycles no. 624 of 26 November 1996, the vehicles previously registered by one department of the traffic police could not be registered by another department unless the former registration had been duly cancelled. As the applicant failed to produce documents showing that the registration of his car in Belarus had been duly cancelled or, for that matter, that it had been ever effected, the refusal of the Moscow traffic police to register the car had been lawful. 13. On 5 March 2001 the applicant filed his grounds of appeal. On 12 April 2001 the court invited the applicant to pay the appeal fee by 23 April 2001. The applicant did not pay the fee and his appeal was not considered. 14. Subsequently the time-limit for lodging the appeal was extended. On 18 July 2001 Judge G. of the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow accepted the grounds of appeal and told the applicant to pay the court fee of RUR 4,110 (EUR 187). The applicant complained to the judges’ qualification panel about the excessive and arbitrarily calculated amount. Upon examination of his complaint, the fee was substantially reduced and the judge was disciplined. 15. On 18 September 2001 the applicant applied to the Moscow City Court for an extension of the time-limit to submit his points of appeal. Having received no response for several months, the applicant complained to the Moscow Justice Department and the Moscow Courts’ Administration Department. On 18 May 2002 the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow ordered to extend the time-limit until 14 June 2002. 16. On 3 June 2002 the applicant submitted his points of appeal. On 29 July 2002 the applicant paid the court fee. 17. On 18 September 2002 the Moscow City Court upheld the judgment of 19 February 2001. 18. On 24 October 2002 the applicant complained to the Supreme Qualification Panel of Judges that the acting president of the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow failed to provide him with a copy of the judgment of 18 September 2002. The copy was not made available to the applicant until December 2002 at the earliest.

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4. The applicant was born in 1929 and lives in Pula, Croatia. 5. On 3 May 1991 his goods stored in a kiosk in Zadar, Croatia, were damaged by unknown perpetrators. 6. On 16 June 1992 he instituted civil proceedings before the Zadar Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zadru) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia and an insurance company for his damaged property. 7. On 17 May 1999 the Zadar Municipal Court stayed the proceedings in respect of the Republic of Croatia pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima). On the same date it decided to separate the proceedings in respect of the insurance company. 8. On 16 May 2002 the Zadar Municipal Court rejected the applicant’s claim against the insurance company. The applicant did not appeal. 9. The proceedings in respect of the Republic of Croatia resumed on 5 December 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija).

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4. The applicant was born in 1938 and lives in Crikvenica, Croatia. 5. On 6 July 1992 his weekend house in Nin, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 6. On 18 May 1993 he instituted civil proceedings before the Zadar Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zadru) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 7. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima), the Zadar Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 17 December 1998. 8. The proceedings resumed on 24 October 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija). 9. On 20 February 2004 the Zadar Municipal Court rejected the applicant’s claim for damages. The applicant appealed and the case is now apparently pending before the Zadar County Court (Županijski sud u Zadru).

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6. The applicant was born in 1931 and lives in Zagreb. 7. In 1994 the applicant’s weekend house in Karlobag, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 12 May 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 2 April 1996. 10. On 25 November 2002 the applicant complained about the stay on his proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court to the Constitutional Court. It would appear that the proceedings before the Constitutional Court are still pending. 11. The proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court resumed on an uncertain date pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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6. The applicant was born in 1931 and lives in Zagreb. 7. On 13 or 14 July 1992 the applicant’s house in Sukošan, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 7 July 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 9 February 1996. 10. On 7 November 2002 the applicant complained about the stay on his proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court to the Constitutional Court. It would appear that the proceedings before the Constitutional Court are still pending. 11. The proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court resumed on an uncertain date pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003). 12. On 26 September 2003 the Zagreb Municipal Court dismissed the applicant’s claim on the basis of its lack of jurisdiction. The applicant appealed and the case is now apparently pending before the Zagreb County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu).

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6. The applicants were born in 1953 and 1959, respectively and live in Varaždin, Croatia. 7. On 5 December 1991 the applicants’ house in Nedeljanec, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 14 November 1994 the applicants instituted civil proceedings before the Varaždin Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Varaždinu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for their damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Varaždin Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 17 September 1996. 10. The proceedings resumed on 24 October 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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4. The applicant was born in 1953 and is currently in Poissy Prison after periods in other prisons, including Fresnes. He is suffering from Aids, which he says he contracted in 1985, approximately nine years before he was sent to prison. 5. On 8 October 1994 a warrant was issued for the applicant's arrest in connection with a number of serious offences. On 26 June 1996 the Alpes Maritimes Assize Court convicted him of murder, attempt, armed robbery, and the false imprisonment and kidnapping of minors aged under fifteen and of adults. It sentenced him to twenty-one years' imprisonment, of which a minimum of fourteen years were to be served. On 3 March 1998 he received an eighteen-month sentence from the Albertville Criminal Court for attempted escape from lawful custody and assault. On 7 May 1998 the Savoie Assize Court convicted him of false imprisonment followed by mutilation, murder and attempted armed robbery. It sentenced him to twenty-two years' imprisonment, with a minimum of fourteen years and eight months to be served. 6. On 19 November 2002 the Investigation Division of the Chambéry Court of Appeal ordered that the sentences imposed by the two Assize Courts should run concurrently in part, with the overall sentence not to exceed the statutory maximum of thirty years. The minimum period to be served was increased to twenty years. The applicant will now become eligible for parole on 28 September 2023. 7. He has been held in various prisons. At the time his application was lodged, he had been in Fresnes Prison since April 2003. 8. In September 2003 it was decided to transfer him to Poissy Prison on the grounds that: “This transfer will enable family ties to be maintained with his partner, as the prisoner's condition appears to warrant”. 9. According to information supplied by the Government, the applicant lodged an application for a pardon on medical grounds on 1 February 2001 with the support of an association called Act Up. The Ministry of Justice asked the Principal Public Prosecutor at Reims Court of Appeal to appoint a medical expert to report on the applicant's condition and life expectancy, and to advise whether his condition and current or foreseeable treatment were compatible with his detention in prison or in a special facility. 10. The Government stated that the application was turned down on 21 November 2001, after the applicant had refused to agree to a medical examination or to allow the expert access to his records. 11. While in Clairvaux Prison the applicant made an initial application for his sentence to be suspended under Article 720-1-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a provision that had only recently been introduced. 12. The judge responsible for the execution of sentences ordered a medical report advising, inter alia, on the applicant's condition, whether he was suffering from an illness that compromised his chances of survival and whether his condition was permanently incompatible with his continued detention. 13. The expert, Dr B., lodged his report on 2 December 2002. After stating that the applicant had refused to undergo an examination and that the report was based solely on the medical records, he noted that the infection had spread and that the applicant's condition had deteriorated, in particular because he had refused all treatment for a year. He added: “His condition necessitates his total, unfailing commitment to take his medication regularly and to undergo regular biological tests to assess how he is responding to treatment and whether the illness has been stabilised. All opportunistic infection must be warded off. The promiscuous nature of the prison environment makes it a source of such infection. The current increase in the viral load means that the prognosis is very poor and, and unless the patient responds to treatment, things may deteriorate very rapidly.” 14. Dr B. also noted that mentally the applicant was opposed to and refused all medical treatment and regular monitoring. He said in conclusion: “Mr Jean-François Gelfmann's chances (of survival) can be regarded as compromised. While it is neither possible, nor realistic, to predict the future, the following remarks may be made on the basis of the information in the medical records: Despite having had no treatment for a year and the increase in his viral load, Mr Gelfmann has not had any major life-threatening problems of infection requiring highly specialised care in a special facility. The treatment Mr Jean-François Gelfmann is required to take is oral, simple and can be administered in a prison environment. Monitoring is the responsibility of a medical team that is aware of the problem and composed of prison doctors and specialists in infectious diseases of the highest order. No one can safely predict what Mr Jean-François Gelfmann's attitude will be and whether he will agree to treatment in a particular environment. Although I have not been able to examine Mr Gelfmann, having read the voluminous file and last year's medical records and having questioned prison staff, I consider that his condition is currently compatible with continued detention. It will always be possible, if he so wishes and if his symptoms worsen, for him to be re-examined at a later date, at which point the opinion of a psychiatrist should also be sought.” 15. Following his transfer to Fresnes Prison, the applicant made a fresh application to the Paris Regional Parole Court on 4 March 2003 for an order suspending his sentence. 16. In an order of 14 May 2003, the judge responsible for the execution of sentences requested medical reports from Dr F. and Dr S. 17. In his report of 28 May 2003, Dr F. noted: “Mr Jean-François Gelfmann is carrying a serious disease: Aids. The diagnosis has been confirmed by the biological analyses (serology, viral and lymphocyte T4 count) and by the existence of other diseases, so called communal diseases, in association with HIV. The disease was contracted long ago. Mr Jean-François Gelfmann himself says that it dates from 1985 and openly admits that he refused treatment until 1997. The prognosis, whether in the short, medium or long-term, is grim. The specific treatment is onerous and can only be administered – with difficulty because the prisoner is uncooperative – in custody or in a relatively restrictive structure. This is the crux of the matter. In view of the seriousness of Mr Jean-François Gelfmann's condition and his disorders, which may be described as severe borderline syndrome, what is the solution? On one point, we entirely agree with the prisoner: he must be admitted to hospital for an assessment of the Aids position and its potential evolution and a check on the associated diseases: mycosis of the digestive tract, cutaneous mycosis, neuropathy and particularly tuberculosis. Although the tuberculosis appears to have been cured, in the United States Aids patients with tuberculosis are kept in permanent quarantine, as the American specialists consider that they are unable to cure tuberculosis in Aids patients and that the risk of infection is too high. That concern needs to be addressed. All things considered, Mr Jean-François Gelfmann is able to tolerate detention in prison provided he is kept under strict medical supervision. Detention in a hospital would, however, be more compatible with his condition. Beyond the short term, that is to say the assessment of the potential evolution of the diseases, the question of compatibility will need to be reviewed, it being borne in mind that, since we are dealing with diseases that are severe, infectious and fatal, continued treatment outside the current setting would be risky.” 18. Dr F. said in conclusion: “Jean-François Gelfmann is receiving treatment for a confirmed case of Aids. He has also been treated for tuberculosis. These diseases, related illnesses (mycosis, various infections, neuropathy) and severe psychopathy require assessment and his admission to hospital. The treatment he is receiving in detention in Fresnes is entirely appropriate, compatibility with detention is reasonable under medical supervision, but it would be more coherent for him to be treated in hospital.” 19. In his report of 30 May 2003, Dr S. gave the following answers to questions he had been put by the judge: “... 3/ Seriousness of the illness and prognosis Mr Gelfmann has been infected by the Aids virus, category C3 under the Atlanta classification. He has had opportunistic complications that have been treated. He will shortly have been receiving treatment for five years, starting with a bitherapy which proved ineffective after six months followed by tritherapy, which was effective, but was suspended five months later in May 2000 owing to neurological complications. A few months later he began quadritherapy in Troyes but stopped taking his medication for a period of a year and a half. He resumed treatment in July 2002 following the reappearance of adenopathy and a genital infection, but this has produced no results as he has refused treatment since October 2002. Since his transfer to Fresnes, the situation has got worse and the level of T4 has decreased. There is a risk of death in the short to medium term. 4/ Treatment required The quadritherapy started four years ago is no longer effective. The patient is due to attend Fresnes Hospital for medical treatment which has become more onerous as a result of his poor general health. A more thorough examination is needed and can only be performed in a special facility. There is virtually no other treatment left to offer Mr Gelfmann against the Aids virus, beyond the detection and treatment of other opportunistic infections, in particular, of the digestive tract... 5/ Whether his condition is compatible with detention in prison or requires special treatment that is only available in hospital Mr Gelfmann's condition is no longer compatible with detention in prison and requires treatment that is only available in hospital. 6/ Whether he is suffering from a disease that compromises his chances of survival Yes, Mr Gelfmann is suffering from a disease that compromises his chances of survival in the short to medium term. 7/ Information and observations that may assist the court If the position concerning the viral load and T4 continues to deteriorate, complications may develop (lymphoma, pneumopathy, toxoplasmosis, CMV infection or dementia). The hospital assessment will afford more detailed information on the evolution of the illness. Unforeseeable intercurrent lethal complication is possible.” 20. The judge also ordered a psychiatric report, which stated that the applicant was not suffering from a mental disorder amounting to insanity warranting psychiatric treatment, but had presented since childhood emotional imbalance marked by personality organisation with characteristic psychopathic traits which was not incompatible with continued detention. It was further noted that the applicant remained of dangerous criminal propensity and that, owing to his refusal to receive any psychotherapeutic treatment, there was no point in offering him such treatment in detention or making it a condition of a suspended sentence, since his active participation was the only guarantee of possible success. 21. The Paris Regional Parole Court met on 25 June 2003. In a judgment delivered that same day, it ordered the applicant's sentence to be suspended on the grounds that it had been established by two concurring expert reports that he was suffering from a disease that compromised his chances of survival and was thus eligible for a suspended sentence. 22. The Principal Public Prosecutor's Office appealed against that judgment, which the National Parole Court quashed on 18 July 2003 for the following reasons: “... a medical report dated 28 May 2003 shows that the treatment for the diseases from which Mr Gelfmann is suffering is onerous and can only be administered '– with difficulty because the prisoner is uncooperative – in custody or in a relatively restrictive structure'. The practitioner adds: 'This is the crux of the matter' and that detention remains 'compatible with his condition'. Another medical expert, in a report lodged on 2 December 2002, states that the treatment which Mr Gelfmann must take is 'simple and can be administered in a prison environment'. Lastly, the impugned decision notes that a psychiatric expert has stated that Jean-François Gelfmann 'remains of' dangerous criminal propensity and that his 'active participation' in the treatment is the only guarantee of possible success, 'in view of the way his personality is structured'. In these circumstances, it does not appear appropriate to suspend the sentence and the impugned decision must be reversed.” 23. In a letter of 23 July 2003, the applicant's lawyer was advised by a member of the Conseil d'État and Court of Cassation Bar whom he had contacted that, by virtue of Article 720-1-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, no appeal lay against a decision of the National Parole Court, unless it could be shown that it had acted in excess of its authority, which did not appear to be the position in the applicant's case.

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4. The applicants were born in 1951 and 1952 respectively, and live in Svoboda nad Úpou. 5. In January 1986 the applicants bought from the State a house, which had been seized after the emigration of the former owners. The applicants made an initial payment of CZK 100,000 by 30 April 1986, the remaining sum of CZK 244,846 to be paid in fifteen annual instalments. However, the purchase was without risk of forfeiture if such an instalment remained unpaid. 6. Pursuant to the Extra-Judicial Rehabilitation Act (hereinafter “the Act”), in December 1991 the former owners brought an action against the applicants for the restitution of their property. In January 1996 the applicants were ordered to restore the property to the former owners. In May 1999 the applicants were ordered to vacate the house within a year of the coming into force of the first instance judgment without receiving compensatory accommodation. 7. In February 2002 the District Court ordered the execution of its judgment for the applicants' eviction. In May 2000 the Regional Court upheld the order. In October 2002 the District Court dismissed the applicants' request to suspend the execution. In April 2003 the Regional Court upheld the District Court's dismissal. 8. On 28 January 2004 the applicants were informed that the eviction would take place on 23 February 2004. On 19 February 2004 the District Court dismissed their request to suspend the eviction. On 23 February 2004, the applicants' lawyer was served with the District Court's dismissal of 19 February 2004 and, on 9 March 2004, she filed an appeal which is still pending before the Regional Court. 9. Apart from the two aforesaid proceedings, the former owners instituted proceedings against the applicants for the illegal use of the house since 1 January 1996, seeking payment of outstanding rent in the amount of CZK 431,000 (13,596 EUR). In these proceedings, which have been pending since 10 October 1997, the applicants sought to recover damages to compensate for expenditure invested in material improvements to the house, filing a counterclaim (kompenzační námitka) for CZE 300,000 (EUR 9,464) on 5 January 1998, apparently under section 7(4) of the Act. This provides that, if the value of the property has increased so that its price, as assessed on the day of the submission of the written request by the entitled person, substantially exceeds the original purchase price of the property, it is left to the discretion of the entitled person whether he or she will request financial compensation or the return of the property. If he or she insists on the surrender of the property, the entitled person must compensate the person obliged to return the property for the difference between the two prices. 10. In September 1997 the applicants lodged with the Ministry of Finance a request for reimbursement of the purchase price, pursuant to section 11 of the Act, which entitles physical persons who are under an obligation to restore property to recover the price they had paid when acquiring such property from the State. On 4 February 1998, upon the Ministry's request of 5 November 1997, they submitted additional documents. On 13 March 1998 their lawyer informed the Ministry that, on 11 March 1998, she had obtained the document of the Svoboda nad Úpou Municipal Office (městský úřad) confirming that the applicants had so far paid CZK 295,888 (EUR 9,334) of the purchase price. In a letter of 15 May 1998, the Ministry informed the applicants' lawyer that they would deal with her clients' request for reimbursement of the purchase price on reception of the restitution agreement (dohoda o vydání věci) which, together with other documents, had not yet been adduced by the applicants. They were further requested to provide evidence of the amount of the purchase price which they had already paid. The applicants' lawyer replied on 9 June 1998. 11. On 18 January 1999 the applicants lodged an action for damages against the Ministry of Finance and the Trutnov District Office (okresní úřad), seeking compensation in the amount of CZK 500,000 (EUR 15,773) for damage caused by the allegedly erroneous action of a public authority by virtue of the State Liability Act, no. 58/1969. The damages which they requested corresponded to the difference between the original purchase price (CZK 344,846 - EUR 10,878) and the price which should now be paid for a house of the same standard. By instituting this action, the applicants further sought to recover damages to compensate for the second applicant's loss of business premises and customers (she is a dressmaker), for the betterment of the land on which the house had been built and for the loss of accommodation. 12. On 15 February and 10 May 1999 respectively, the District Office and the Ministry of Finance presented their comments on the action. 13. On 17 June 1999 the applicants' lawyer sent documents issued by the Svoboda nad Úpou Municipal Office on 7 June 1999 proving that the applicants had already paid CZK 321,212 (EUR 10,133). 14. On 5 October 1999 the applicants' lawyer sent an additional document to the Ministry of Finance concerning their request for reimbursement of the purchase price. 15. On 20 October 1999 the applicants extended their action, also directing it against the Town of Svoboda nad Úpou and the Ministry of the Interior. The two new defendants commented upon the action on 8 November 1999 and 14 February 2000 respectively. 16. According to the Government, on 29 November 1999 the applicants' lawyer informed the Ministry of Finance that the property at issue had been restored to the former owners in accordance with the judgment. She said that her clients did not agree with the judgment and would continue to pay annual instalments towards the purchase price. She stated that she would inform the Ministry whether she wished to have the purchase price reimbursed or whether she would wait. 17. On 28 December 1999 the applicants were invited to submit observations on the arguments of the Ministry of the Interior. They did so on 10 January 2000. 18. By a letter of 24 January 2000 the Ministry of Finance informed the applicants' lawyer that, inter alia, it had all the documents necessary for the settlement of their request for reimbursement of the purchase price under section 11 of the Act. Nevertheless, it asked the lawyer to submit an additional document and to specify whether the sum of CZK 312,212 (EUR 9,848), corresponding to the part of the purchase price which the applicants had paid so far, had to be reimbursed and, if so, to which bank account. 19. At a hearing of 12 October 2000, the District Court invited the applicants to rectify certain shortcomings in their action and to specify which of the four defendants in fact represented the interests of the State. On 12 December 2000 the court urgently reminded the applicants to submit this information. 20. On 12 March 2001 the District Court, upon the applicants' request received on 10 January 2001, adjourned the proceedings pending the Supreme Court's decision on the applicants' appeal on points of law concerning their eviction from the house. 21. On 30 October 2001 the District Court resumed the proceedings for damages, the decision of the Supreme Court of 28 June 2001 rejecting the applicants' appeal having become effective on 19 July 2001. 22. On 2 November 2001 the court invited the applicants to rectify, within four weeks, certain shortcomings in their action, to specify who of the four defendants in fact represented the State, and to quantify their claim for damages. On 16 November 2001 the Ministry of the Interior requested the court to take a decision in this respect. 23. On 18 February 2002 the applicants rectified their action. However, on 24 October 2002, they were requested to rectify further shortcomings and supplement their action. 24. On 28 November 2002, upon the District Court's invitation of 22 October 2002, the applicants specified their arguments on which they based their action for damages. On 18 December 2002 they adduced further documentary evidence, proposing that the District Court ensure the submission of certain additional documents. 25. On 7 February 2003 the Ministry of Finance informed the District Court that the applicants had requested to have the purchase price reimbursed but that, according to their lawyer, they had not complied with the court judgment to return the house, had continued to pay the annual instalments and, therefore, had not insisted on the settlement of the case, i.e. on the reimbursement of the purchase price. The Ministry assured the court that it was ready to reimburse the amount due to the applicants. 26. On 24 April 2003 a hearing was held by the District Court, and was adjourned until 23 June 2003. 27. On 4 June 2003 the applicants submitted their supplementary observations on the merits of their action for damages. 28. The hearing held on 23 June 2003 was adjourned to 14 July 2003, when the District Court decided that the proceedings concerning the payment of the purchase price, with interest for the delays in payment since 18 January 1999, would be considered separately. It dismissed the remainder of the applicants' claim for damages. 29. On the same day, the Ministry of Finance reimbursed the whole purchase price of CZK 344,846 (EUR 10,878) to the applicants who, on 11 August 2003, withdrew the relevant part of their action for damages. 30. On 18 December 2003 the Regional Court, upon the applicants' appeal of 1 September 2003, upheld the merits of the District Court's judgment. 31. On 22 March 2004 the applicants filed an appeal on points of law (dovolání) in the Supreme Court (Nejvyšší soud). These proceedings are still pending. 32. On 21 June 2004 the District Court, after having held a hearing on 4 June 2004, stayed the proceedings as to the payment of the purchase price. It ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay interest for the delays in payment since 18 January 1999 within three days of the coming into force of the judgment. 33. The defendant lodged an appeal against this judgment. The appellate proceedings are still pending.

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7. The applicant was born in 1950 and lives in Wrocław, Poland. 8. The applicant, who is a trombone player and since 1969 has been playing with the jazz band “Sami Swoi”, became its leader after a split in 1990. Mr Z.C. who had left the band in the same year, started playing with a new band using the name “The New Sami Swoi Orchestra”. 9. On 30 October 1990 the applicant lodged with the Wrocław Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) an action for protection of his personal rights against Z.C. The applicant contended that the defendant had infringed his personal rights by having used the name “Sami Swoi” without his consent. He requested the court, inter alia, to order the defendant not to use that name in the future. 10. On 17 July 1992 the trial court dismissed his action. 11. The applicant appealed against that judgment. 12. On 9 December 1993 the Wrocław Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case to the trial court. 13. On 12 June and 5 September 1995 the court held hearings. Both parties applied for an expert opinion. The applicant made a friendly settlement proposal but the defendant did not agree to it. 14. On 13 February 1996 the applicant requested the court not to order an expert opinion and argued that such opinion would be unnecessary. 15. On 15 February 1996 the trial court, sitting in camera, ordered preparation of an expert opinion. 16. In March 1996 the applicant asked for exemption from the costs of the expert opinion and appealed against the decision of 15 February 1996. On 1 April and 23 May 1996 the court dismissed his applications. 17. In August 1996 the court-appointed expert refused to prepare his opinion. Subsequently, the trial court twice requested the Katowice University Musical Academy to indicate an expert. 18. On 12 March 1997 the court ordered a new expert, Mr A.Z., to prepare an opinion. However, that expert failed to prepare the requested opinion. 19. In June 1997 the court appointed another expert, Mr K.K., to write an opinion in the case. However, due to his illness, the expert failed to prepare the opinion. 20. On 9 March 1998 the trial court ordered Mr H.M. to prepare an expert opinion. The expert did not prepare the opinion and in December 1998 he returned the case-file to the court. 21. On 6 January 1999 the trial court fined the expert for non‑compliance with the court's order. 22. On 15 February 1999 the court ordered another expert, Mr T.T., to prepare an opinion. 23. On 2 July 1999 the expert submitted his opinion to the court. 24. Between 6 September 1995 and 24 November 1999 no hearings were held. 25. Subsequently, the trial court held hearings on 25 November and 17 December 1999. 26. On 14 January 2000 the Chorzów District Court heard a witness. 27. The next hearings were held on 23 May, 13 July, 18 September, 3 November and 17 November 2000. 28. On 1 December 2000 the Wrocław Regional Court gave judgment and ordered the defendant to publish a press statement that the applicant was solely entitled to use the name “Sami Swoi” for his band. It dismissed the remainder of the applicant's action. 29. The defendant appealed against that judgment to the Wrocław Court of Appeal. 30. On 18 May 2001 the Wrocław Court of Appeal gave judgment in which it dismissed the defendant's appeal.

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6. The applicant was born in 1931 and lives in Split, Croatia. 7. On 23 December 1991 the applicant’s house in Špišić Bukovica, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 31 October 1994 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Virovitica Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Virovitici) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for her damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Virovitica Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 7 February 1996. 10. The proceedings resumed on 29 October 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003). 11. On 22 March 2004 the Virovitica Municipal Court dismissed the applicant’s claim on the basis of its lack of jurisdiction. The applicant appealed and the case is now apparently pending before the Virovitica County Court (Županijski sud u Virovitici).

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6. The applicant was born in 1937 and lives in Zagreb. 7. On 5 March 1992 the applicant’s house in Sukošan, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 23 February 1995 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for his damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on an uncertain date. 10. The proceedings resumed on 1 December 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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6. The applicant was born in 1927 and lives in Zagreb. 7. On 13 or 14 April 1993 the applicant’s house in the vicinity of Gospić, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 23 December 1994 the applicant instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for her damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 2 May 1996. 10. On 7 November 2002 the applicant complained about the stay on her proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court to the Constitutional Court. It would appear that the proceedings before the Constitutional Court are still pending. 11. The proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court resumed on 9 December 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

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7. The applicant, the Supreme Holy Council (Висш духовен съвет) of the Muslim Community, headed by Mr Nedim Gendzhev, was the officially recognised leadership of Muslims in Bulgaria, at least between 1995 and 1997. In reality, at the relevant time it was one of the two rival Muslim religious leaderships in Bulgaria. Mr Nedim Gendzhev, a Bulgarian citizen born in 1945 and residing in Sofia, was its leader. He was the Chief Mufti at least between 1988 and 1992 and the President of the Supreme Holy Council at least between 1995 and 1997. 8. At the end of 1989 a process of democratisation commenced in Bulgaria. Soon thereafter some Muslim believers and activists of the Muslim religion in the country sought to replace the leadership of their religious organisation. They considered that Mr Gendzhev, who was the Chief Mufti at that time, and the members of the Supreme Holy Council had collaborated with the communist regime. The old leadership, with Mr Gendzhev as Chief Mufti of Bulgarian Muslims, also had supporters. This situation caused divisions and internal conflict within the Muslim community in Bulgaria. 9. At the end of 1991 a new Government, formed by the Union of Democratic Forces (Съюз на демократичните сили – “the SDS”) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Движение за права и свободи – “the DPS”), took office. 10. On 10 February 1992 the Directorate of Religious Denominations (Дирекция по вероизповеданията - “the Directorate”), a governmental agency attached to the Council of Ministers, declared the election of Mr Gendzhev in 1988 as Chief Mufti of the Muslims in Bulgaria null and void and proclaimed his removal from that position. This decision was based on findings, inter alia, that Mr Gendzhev’s election in 1988 had been politically motivated. 11. The Directorate appointed a three-member interim governing body of the Muslims’ religious organisation, considering that that was “the only possible means of preventing the organisational disintegration of the Muslim denomination”. 12. A national conference of Muslims, organised by the interim leadership, took place on 19 September 1992. It elected Mr Fikri Sali Hasan as Chief Mufti and also approved a new statute, which was registered in accordance with sections 6 and 16 of the Religious Denominations Act. After September 1992 the supporters of Mr Hasan obtained full control over the property and activities of the Muslim community. 13. Mr Gendzhev, who claimed that he remained the Chief Mufti, challenged the decision of 10 February 1992 before the Supreme Court. The proceedings ended with a final judgment of 7 April 1993. The Supreme Court, while considering that the impugned decision was not amenable to judicial review, nevertheless commented that the Directorate’s decision to declare Mr Gendzhev’s election null and void had been within its competence. In so far as the impugned decision had also proclaimed “the removal” of Mr Gendzhev from his position of Chief Mufti, this had been ultra vires. However, it was unnecessary to annul this part of the Directorate’s decision as in any event it had no legal consequences. 14. The leadership dispute between Mr Gendzhev and Mr Hasan continued throughout 1993 and 1994. The official position of the Directorate of Religious Denominations remained that Mr Hasan was the legitimate Chief Mufti of the Bulgarian Muslims. At the same time the Directorate apparently sought to “resolve” the dispute through the “unification” of the two factions under a common leadership. 15. On 2 November 1994 the supporters of Mr Gendzhev held a national conference, which proclaimed itself the legitimate representative of Muslim believers. The conference elected a leadership and adopted a statute. Mr Gendzhev was elected President of the Supreme Holy Council. After the conference the newly elected leaders applied to the Directorate for registration as the legitimate leadership of Muslims in Bulgaria. 16. At the end of 1994 parliamentary elections took place in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Socialist Party (Българска социалистическа партия – “the BSP”) obtained a majority in Parliament and formed a new government, which took office in January 1995. 17. On 22 February 1995 the Deputy Prime Minister issued a decree approving the statute of the Muslim denomination as adopted by the supporters of Mr Gendzhev on 2 November 1994. On 23 February 1995 the Directorate registered the leadership elected at that conference and effectively removed Mr Hasan and his supporters. In the following months the faction led by Mr Gendzhev assumed full control over the property and activities of the Muslim community in Bulgaria. 18. Mr Hasan appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision of the Directorate registering Mr Gendzhev’s leadership. Mr Hasan submitted, inter alia, that the conference of 2 November 1994 had been organised by people outside the Muslim religious organisation presided over by him. Accordingly, they could register their own religious organisation but could not claim to replace the leadership of another. Mr Hasan asked the Supreme Court either to proclaim the February 1995 decision null and void as being contrary to the law or to declare that it constituted the registration of a new religious community, the existing Muslim organisation being unaffected. The State did not have the right, he argued, to impose a single leadership on the Muslims. 19. On 27 July 1995 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. The court stated that under the Religious Denominations Act the Council of Ministers enjoyed full discretion in its decision as to whether or not to register the statute of a given religion. The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction was therefore limited to an examination of whether the impugned decision had been issued by the competent administrative organ and whether the procedural requirements had been complied with. In that respect the decision of February 1995 was lawful. 20. As regards the request for interpretation of the February 1995 decision, it was not open to the Supreme Court, in the context of those particular proceedings, to state its opinion as to whether it had the effect of creating a new legal person, or introducing changes, and whether after this decision there existed two parallel Muslim religious organisations. 21. Following the removal of Mr Hasan, in 1995 the Muslim believers who supported him held their own assembly and re-elected him Chief Mufti, while introducing changes in the organisation’s statute and leadership. Mr Hasan then applied to the Directorate of Religious Denominations for registration of the amended statute and the new leadership. Not having received any response, Mr Hasan appealed to the Supreme Court against the tacit refusal of his application. 22. On 14 October 1996 the Supreme Court delivered its judgment. It noted that in 1992 the Chief Mufti’s Office as represented by Mr Hasan had been duly registered as a religious denomination and had thus obtained legal personality of which it had not subsequently been deprived. Therefore, the Council of Ministers was under an obligation, pursuant to sections 6 and 16 of the Religious Denominations Act, to examine a request for registration of a new statute or of changes in the leadership of the existing religious denomination. Accordingly, the Supreme Court ruled that the Council of Ministers’ tacit refusal had been unlawful and remitted the file to the Council of Ministers, which was required to examine it. 23. On 19 November 1996 the Deputy Prime Minister refused to register the 1995 statute and leadership of the Chief Mufti’s Office as represented by Mr Hasan. He sent him a letter stating, inter alia, that the Council of Ministers had already registered a leadership of the Muslim community in Bulgaria, which was that elected by the November 1994 conference with Mr Gendzhev as President of the Supreme Holy Council. The Deputy Prime Minister concluded that the request “[could not] be granted as it [was] clearly contrary to the provisions of the Religious Denominations Act”. 24. On 5 December 1996 Mr Hasan appealed to the Supreme Court against the refusal of 19 November 1996. 25. On 13 March 1997 the Supreme Court quashed the refusal of the Deputy Prime Minister to register the 1995 statute and leadership headed by Mr Hasan on the ground that it was unlawful and contrary to Article 13 of the Constitution. That refusal was, moreover, “an unlawful administrative intervention into the internal organisation of [a] religious community”. The Supreme Court again ordered the transmission of the file to the Council of Ministers for registration. 26. Despite the Supreme Court judgments of 1996 and 1997 the Council of Ministers did not grant registration to the religious leadership headed by Mr Hasan. 27. In February 1997 the government of the BSP stepped down and an interim cabinet was appointed. At the general elections that followed in April 1997 the SDS obtained a majority in Parliament and formed a new government. 28. The new Deputy Prime Minister and the Directorate of Religious Denominations urged the two rival leaderships, of Mr Hasan and of Mr Gendzhev, to negotiate a unification. 29. On 12 September 1997, in a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Directorate, the religious leadership presided over by Mr Hasan demanded the removal of Mr Gendzhev. 30. On 18 September 1997 the Supreme Holy Council headed by Mr Gendzhev, also in a letter addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Directorate, proposed the holding of a unification conference to be organised by a joint committee composed of representatives of the opposing factions. The Deputy Prime Minister was asked to serve as guarantor of the unification process and to ensure full representation at the conference of all Muslim religious communities. The letter also indicated that the current official leadership presided over by Mr Gendzhev agreed to freeze any movements of staff or disposals of community property pending the conference. 31. On 30 September 1997 the contact groups elected by the rival factions – composed of five members each – signed an agreement to convene a national conference of all Muslim believers. The agreement was also signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Director of Religious Denominations. It provided, inter alia: “1. The all-Muslim conference shall be organised on the basis of full representation of the Muslim denomination. It shall not be based on the two existing statutes [of the rival leaderships]. [The] Deputy Prime Minister ... and the Director of Religious Denominations undertake to guarantee the implementation of this principle. 2. ... The [rival groups] undertake not to obstruct the spirit of unification underlying the conference, failing which the Directorate shall take appropriate administrative measures against the persons suspected of [obstruction]. 3. Pending the conference, the [leadership headed by Mr Gendzhev] undertakes to refrain from any administrative decisions, [such as] appointments ... 4. The [leadership headed by Mr Gendzhev] consents to a freeze on all bank accounts ... and declares that pending the conference it will not enter into any transaction ... 32. On an unspecified date the joint committee ruled that the assembly of each local community attending a mosque should elect two delegates to the national conference. It also decided that the minutes of the assemblies’ proceedings had to be entered on a form provided by the Directorate of Religious Denominations and certified by the local mayor. 33. On 6 October 1997 the joint committee decided that the conference should be held on 23 October 1997 and also agreed on the distribution of expenses. 34. Local assemblies for the election of delegates were held on 17 October 1997 throughout the country. The local mayors issued letters certifying the results of the elections. 35. The applicant organisation has submitted copies of two complaints to the Directorate dated 21 October 1997, one by a local religious leader and one by the mayor of a village. The letters stated that persons connected with the DPS had used threats to take possession of the results of the elections of delegates in the two localities concerned. 36. On 21 and 22 October 1997 Mr Gendzhev and those who had signed the unification agreement on behalf of the Supreme Holy Council headed by him wrote to the Prime Minister and the Directorate of Religious Denominations stating that the conference planned for 23 October was not being organised in accordance with the statute of the Muslim religious organisation and that it was therefore unlawful. Those who had signed the agreement of 30 September 1997 stated that they had been forced to do so by the Director of Religious Denominations and declared the withdrawal of their support for that agreement. The letter signed by Mr Gendzhev further described the participation of the Directorate in the preparation of the conference as unacceptable State interference in the Muslims’ internal affairs. 37. On 23 October 1997 more than one thousand delegates attended the conference. Only those whose election had been certified by the mayors were allowed to participate. According to the press, the verification of the delegates’ credentials was carried out by employees of the Directorate of Religious Denominations. Its Director addressed the conference, stating, inter alia, that Mr Gendzhev, who did not attend, had “failed the test”. With these words the Director apparently blamed Mr Gendzhev for having withdrawn from the unification process. 38. According to the applicant organisation, the DPS, a political party with a large majority of ethnic Turks among its members, was involved in the organisation of the conference. The party was allegedly very close to the ruling SDS and was implementing the political decision to replace the leadership of the Muslim community. According to the applicant organisation, about one hundred of the delegates on 23 October 1997 were mayors elected on the DPS ticket. 39. The conference adopted a new statute of the Muslim denomination in Bulgaria and unanimously elected a new leadership comprising six members of the leadership of Mr Hasan and other persons. It appears that no leader of the applicant organisation was among the newly elected leadership. The conference passed a resolution authorising the new leadership to conduct an audit and to seek the prosecution of Mr Gendzhev for alleged unlawful transactions. 40. On 28 October 1997 the Deputy Prime Minister registered the newly elected leadership, relying on sections 6 and 16 of the Religious Denominations Act. The new leadership took over all the organisational aspects and assets of the Muslim community in Bulgaria. 41. Mr Gendzhev, who claimed that he remained the President of the Supreme Holy Council, appealed on its behalf to the Supreme Administrative Court against the Government’s decision to register the new leadership. He claimed that the persons who had signed the agreement for the holding of a unification conference on behalf of the applicant organisation had never been officially authorised to do so; that the conference had been unlawful because of that fact and since those persons had in any event withdrawn; and that the authorities had interfered in an inadmissible manner in the internal affairs of the Muslim community. That was so because the Directorate of Religious Denominations had prepared the forms on which the results of the local elections for delegates had been recorded and also because those results had been certified by the mayors. Furthermore, among the elected delegates there had been a number of persons who were local mayors or active members of one political party, the DPS. Finally, the applicant organisation argued that there had been irregularities and manipulation in the election of delegates. 42. On 4 May 1998 the Supreme Administrative Court held a hearing. It admitted in evidence the material submitted by the applicant organisation but refused its request for a disclosure order against the Council of Ministers. That request apparently concerned documents about the preparation of the October 1997 conference and the election of delegates. The court also refused to hear witnesses. 43. On 16 July 1998 the Supreme Administrative Court, sitting as a bench of three judges, rejected the appeal as being inadmissible. It found that the Supreme Holy Council headed by Mr Gendzhev had no locus standi to lodge an appeal as it had never been validly registered. The registration acts of 22 and 23 February 1995 had been based on a decision by a Deputy Prime Minister who had not, however, been duly authorised by the Council of Ministers to approve the statutes of religious denominations. As a result the Supreme Holy Council headed by Mr Gendzhev had never legally existed and all its acts between 1995 and 1997 were null and void. 44. On an appeal by the applicant organisation, on 9 October 1998 a five-member bench of the Supreme Administrative Court quashed the decision of 16 July 1998 and remitted the case for examination on the merits. The bench noted that by judgment of 27 July 1995 the Supreme Court had found that the 1995 registration of the Supreme Holy Council headed by Mr Gendzhev had been lawful. That finding was final and binding. Therefore, the applicant’s appeal could not be rejected for lack of locus standi. 45. In the reopened proceedings a three-member bench of the Supreme Administrative Court examined the appeal on the merits and dismissed it on 3 May 1999. The presiding judge was the same person who had presided over the previous examination of the case, which had ended with the inadmissibility decision of 16 July 1998. He was also one of the three judges who had delivered judgment on 28 April 1992 in the case concerning Mr Gendzhev’s removal in 1992. 46. The court found that the acts of the authorities did not constitute an interference with the internal organisation of the Muslim community. The decision to hold a unification conference had been taken freely by representatives of the two rival groups. The rules and procedures for the election of delegates and for the holding of the October 1997 conference, including those concerning the results of the local elections for delegates and their certification, had been drawn up by the joint committee. The Directorate of Religious Denominations had contributed to the organisation of the conference purely at the parties’ request. It had acted in accordance with the agreement between the two leaderships and the decisions of the joint committee. The Directorate’s task had been to contribute to and guarantee tolerance and respect in inter-religious relations as well as in the relations between different groups belonging to one and the same religion. The fact that the Supreme Holy Council presided over by Mr Gendzhev had withdrawn at the last minute did not call into question the validity of the conference, which had taken place in accordance with the negotiated rules. It was true that these rules derogated from the statute of the Muslim community as in force at the relevant time but the derogation had been decided upon freely by the two leaderships in order to resolve the conflict within the community. It followed that the impugned act, the decision of 28 October 1997 registering the newly elected leadership of the Muslim community, was in accordance with the law. 47. The applicant organisation submitted a cassation appeal against the judgment of 3 May 1999. It alleged, inter alia, that not all the relevant evidence had been collected and examined. 48. On 15 March 2000 the appeal was dismissed by a five-member bench of the Supreme Administrative Court, which upheld the reasoning of the impugned judgment. It also found that the relevant facts had been clarified and that the additional evidence submitted by the applicant organisation in the cassation proceedings had been the same as that submitted earlier. The applicant organisation was legally represented in the above proceedings. 49. The divide within the Muslim community in Bulgaria continued. It appears that the legitimacy of a community assembly held in November 2000 was disputed by some leaders. Divisions also persisted at local level. In a letter of February 2001, the Directorate of Religious Denominations certified that it had not registered the local leadership of the Muslim community in Plovdiv as two separate local assemblies had elected their leaderships and were in dispute. Similar problems occurred in Haskovo and Russe in the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001. 50. In July 2004 the Sofia City Court appointed three persons to represent the Muslim community in Bulgaria temporarily, pending judicial proceedings concerning the validity of the election of a new leadership at a national conference held in December 2003.

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7. The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Milan. 8. A.C., the applicant’s father, was the owner of a flat in Milan, which he had let to V.S. 9. In a registered letter of 9 November 1990, the applicant’s father informed the tenant that he intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1991 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date. 10. The tenant told the applicant’s father that he would not leave the premises. 11. In a writ served on the tenant on 22 January 1991, the applicant’s father reiterated his intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Milan Magistrate. 12. By a decision of 21 March 1991, which was made enforceable on 26 March 1991, the Milan Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 31 December 1992. 13. On 11 January 1993, the applicant’s father served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises. 14. On 25 February 1993, he informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 19 March 1993. 15. Between 19 March 1993 and 18 April 2000, the bailiff made nineteen attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicant’s father and then the applicant were not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession. 16. In the meanwhile, on 24 August 1993, the applicant’s father died and the applicant inherited the flat. 17. On 14 February 2000, she became party to the proceedings. 18. On 15 June 2000, the applicant recovered possession of the flat. 19. Pursuant to the Pinto Law, on 3 April 2002 the applicant applied to the Brescia Court of Appeal. By decision of 12 June 2002, the Court of Appeal rejected the applicant’s claim. As far as the conduct of the relevant authorities were concerned, the Court of Appeal underlined that the behaviour of the Prefect was in conformity with the criteria fixed by the national law and that after the Law no. 431/98 the expulsion was suspended by other laws. So the delays derived from factum principis and were therefore irrelevant for the purpose of the Pinto Law. 20. The applicant did not appeal to the Court of Cassation.

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6. The applicants were born in 1932 and 1928, respectively and live in Sisak, Croatia. 7. On 1 July 1992 the applicants’ weekend house in Sukošan, Croatia, was blown up by unknown perpetrators. 8. On 9 May 1995 the applicants instituted civil proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) seeking damages from the Republic of Croatia for their damaged property. 9. Pursuant to the Civil Obligations (Amendments) Act 1996 (Zakon o izmjeni Zakona o obveznim odnosima, Official Gazette no. 7/1996 of 26 January 1996), the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings on 6 December 1999. 10. On 7 November 2002 the applicants complained about the stay on their proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court to the Constitutional Court. It would appear that the proceedings before the Constitutional Court are still pending. 11. The proceedings before the Zagreb Municipal Court resumed on 4 December 2003 pursuant to the “Damage from Terrorist Acts and Public Demonstrations Act 2003” (Zakon o odgovornosti za štetu nastalu uslijed terorističkih akata i javnih demonstracija, Official Gazette no. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003). 12. On the same date the Zagreb Municipal Court dismissed the applicants’ claim on the basis of its lack of jurisdiction. The applicants appealed and the case is now apparently pending before the Zagreb County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu).

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15. The applicants, Mr Cumpănă and Mr Mazăre, were born in 1951 and 1968 respectively and live in Constanţa. 16. In decision no. 33 of 30 June 1992, Constanţa City Council, implementing government decision no. 147 of 26 March 1992, introduced a fine for drivers of illegally parked vehicles and entrusted the task of removing, towing away and impounding such vehicles to S.C. CBN, a company based in Constanţa. 17. By order no. 163 of 30 June 1992, the mayor of Constanţa authorised a private company, Vinalex, to perform the services of removing, towing away and impounding illegally parked vehicles. 18. A partnership contract was signed on 16 December 1992 by the city authorities and the company in question, the signatories on behalf of the authorities being the deputy mayor (hereinafter “D.M.”) and the council’s legal expert (“Mrs R.M.”). In a letter of 1 April 1994, the mayor of Constanţa requested Vinalex to cease its activities under the contract and informed it that it was considering terminating the contract. 19. On 12 April 1994 the applicants, who are journalists by profession, published an article in the local newspaper Telegraf, of which the second applicant was the editor, with the headline “Former Deputy Mayor [D.M.] and serving judge [R.M.] responsible for series of offences in Vinalex scam”. The names of the former deputy mayor and of the city council’s former legal expert, Mrs R.M., who had subsequently become a judge, were printed in full in the headline and in the article itself. 20. The article, which appeared under the byline of both applicants, was worded as follows: “In decision no. 33 of 30 June 1992 Constanţa City Council entrusted a commercial company, S.C. CBN S.r.l., with the task of impounding illegally parked vehicles or trailers ... It was the duty of the city authorities’ specialist departments to lay down the practical arrangements for implementing the council’s decision. But things did not turn out that way. Six months after decision no. 33 was adopted, the city authorities, knowingly breaching the provisions of Law no. 69/1991, illegally concluded a partnership contract ... with S.C. Vinalex S.r.l., a company having no connection with the one initially chosen. It is worth noting, however, that the contract in question was signed by the deputy mayor, [D.M.], in place of the mayor, ... and by a certain [M.] instead of the legal expert [M.T.]. By what miracle did S.C. Vinalex enter into a partnership with the city authorities when, in decision no. 33 of 30 June 1992, the city council had authorised CBN S.r.l. to provide a straightforward service? What is striking is that there is no evidence that CBN agreed to give up the task of towing away illegally parked vehicles! ... The crook [D.M.] (the former deputy mayor, now a lawyer) granted Vinalex’s irresponsible employees the power to decide when a vehicle is illegally parked – in other words, to treat citizens and their property with contempt. What form did the fraud take? Sections 89 and 29 of Law no. 69/1991 provide that no partnership contract with a commercial company may be signed without a prior decision by the local council, adopted by a two-thirds’ majority of the total number of councillors. Before a contract is signed, it must be referred to all the local council’s specialist committees for their opinion ... The contract with Vinalex was negotiated and signed illegally, as the signatories based it on the decision [of 30 June 1992], which, as has already been shown, referred to a different company without envisaging any other partnership. Given that the city authorities had already signed four other contracts before that one, the signatories cannot claim ignorance of the law, but only an intentional breach of it! And because any intentional breach of the law pursues an end in itself – generally that of securing material advantages – it is clear that in this case the former deputy mayor, a lawyer by profession, received backhanders from the partner company and bribed subordinates, including [R.M.], or forced them to break the law. The Constanţa Audit Court detected this blatant fraud, which has generated considerable profits for the briber (S.C. Vinalex) ... The offending company [S.C. Vinalex] has never shown that it had adequate means to impound illegally parked vehicles. This explains why large numbers of privately owned vehicles have been damaged and, as a result, thousands of complaints have been made on the subject. Furthermore, the alleged partnership contract was valid for one year, until 16 December 1993. From that date [S.C. Vinalex] no longer had any right to interfere with citizens’ private property! It has nevertheless continued to tow vehicles away and illegally collect money ... It is incomprehensible how the police could have provided it with assistance for the past four months. Let us briefly consider the conduct of the council’s former legal expert, [R.M.], who is now a judge. Either she was ignorant of the law when she signed the contract, in which case it is hard to understand how she can subsequently have been appointed as a judge (delivering justice on the basis of the same laws which she does not know), or she accepted bribes and may continue to do so in future! It is no surprise that the same judge should have been investigated by the Audit Court for a further illegal act, also committed while she was at the city council (as we reported at the time). Ironically, the Court’s president did not take any action against her on the ground that the sum received was not ... large enough. Apparently becoming aware that the matter was likely to be uncovered, the city authorities’ coordination department ... notified S.C. Vinalex in writing of the possibility of the contract being terminated on the following grounds: ... ‘You have not supplied any documents showing that you have purchased the platform-type equipment necessary for carrying out the activity properly’ (as stipulated in clause 3 of the contract ...). In the same letter the city authorities informed S.C. Vinalex: ‘As you have not proved that you have the appropriate equipment, we would assess your contribution to the partnership at the level of your company’s capital, that is 110,000 lei. Your share in the partnership’s net income will have to be recalculated in relation to the parties’ contributions.’ Facts are facts, and the documents in our possession speak for themselves of the illegal Vinalex scam.” 21. The article was accompanied by a photograph of a police car on the scene as an illegally parked vehicle was being towed away, photocopies of extracts from the partnership contract and from Constanţa City Council’s decision of 30 June 1992, and certain passages of Law no. 69/1991 concerning the responsibilities and powers of mayors, prefects and city and county councils. 22. The article was also accompanied by a cartoon showing a man and a woman arm in arm, carrying a bag marked “Vinalex” which was full of banknotes. The two characters were depicted as saying to each other: “Hey, [R.] [diminutive form of Mrs R.M.’s first name], you’ve done a good job there! When I was deputy mayor we made quite a bit, enough to go to America ...” “[D.] [diminutive form of the former deputy mayor’s first name], if you become a lawyer, I’ll become a judge and we’ll have enough to travel round the world ...” 23. In June 1994 the Financial Control Department of the County Audit Court examined a report submitted on 26 May 1994 by several auditors who had conducted a review of Constanţa City Council’s budget for 1992 and had made the following findings: (a) The city council’s decision of 30 June 1992 to award S.C. CBN the contract for towing away illegally parked vehicles had not been justified by any bid submitted in writing by the company or by the company’s aims as set forth in its articles of association. (b) The city council had not given its opinion on the partnership contract signed between the city authorities and Vinalex, and no expert valuation of Vinalex’s assets had been carried out or submitted to the council for approval, contrary to the provisions of the Local Public Administration Act (Law no. 69/1991). (c) The distribution of the proceeds among the parties as agreed in the contract – 70% to Vinalex and 30% to the city council – had not corresponded to the partners’ respective contributions on the date on which the contract had been signed – 76.4% by the city council and 23.6% by Vinalex – resulting in a loss of income for the city council. The Financial Control Department considered it necessary to urge the mayor of Constanţa, as the official responsible for authorising appropriations, to “ensure compliance with the law” as regards the parties’ obligations under the contract and to be more efficient when entering into such partnerships with private entities in future. A formal decision to that effect was adopted on 8 June 1994 by the head of the department. 24. The applicants produced to the Court a report dated 17 March 1994 by the same Audit Court auditors, which likewise referred to the irregularities described in paragraph 23 above in the signing of the partnership contract between the city authorities and Vinalex, and indicated that the contract should be terminated. The applicants did not mention the existence of such a report during the criminal proceedings instituted against them following the publication of the impugned newspaper article. 25. On 14 April 1994, following the publication of the article, Mrs R.M. instituted proceedings against the applicants in the Constanţa Court of First Instance for insult and defamation, offences under Articles 205 and 206 respectively of the Criminal Code. She complained, in particular, of the cartoon accompanying the article, which had depicted her as a “woman in a miniskirt, on the arm of a man with a bag full of money and with certain intimate parts of her body emphasised as a sign of derision”. She submitted that the article, the cartoon and the dialogue between the characters had led readers to believe that she had had intimate relations with D.M., and pointed out that she and the former deputy mayor were both married. 26. At a hearing on 13 May 1994, the court adjourned the case as the applicants were not present and, scheduling a further hearing for 27 May 1994, directed that they should be brought before the court on that date. 27. On 27 May 1994 the second applicant stated at the hearing that, as editor, he assumed full responsibility for what had been published in the newspaper. He explained that cartoons were frequently used in the press as a medium for criticism and that he had not intended to damage the claimant’s reputation. In reply to a question from the court, he admitted having known that, by order of the mayor of Constanţa, Vinalex had been authorised to tow away illegally parked vehicles. He stated, however, that he had not thought it necessary to publish that information. Lastly, he stressed that he did not intend to reach a settlement with the injured party and that he was prepared to publish an article in her favour provided that she could prove that what he had published was untrue. 28. On 10 June 1994 the applicants applied to have the case transferred to a court in another county. They also requested an adjournment of the proceedings, arguing that because the claimant was a judge it was impossible for them to find a member of the Constanţa Bar who would agree to represent them. 29. On an unspecified date the Constanţa Bar, in reply to a question from the court, attested that the applicants had not met with a refusal on the part of all of its members and that, in any event, the matter had not been referred to its executive. 30. On 15 June and 1 July 1994 the court adjourned the case as the applicants were not present. 31. In an interlocutory decision of 21 July 1994, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the referral of the case to the Lehliu-Gară Court of First Instance. 32. On 15 November 1994 the case was entered on that court’s list of cases for hearing. Public hearings were held on 21 December 1994 and on 25 January, 27 February, 20 March, 17 April and 17 May 1995. 33. On 21 December 1994 and 25 January 1995 the applicants did not attend the hearings, although they had been duly summoned. The court summoned them to appear at the hearings on 25 January and 27 February 1995. The applicants did not comply with the summonses. 34. At the hearings on 27 February and 20 March 1995, representatives of Telegraf applied for an adjournment on behalf of the applicants, who were not present. The court allowed the application. 35. On 20 March 1995 a member of the Bucharest Bar, N.V., agreed to represent the applicants. 36. At the hearing on 17 April 1995 in the morning, N.V. asked the court to consider the case after 11.30 a.m. The court granted his request. However, when it sat to examine the case at 12 noon and, subsequently, at 2.30 p.m. it noted that neither the applicants nor their counsel were present in the courtroom. It accordingly adjourned the case until 17 May 1995. 37. At the hearing on 17 May 1995 the court reserved judgment, after noting that neither the applicants – despite their having been duly summoned – nor their counsel had appeared. In a judgment delivered on the same day, the court found the applicants guilty of insult and defamation – offences under Articles 205 and 206 respectively of the Criminal Code. It sentenced them to three months’ imprisonment for insult and seven months’ imprisonment for defamation, and ordered them both to serve the heavier sentence, namely seven months’ immediate imprisonment. As well as this main penalty, the court imposed the secondary penalty of disqualification from exercising all the civil rights referred to in Article 64 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 58 below). It also prohibited the applicants from working as journalists for one year after serving their prison sentences, a security measure provided for in the first paragraph of Article 115 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 59 below). Lastly, it ordered them to pay Mrs R.M. 25,000,000 Romanian lei (ROL) (equivalent to 2,033 euros at the exchange rate applicable at the material time) for non-pecuniary damage. 38. In stating its reasons for the judgment, the court observed, firstly: “The Court notes that the injured party has always been present, both in the Constanţa Court of First Instance and in the Lehliu-Gară Court of First Instance, whereas the defendants have generally been absent without justification, despite having been lawfully summoned. In support of her prior complaint, the injured party, Mrs [R.M.], sought leave to produce documentary evidence. Mrs [R.M.] submitted a copy of the 12 April 1994 edition of the local newspaper Telegraf, containing the article referred to in her complaint and the cartoon in which she was ridiculed. The Court notes that the defendants and the party liable to pay damages, despite being lawfully summoned, have not attended any hearings, and that only the injured party has been present. The Court notes that the defendants R. Mazăre and C. Cumpănă were informed of the charges against them and of the hearing dates, and that they were assisted by a lawyer of their choosing (who asked the Court first for an adjournment and subsequently for consideration of the case to be postponed until the second sitting, after 11.30 a.m.). The Court observes that the defendant R. Mazăre gave evidence to the Constanţa Court of First Instance at a public hearing on 27 May 1994, and notes the following from his testimony: the defendant considered that it was not compulsory to have studied at journalism college to work as a journalist; he refused to reply when asked whether he had had access to any other documents on which Constanţa City Council’s decision no. 33 had been based; he understood by ‘series of offences’ the fact of committing several offences; he understood by ‘a multiple breach of the criminal law’ the commission of several offences; he considered that the injured party, in signing the contract in her capacity as a legal expert at the city council, had infringed a number of the provisions of Law no. 69/1991; he pointed out that he could not give the precise legal classification of the offences committed by the injured party, as that did not come within his sphere of competence; he stated that he had said everything there had been to say about the injured party in the newspaper article; he submitted that cartoons were used everywhere and maintained that he had not (through the cartoon) damaged anybody’s reputation (specifically, that of the injured party). [The Court] notes that the defendant R. Mazăre stated that he assumed full responsibility for everything published in his newspaper, as its editor; ... that he stated that he was aware of the constitutional provisions on the right of journalists to impart information to the public; that he had read the government decision in its entirety but had not published it for lack of space; that he also stated that he had read the full text of the partnership contract entered into by the city authorities and signed by the injured party, Mrs [R.M.], but that he did not know whether the government decision had referred to partnership contracts; ... that the defendant had been aware that the Vinalex company had been authorised by order of the mayor of Constanţa to provide the service of towing away illegally parked vehicles, but that he had not thought it necessary to publish that information in the newspaper; and, lastly, that he stated: ‘In view of the seriousness of the offences committed, I do not think that it was necessary to discuss the matter with the injured party beforehand. Should any documents prove that my statements are unfounded, I am prepared to publish an article in the injured party’s favour.’ ” 39. With regard to the documentary evidence on which the injured party intended to rely in support of her allegations, the court observed: “Apart from the article published in Telegraf, the injured party, Mrs [R.M.], produced Constanţa City Council’s decision no. 33 – adopted in accordance with government decision no. 147 of 26 March 1992 – in which it was decided to tow away illegally parked vehicles; order no. 163 of 30 June 1992 by the mayor of Constanţa ... authorising the Vinalex company to remove, tow away and impound illegally parked vehicles (‘The conditions for the performance of these services shall be laid down in the partnership contract to be drawn up’); government decision no. 147 of 26 March 1992, in which mayors were empowered to order the removal, towing away and impounding of illegally parked vehicles by duly authorised specialist companies; and order no. 369 of 1 July 1994 by the mayor of Constanţa, in which Vinalex was authorised to provide such services.” 40. With regard more particularly to the article and cartoon in issue, the court held: “... the article, by the defendants R. Mazăre and C. Cumpănă, was directed at the injured party, tarnishing her honour, dignity and public image and injuring her own self-esteem by means of the (written) accusations conveyed through signs and symbols targeted specifically at her. The Court considers that these acts took place, that they are punishable under the criminal law, and that they posed a danger to society, not so much because of their practical effect (physical distortion of outward reality) but above all because of the psycho-social consequences resulting from the provision of misleading or incorrect information to the public, giving rise to inaccurate judgments about facts and individuals, establishing a false scale of values in view of the role and public impact of the media, and causing psychological trauma to the injured party. In making its assessment, the Court has had regard to the particular status of the parties to the proceedings: the injured party, Mrs [R.M.], being a lawyer and a representative of the judiciary, and the defendants, Mr R. Mazăre and Mr C. Cumpănă, being representatives of the media. The Court notes that the defendant R. Mazăre, while realising the seriousness of the acts he had committed, irresponsibly stated that he had been ‘aware of the fact that Vinalex had been authorised by order of the mayor, but did not consider it necessary to publish that order (as well)’... The Court considers that publication of the article in the newspaper cannot have been justified by a ‘legitimate interest’ in that it was not based on actual facts and the provision of accurate information to the public. It concludes that the defendants ... ‘forgot’ the content of Article 30 § 6 of the Constitution: ‘Freedom of expression shall not be prejudicial to a person’s dignity, honour and private life or to the right to one’s own image’, and of Article 31 § 4 of the Constitution: ‘Public and private media shall be required to provide the public with accurate information.’ It follows from the written submissions filed by the injured party ... that it was always her wish that the criminal proceedings be terminated by a friendly settlement, provided that the defendants agreed to retract the allegations made in the article. The Court notes that the injured party is a public figure and that, following the publication of the article, her superiors and the authority above them asked her to explain herself regarding the trial, particularly in view of the fact that she was due to take the professional examination to obtain permanent status.” 41. On an unspecified date the applicants appealed against the first-instance judgment of 17 May 1995. 42. At a hearing on 2 November 1995, the Călăraşi County Court reserved judgment, having noted that the case was ready for decision and that the applicants had not appeared in court, despite having been duly summoned, and had not stated any grounds for their appeal. 43. In a judgment of 2 November 1995, the court, after examining all the aspects of the case against the applicants, as required by Article 3856 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, upheld the first-instance judgment, finding it to have been correct. The County Court’s judgment, sent to the archives on 23 November 1995, was final and binding and no ordinary appeal lay against it. 44. On 10 April 1996 the Procurator-General applied to the Supreme Court of Justice to have the judgments of 17 May 1995 and 2 November 1995 quashed. He submitted the following arguments. (a) The courts’ legal classification of the facts had been incorrect. Pointing out that in the cartoon the applicants had simply highlighted their allegations of corruption on the part of certain city council officials, he accordingly submitted that the facts in issue did not constitute the actus reus of insult as defined in Article 205 of the Criminal Code. (b) The amount the applicants had been ordered to pay in damages had been extremely high and had not been objectively justified. (c) Lastly, the requirements of the first paragraph of Article 115 of the Criminal Code, by which the courts could prohibit persons who had committed unlawful acts from practising a particular profession on account of their incompetence, lack of training or any other ground making them unfit to practise the profession, were not satisfied in the applicants’ case, as there was no unequivocal proof that the applicants were incompetent to continue working as journalists or that their doing so entailed a potential danger. 45. In a final judgment of 9 July 1996, the Supreme Court of Justice dismissed the Procurator-General’s application as being manifestly ill-founded, for the following reasons: “It has been established from the evidence adduced in the present case that on 12 April 1994 the accused, R. Mazăre and C. Cumpănă, published an article in the Constanţa newspaper Telegraf entitled ‘Former Deputy Mayor [D.M.] and serving judge [R.M.] responsible for series of offences in Vinalex scam’, in which it was asserted that in 1992, while she was employed as a legal expert at Constanţa City Council, the injured party, Mrs [R.M.], had been involved in fraudulent activities on the part of a commercial company, Vinalex. The Supreme Court further notes that, alongside the above-mentioned article, the accused published a cartoon in which the injured party was depicted in the company of a man carrying a bag full of money on his back, and that this was likely to tarnish the injured party’s honour, dignity and public image. It follows that in publishing the article in Telegraf, the accused attributed specific acts to the injured party which, had their allegations been made out, would have rendered her criminally liable; the two lower courts were therefore correct in finding the accused guilty of defamation under Article 206 of the Criminal Code. The fact that the accused published alongside the above-mentioned article a cartoon in which the injured party was depicted in the company of a man carrying a bag full of money, in such a way as to tarnish her honour and reputation, constitutes the offence of insult as defined in Article 205 of the Criminal Code ...” 46. With regard to the amount which the applicants had been ordered to pay in damages, the Supreme Court held: “... the requirement for the accused to pay 25,000,000 lei for non-pecuniary damage was justified, since it is beyond dispute that in publishing the article on 12 April 1994 in a mass-circulation newspaper, the accused seriously offended the dignity and honour of the injured party.” 47. The Supreme Court held, lastly, in relation to the alleged unlawfulness of the temporary prohibition on the applicants’ working as journalists: “... since the application of security measures in circumstances other than those provided for by law does not feature on the exhaustive list of cases in which the law permits the Procurator-General to apply to have a decision quashed, it cannot form a legal basis for quashing the judgments in issue.” 48. The applicants did not serve the prison sentence they had received in the judgment of 2 November 1995, since immediately after the judgment had been delivered the Procurator-General suspended its execution for eleven months by virtue of Article 412 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (see paragraph 61 in fine below). 49. In a letter of 30 September 1996, the Procurator-General at the Supreme Court of Justice informed the applicants that he had extended the stay of execution until 27 November 1996. 50. On 22 November 1996 the applicants were granted a presidential pardon dispensing them from having to serve their prison sentence. By virtue of Article 71 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the pardon also waived their secondary penalty of disqualification from exercising their civil rights (see paragraph 58 in fine below). 51. It appears from the first applicant’s employment record (cartea de muncă), of which he submitted a copy to the Court, that, following the Călăraşi County Court’s judgment of 2 November 1995: (a) he continued to work for Telegraf as editor of the “Events” section until 1 February 1996, when he was transferred for administrative reasons to the C. company, occupying the same position and receiving the same salary as before; (b) while working for C., he was awarded a pay rise; (c) he ceased to work for C. on 14 April 1997 on account of staff cutbacks by his employer, a ground for dismissal provided for in Article 130 (a) of the Labour Code as worded at the material time; (d) thereafter, he was not gainfully employed until 7 February 2000, when he was recruited on a permanent contract by the A. company as deputy editor. (b) The second applicant 52. Following the final and binding judgment of 2 November 1995, the second applicant continued to work as editor of Telegraf, as indicated in a letter he sent to the Court on 19 January 2000. 53. Between 1 September 1997 and 30 November 1999, while he was a member of the Romanian parliament, the sum of ROL 25,000,000 was deducted from his parliamentary allowance and transferred to Mrs R.M.’s bank account, pursuant to the Lehliu-Gară Court of First Instance’s judgment of 17 May 1995 (see paragraph 37 in fine above). 54. On an unspecified date after that judgment, he was elected mayor of Constanţa, a position he still holds.

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10. The applicants were two television journalists. At the relevant time they were employed by one of the two national television stations in Denmark, Danmarks Radio. They produced two television programmes which were broadcast at 8 p.m. on 17 September 1990 and 22 April 1991 respectively. It was estimated that approximately 30% of all viewers above the age of 12 saw the programmes. The programmes, described as documentaries, were called “Convicted of Murder” (Dømt for mord) and “The Blind Eye of the Police” (Politiets blinde øje) respectively and dealt with a murder trial in which on 12 November 1982 the High Court of Western Denmark (Vestre Landsret) had convicted a person, hereafter called X, of murdering his wife on 12 December 1981 between approximately 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. X was sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the Supreme Court (Højesteret) upheld the sentence in 1983. On 13 September 1990, following his release on probation, X requested the Special Court of Revision (Den Særlige Klageret) to reopen the case. The applicants had started to prepare the programmes in March 1989, establishing contact with witnesses through advertising in the local paper and via police reports. 11. Both programmes began with a statement of the premise on which they had been produced: “In this programme we shall provide evidence by way of a series of specific examples that there was no legal basis for X’s conviction and that, by imposing its sentence, the High Court of Western Denmark disregarded one of the fundamental tenets of the law in Denmark, namely that the accused should be given the benefit of the doubt. We shall show that a scandalously bad police investigation, in which the question of guilt was prejudged right from the start, and which ignored significant witnesses and concentrated on dubious ones, led to X being sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment for the murder of his wife. This programme will show that X could not have committed the crime of which he was convicted on 12 November 1982”. 12. At an early stage in the first programme, “Convicted of Murder”, the following comment was made: “In the case against X, the police investigation involved about 900 people. More than 4,000 pages of reports were written – and thirty witnesses appeared before the High Court of Western Denmark. We will try to establish what actually happened on the day of the murder, 12 December 1981. We shall critically review the police investigations and evaluate the witnesses’ statements regarding the time of X’s wife’s disappearance.” When preparing this first programme, the applicants had invited the police of Frederikshavn district, who had been responsible for the investigation of the murder case, to take part. Having corresponded with the applicants on this subject for some time, the chief of police informed them by a letter of 19 April 1990 that the police could not participate in the programme as certain conditions for granting the interview, inter alia, that the questions be sent in writing in advance, had not been met. 13. Following the broadcast of the first programme on 17 September 1990, the applicants were charged with defamation on the ground that they had unlawfully connected the friend of X’s wife (“the schoolteacher”) with the death of two women referred to, one being X’s wife. The defamation case ended on 14 December 1993 before the High Court with a settlement according to which the applicants were to pay the schoolteacher 300,000 Danish kroner (DKK), apologise unreservedly, and give an undertaking never to broadcast the programme again. 14. The applicants alleged that the chief superintendent, in a telephone conversation with Mr Pedersen at some unknown time before the broadcast of the second programme, had declined to participate in the programme. 15. In the introduction to the second programme, the following comment was made: “It was the police of Frederikshavn district who were responsible at that time for the investigations which led to X’s conviction. Did the police assume right from the start that X was the killer, and did they therefore fail to investigate all the leads in the case, as required by the law? We have investigated whether there is substance in X’s serious allegations against the police of Frederikshavn district.” 16. A little later in the programme, the second applicant interviewed a taxi driver, who explained that she had been questioned by two police officers a few days after the disappearance of X’s wife, and that she had mentioned on that occasion two observations she had made on 12 December 1981: she had seen a Peugeot taxi (which was later shown to have no relevance to the murder), and before that she had seen X and his son at five or ten minutes past noon. She had driven behind them for about one kilometre. The reason she could remember the date and time so clearly was because she had to attend her grandmother’s funeral on that day at 1 p.m. 17. The following comment was then made: “Commentator: So in December 1981, shortly after X’s wife disappeared and X was in prison, the Frederikshavn police were in possession of the taxi driver’s statement, in which she reported that shortly after noon that Saturday she had driven behind X and his son for about a kilometre ... So X and his son were in Mølleparken [residential area] twice, and the police knew it in 1981.” 18. The interview went on: “Second applicant: What did the police officers say about the information you provided? Taxi driver: Well, one of them said that it couldn’t be true that X’s son was in the car, but in fact I am a hundred percent certain it was him, as I also know the son because I have driven him to the day-care centre. Second applicant: Why did he say that to you? Taxi driver: Well, he just said that it couldn’t be true that the son was there. Second applicant: That it couldn’t be true that you saw what you saw. Taxi driver: No, that is, he didn’t say that I hadn’t seen X, it just couldn’t be true that the son was with him. Second applicant: These were the two police officers who questioned the taxi driver in 1981 and who wrote the police report. We showed the taxi driver her statement of 1981, which she had never seen before. Taxi driver: It’s missing, the bit about – there was only ... about the Peugeot, there was nothing about the rest, unless you have another one. Second applicant: There is only this one. Taxi driver: But it obviously cannot have been important. Second applicant: What do you think about that? Taxi driver: Well it says, I don’t know, well I think when you make a statement, it should be written down in any case, otherwise I can’t see any point in it, and especially not in a murder case. Commentator: So the taxi driver claims that in 1981 she had already told two police officers that she had seen X and his son. Not a word of this is mentioned in this report. Second applicant: Why are you so sure that you told the police this at the time, which was 1981? Taxi driver: Well I am a hundred percent sure of it and also, my husband sat beside me in the living room as a witness so... , so that is why I am a hundred percent certain that I told them. Second applicant: And he was there throughout the entire interview? Taxi driver: Yes, he was. Second applicant: Not just part of the interview? Taxi driver: No, he was there all the time. Commentator: It was not until 1990, nine years later, that the taxi driver heard of the matter again, shortly after the ‘Convicted of Murder’ programme had been shown; even though the taxi driver’s report had been filed as a so-called 0 report, she was phoned by a chief inspector of the Flying Squad [Rejseholdet] who had been asked by the public prosecutor to do a few more interviews. Taxi driver: The chief inspector called me and asked whether I knew if any of my colleagues knew anything they had not reported, or whether I had happened to think of something, and I then told him on the phone what I said the first time about the Peugeot and that I had driven behind X and his son up to Ryets Street, and then he said that if he found anything out, or if... or if there was anything else, then... then he would get in touch with me again, which he didn’t, not until a while afterwards, when he called me and asked whether I would come for another interview. Second applicant: When you told the chief inspector in your telephone call that you followed X, and that his son was in the car, what did he say about that? Taxi driver: Well, he didn’t say anything. Second applicant: He did not say that you had never reported this? Taxi driver: No, he didn’t.” 19. The second applicant then conducted a short interview with X’s new counsel: “Second applicant: Have you any comment on the explanation the taxi driver has given now? X’s new counsel: I have no comment to make at this time. Second applicant: Why not? X’s new counsel: I have agreed with the public prosecutor, and the President of the Special Court of Revision, that statements to the press in this matter will in future only be issued by the Special Court of Revision. Commentator: Even though X’s new counsel does not wish to speak about the case, we know from other sources that it was he who, in February this year, asked for the taxi driver to be interviewed again. So in March she was interviewed at Frederikshavn police station in the presence of the chief superintendent, which is clearly at odds with what the public prosecutor previously stated in public, namely that the Frederikshavn police would not get the opportunity to be involved in the new inquiries.” 20. The interview with the taxi driver continued: “Second applicant: And what happened at the interview? Taxi driver: What happened was that I was shown into the office of the chief inspector of the Flying Squad and the chief superintendent was there too. Second applicant: Was any explanation given about why he was present? Taxi driver: No. Second applicant: So what did you say in this interview? Taxi driver: I gave the same explanations as I had done the first time when I was interviewed at home. Second applicant: Ten years before, that is. Taxi driver: Yes. Second applicant: And that was? Taxi driver: Well, that I had driven behind X and his son up to Ryets Street. Second applicant: What did they say about that? Taxi driver: They didn’t say anything. Second applicant: The report which was made in 1981, did you see it? Taxi driver: No. Second applicant: Was it there in the room? Taxi driver: There was a report there when I was being interviewed, but I wasn’t allowed to see it. Second applicant: Did you expressly ask whether you could see the old report? Taxi driver: I asked whether I could see it but the chief inspector said I couldn’t ...” 21. After the interview with the taxi driver the commentator said: “Now we are left with all the questions: why did the vital part of the taxi driver’s explanation disappear and who, in the police or public prosecutor’s office, should bear the responsibility for this? Was it the two police officers who failed to write a report about it? Hardly, sources in the police tell us they would not dare. Was it [the named chief superintendent] who decided that the report should not be included in the case file? Or did he and the chief inspector of the Flying Squad conceal the witness’s statement from the defence, the judges and the jury? ...” Pictures of the two police officers, the named chief superintendent and the chief inspector of the Flying Squad, were shown on the screen simultaneously and parallel with the above questions. The questions went on: “Why did the chief inspector phone the taxi driver shortly after the television programme ‘Convicted of Murder’? After all, the police had taken the view that the taxi driver had no importance as a witness and had filed her statement among the 0 reports. Why did the chief inspector not call her in for an interview when she repeated her original explanation on the telephone? Why was the taxi driver interviewed at the Frederikshavn police station in the presence of the chief superintendent, which was completely at odds with the public prosecutor’s public statement? On 20 September last year [a named] Chief Constable stated to [a regional daily]: ‘All the information connected to the case has been submitted to the defendants, the prosecution and the judges.’ Did the Chief Constable know about the taxi driver’s statement, when he made this statement? Did the State Prosecutor know already in 1981 that there was a statement from a witness confirming that X had been in Mølleparken twice, and that X’s son had been with him both times? Neither of them have agreed to make any statement at all about the case.” 22. In the meantime, on 11 March 1991, before the broadcast of the second programme, the taxi driver had again been interviewed by the police, at the request of X’s new counsel. She stated that on 12 December 1981 she had attended her grandmother’s funeral at 1 p.m. and that on her way there, around five or ten minutes past noon, she had driven behind X and his son. She had arrived at the funeral just before 1 p.m. She also explained that she had told the police about this when first interviewed in 1981. Later on 11 March 1991 the police carried out a check which revealed that the funeral of the taxi driver’s grandmother had indeed taken place on 12 December 1981, but at 2 p.m. Subsequently, the police held three interviews with the taxi driver, during which she changed her explanation, in particular as follows. On 24 April 1991 she maintained having seen X shortly after noon but agreed that the funeral had taken place at 2 p.m. On her way there she realised she had forgotten a wreath. She had had to return home and had consequently arrived at the funeral just before 2 p.m. On 25 April 1991 she stated that she was not sure about the date or the time she had seen X and his son. Moreover, she was uncertain whether, shortly after the murder, she had told the police about having seen X. She also explained that, during the shooting of her interview with Mr Baadsgaard on 4 April 1991, he had suggested that she say something like “where is the other report?” when he showed her the 1981 report. On 27 April 1991 she initially stated that she had not seen X and his son on 12 December 1981. She had never before connected this episode to the funeral. She also admitted having made up the story about the forgotten wreath, but had wanted “things to fit”. Later during the interview she maintained that she had seen X and his son on 12 December 1981, but at around 1 p.m. 23. On 23 May 1991 the chief superintendent reported the applicants and the television station to the police for defamation. It appears, however, that the prosecution’s decision as to whether or not to charge the applicants was adjourned pending the decision whether to reopen X’s case. 24. This was decided in the affirmative by the Special Court of Revision on 29 November 1991 after two hearings and the examination of ten witnesses, including the taxi driver. Two judges (out of five) in the Special Court of Revision found that new testimonial evidence had been produced on which X might have been acquitted, had it been available at the trial. Two other judges found that no new testimonial evidence had been produced on which X might have been acquitted, had it been available at the trial. The fifth judge agreed with the latter, but found that in other respects special circumstances existed which made it overwhelmingly likely that the available evidence had not been judged correctly. Accordingly, the court granted a retrial. 25. In the meantime, following the television programmes, an inquiry had commenced into the police investigation of X’s case. The inquiry resulted in a report of 29 July 1991 by the Regional State Prosecutor, according to which the police in Frederikshavn had not complied with section 751(2) of the Administration of Justice Act (Retsplejeloven). This provision, introduced on 1 October 1978, provides that a witness must be given the opportunity to read through his or her statement. The non-compliance had not been limited to the investigation in X’s case. Instead, allegedly in order to minimise errors or misunderstandings, the police in Frederikshavn usually interviewed witnesses in the presence of two police officers and made sure that crucial witnesses repeated their statements before a court as soon as possible. In this connection, the Regional State Prosecutor noted that the High Court, before which X had been convicted in 1982, had not made any comments on the failure to comply with section 751(2) of the Administration of Justice Act with regard to the witnesses who were heard before it in 1982. Finally, the Regional State Prosecutor noted that the Frederikshavn district police were apparently not the only district police failing to comply with the said provision. The Regional State Prosecutor considered it unjustified to maintain that the taxi driver, when interviewed in December 1981, had stated that she had seen X on the day of the murder. During the inquiry this had been contradicted by the two police officers who had interviewed her in 1981. Moreover, the inquiry did not indicate that anyone within the Frederikshavn police had suppressed any evidence in X’s case, or in any other criminal case for that matter. Consequently, on 20 December 1991, the Prosecutor General (Rigsadvokaten) stated in a letter to the Ministry of Justice that it was unfortunate and open to criticism that the police in Frederikshavn had not implemented the above provision as part of their usual routine, and informed the Ministry that he had agreed with the State Police Academy that he would produce a wider set of guidelines concerning the questioning of witnesses, which could be integrated into the Police Academy’s educational material. 26. X’s retrial ended with his acquittal in a judgment of 13 April 1992 by the High Court of Western Denmark, sitting with a jury. 27. A lawyer who represented the applicants in another case had become aware of a letter of 18 May 1992 from the Prosecutor General to the Legal Affairs Committee (Retsudvalget) of the Danish parliament mentioning that, subsequent to the broadcast of the programme “The Blind Eye of the Police”, the applicants had been reported to the police by three police officers from Frederikshavn. By a letter of 10 July 1992, the lawyer requested that the Prosecutor General state whether the applicants had been charged, and if so with what offence. By a letter of 17 July 1992, he was told that no charge had been brought against the applicants. 28. On 19 January 1993 the Chief Constable in Gladsaxe informed the applicants that they were charged with defaming the chief superintendent. On 28 January 1993 the applicants were questioned by the police in Gladsaxe. 29. A request of 11 February 1993 by the prosecution to seize the applicants’ research material was examined at a hearing in the Gladsaxe City Court (Retten i Gladsaxe) on 30 March 1993, during which the applicants’ counsel, claiming that the case concerned a political offence, requested that a jury in the High Court – instead of the City Court – try the case. Both requests were refused by the Gladsaxe City Court on 28 May 1993. In June 1993 the prosecution appealed against the decision on seizure and the applicants appealed against the decision on venue. At the request of one of the applicants’ counsel, an oral hearing was scheduled to take place in the High Court of Eastern Denmark (Østre Landsret) on 15 November 1993. However, on 7 October 1993 counsel challenged one of the judges in the High Court, alleging disqualification, and requested an oral hearing on the issue. The High Court decided on 15 October 1993 to refuse an oral hearing and on 11 November 1993 it decided that the judge in question was not disqualified. It appears that counsel requested leave to appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court (Højesteret), but to no avail. As to the appeal against non-seizure and the question of venue, hearings were held in the High Court on 6 January and 7 March 1994, and by a decision of 21 March 1994 the High Court upheld the City Court’s decisions. The applicants’ request for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused on 28 June 1994. 30. On 5 July 1994 the prosecution submitted an indictment to the City Court. A preliminary hearing was held on 10 November 1994 during which it was agreed that the case would be tried over six days in mid-June 1995. However, as counsel for one of the parties was ill, the final hearings were rescheduled to take place on 21, 24, 28 and 30 August and 8 September 1995. 31. On 15 September 1995 the Gladsaxe City Court delivered a sixty-eight-page judgment, finding that the questions put in the television programme concerning the named chief superintendent amounted to defamatory allegations, which should be declared null and void. However, the court did not impose any sentence on the applicants as it found that they had had reason to believe that the allegations were true. The court also ruled in favour of the applicants regarding a compensation claim by the widow of the named chief superintendent, who had died before the trial. The judgment was appealed against by the applicants immediately, and by the prosecution on 27 September 1995. 32. On 15 April 1996 the prosecutor sent a notice of appeal to the High Court, and on 30 April 1996 he invited counsel for the applicants and the attorney for the widow of the chief superintendent to a meeting concerning the proceedings. Counsel for one of the parties stated that he was unable to attend before 17 June 1996, and accordingly the meeting was held on 25 June 1996. The High Court received the minutes of the meeting, from which it appeared that counsel for one of the parties was unable to attend the trial before November 1996, and that he preferred the hearings to take place in early 1997. On 16 August 1996 the High Court scheduled the hearings for 24, 26 and 28 February and 3 and 4 March 1997. 33. On 6 March 1997 the High Court gave judgment convicting the applicants of tarnishing the honour of the chief superintendent by making and spreading allegations of an act likely to disparage him in the eyes of his fellow citizens, under Article 267 § 1 of the Penal Code. The allegations were declared null and void. The applicants were each sentenced to twenty day-fines of DKK 400 (or twenty days’ imprisonment in default) and ordered to pay compensation of DKK 75,000 to the estate of the deceased chief superintendent. 34. On 6, 16 and 25 March 1997 the applicants sought leave from the Leave-to-Appeal Board (Procesbevillingsnævnet) to appeal to the Supreme Court. Before deciding, the Board requested an opinion from the prosecuting authorities, namely the Chief of Police, the State Prosecutor and the Prosecutor General. On 27 June 1997 they submitted a joint opinion opposing leave to appeal. However, in the meantime, it appears that a lawyer representing the television station Danmarks Radio had contacted the State Prosecutor, proposing that the public prosecution assist in bringing the case before the Supreme Court as, according to the television station, the High Court’s judgment was incompatible with the Media Responsibility Act (Medieansvarsloven). Consequently, the public prosecutors initiated a new round of consultation on this question, and their joint opinion was forwarded to the Board on 3 September 1997. On 29 September 1997, having heard the applicants’ counsel on the prosecution’s submissions, the Board granted the applicants leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. 35. The Prosecutor General submitted a notice of appeal and sent the case file to the Supreme Court on 3 October and 6 November 1997 respectively. 36. As counsel for the applicants wanted to engage yet another counsel, on 20 November 1997 they asked the Supreme Court whether costs in this respect would be considered legal costs. Moreover, they stated that their pleadings could not be submitted until early January 1998. On 17 March 1998 the Supreme Court decided on the question of costs, and on 19 March 1998 scheduled the hearing for 12 and 13 October 1998. 37. By a judgment of 28 October 1998, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s judgment, but increased the compensation payable to the estate to DKK 100,000. The majority of judges (three out of five) held: “In the programme ‘The Blind Eye of the Police’, [the applicants] not only repeated a statement by the taxi driver that she had already explained to the police during their inquiries in 1981 that shortly after noon on 12 December 1981 she had driven behind X for about one kilometre, but also, in accordance with the common premise for the programmes ‘Convicted of Murder’ and ‘The Blind Eye of the Police’, took a stand on the truth of the taxi driver’s statement and presented matters in such a way that viewers, even before the final sequence of questions, were given the impression that it was a fact that the taxi driver had given the explanation as she alleged she had done in 1981 and that the police were therefore in possession of this statement in 1981. This impression was strengthened by the first of the concluding questions: ‘... why did the vital part of the taxi driver’s explanation disappear and who, in the police or public prosecutor’s office, should bear the responsibility for this?’. In connection with the scenes about the two police officers [the applicants] include two questions in the commentator’s narrative, to which the indictment relates; irrespective of the fact that they were phrased as questions, viewers undoubtedly received a clear impression that a report had been made about the taxi driver’s statement that she had seen X at the relevant time on 12 December 1981; that this report had subsequently been suppressed; and that such suppression had been decided upon either by the named chief superintendent alone or by him and the chief inspector of the Flying Squad jointly. The subsequent questions in the commentator’s narrative do not weaken this impression, and neither does the question whether the Chief Constable or the public prosecutor were aware of the taxi driver’s statement. On this basis we find that in the programme ‘The Blind Eye of the Police’ [the applicants] made allegations against the named superintendent which were intended to discredit him in the eyes of his peers, within the meaning of Article 267 § 1 of the Penal Code [Straffeloven]. We find further that it must have been clear to [the applicants] that they were, by way of their presentation, making such allegations. [The applicants] have not endeavoured to provide any justification but have claimed that there is no cause of action by virtue of Article 269 § 1 of the Penal Code – [which protects] a party who in good faith justifiably makes an allegation which is clearly in the general public interest or in the interest of other parties ... As laid down in Thorgeir Thorgeirson v. Iceland (judgment of 25 June 1992), there is a very extensive right to public criticism of the police. As in that decision there is, however, a difference between passing on and making allegations, just as there is a difference between criticism being directed at the police as such and at individual named officers in the police force. Even though being in the public eye is a natural part of a police officer’s duties, consideration should also be given to his good name and reputation. As stated, [the applicants] did not limit themselves in the programme to referring to the taxi driver’s statement or to making value judgments on this basis about the quality of the police investigations and the chief superintendent’s leadership thereof. Nor did [the applicants] limit themselves to making allegations against the police as such for having suppressed the taxi driver’s explanation; they alleged that the named chief superintendent had committed a criminal offence by suppressing a vital fact. When [the applicants] were producing the programme, they knew that an application had been made to the Special Court of Revision for the case against X to be reopened and that, as part of the Court of Revision’s proceedings in dealing with the said application, the taxi driver had been interviewed by the police on 11 March 1991 at the request of X’s defence as part of the proceedings to reopen the case. In consequence of the ongoing proceedings for reopening the case, [the applicants] could not count on the chief superintendent and the two police officers who had interviewed the taxi driver in 1981 being prepared to participate in the programme and hence possibly anticipate proceedings in the Court of Revision. Making the allegations cannot accordingly be justified by lack of police participation in the programme. [The applicants’] intention, in the programme, of undertaking a critical assessment of the police investigation was legitimate in relation to the role of the media as public watchdog, but this does not apply to every allegation. [The applicants] had no basis for making such a serious allegation against a named police officer, and [the applicants’] opportunities for achieving the aims of the programme in no way required the questions upon which the charges are based to be included. On this basis, and even though the exemptions provided in Article 10 § 2 of the Convention must be narrowly interpreted and Article 10 protects not only the content of utterances but also the manner in which they are made, we agree that the allegation made was not caught by the exemption in Article 269 § 1 of the Penal Code. Indeed, as a result of the seriousness of the allegation, we agree that there is no basis for the punishment to be remitted in accordance with Article 269 § 2 of the Penal Code. We agree further that there are no grounds for a remittal of penalty under Article 272. We also concur with the findings on defamation. We agree with the High Court that the fact that the allegation was made in a programme on the national television station Danmarks Radio and hence could be expected to get widespread publicity – as indeed it did – must be regarded as an aggravating factor for the purposes of Article 267 § 3. Considering that it is more than seven years since the programme was shown, we do not find, however, that there are sufficient grounds for increasing the sentence. For the reasons given by the High Court, we find that [the applicants] must pay damages to the heirs of the chief superintendent. In this connection, it should be noted that it cannot be regarded as crucial that the nature of the claim for damages was not stated in the writ of 23 May 1991, since the chief superintendent’s claim for financial compensation could not relate to anything other than damages. Due to the seriousness of the allegation and the manner of its presentation, we find that the compensation should be increased to DKK 100,000.” 38. The minority of two judges who argued for the applicants’ acquittal held, inter alia: “We agree that the statements covered by the indictment, irrespective of their having been phrased as questions, have to be regarded as indictable under Article 267 § 1 of the Penal Code and that [the applicants] had the requisite intention. As stated by the majority, the question of culpability must be decided in accordance with Article 269 § 1, taken together with Article 267 § 1, interpreted in the light of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights’s restrictive interpretation of the exemptions under Article 10 § 2. In reaching a decision, consideration must be given to the basis on which [the applicants] made their allegations, their formulation and the circumstances under which they were made, as well as [the applicants’] intentions in the programme. ... We find that [the applicants] had cause to suppose that the taxi driver’s statement that she had seen X on 12 December 1981 shortly past noon was true. We further find ... that [the applicants] had reason to assume that the taxi driver, when interviewed in 1981, had told the two police officers that she had seen X ...We accordingly attach weight to the fact that it is natural for such an observation to be reported to the police; that it is also apparent from her explanation in the police report of 11 March 1991 that she had already told the police about her observations in 1981; and that her explanation about the reaction of the police to her information that X’s son had been in the car strengthened the likelihood of her having reported the observation at the interview in 1981. ... It is apparent from the television programme that [the applicants] were aware that the Frederikshavn police had not at that time complied with the requirement to offer a person interviewed an opportunity to see the records of his or her statements. [The applicants] may accordingly have had some grounds for supposing that the December report did not contain the taxi driver’s full statement or that there was another report thereon ... We consider that [the applicants], in putting the questions covered by the indictment, did not exceed the limits of the freedom of expression which, in a case such as the present one, which relates to serious matters of considerable public interest, should be available to the media. We also attach some weight to the fact that the programme was instrumental in the Court of Revision’s decision to hear witnesses and we attach some weight to X’s subsequent acquittal. Overall, we accordingly find that [the allegation] is not punishable by virtue of Article 269 § 1 of the Penal Code ... [We agree that] the allegation should be declared null and void since its veracity has not been proved ...”

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10. The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Athens. 11. In the evening of 13 September 1995 the police tried to stop the applicant, who had driven through a red traffic light in the centre of Athens, near the American embassy. Instead of stopping, the applicant accelerated. He was chased by several police officers in cars and on motorcycles. During the pursuit, the applicant’s car collided with several other vehicles. Two drivers were injured. After the applicant had broken through five police roadblocks, the police officers started firing at his car. The applicant alleged that the police were firing at the car’s cab, whereas the Government maintained that they were aiming at the tyres. 12. Eventually, the applicant stopped at a petrol station, but did not get out. The police officers continued firing. The applicant alleged that the policemen knelt down and fired at him, whereas the Government maintained that they were firing in the air, in particular because there were petrol pumps in danger of exploding. One of the police officers threw a pot at the windscreen. Finally, the applicant was arrested by a police officer who managed to break into the car. The applicant claimed that he was shot on the sole of his foot while being dragged out of his car. The Government contested that claim, referring to the findings of the domestic court (see paragraph 19 below). The applicant was immediately driven to hospital, where he remained for nine days. He was injured on the right arm, the right foot, the left buttock and the right side of the chest. One bullet was removed from his foot and another one is still inside his buttock. The applicant’s mental health, which had broken down in the past, has deteriorated considerably since the incident. 13. Following the incident, an administrative investigation was carried out by the police. Twenty-nine of the police officers who had taken part in the chase were identified. There were also other policemen who had participated in the incident of their own accord and who had left the scene without identifying themselves and without handing in their weapons. In total, thirty-five sworn witness statements were taken. Laboratory tests were conducted in order to examine thirty-three police firearms, three bullets and four metal fragments. The applicant’s car was also examined. The laboratory’s findings 14. On 12 January 1996 the police laboratory issued a report which contained the following findings: (a) As regards the applicant’s car “... The car that has been examined is severely damaged due to collisions/crashes, but also to bullets ... At the front, there is damage to the car’s windscreen, where there are three holes and a mark ... Bullets, directed from the inside of the car outwards, caused the three holes as well as the mark. From the general damage to the car (the rear window is broken and has collapsed), the location of the examined damage and the course (direction) of the bullets that caused it, it may be assumed that the bullets in question broke through the rear window and ended up hitting the windscreen, producing the holes and the mark. ... The rear window is broken and has collapsed. Because of its total destruction, it is not possible to determine exactly why it broke. From the rest of the findings (the damage to the windscreen, etc.) it may be assumed that bullets were responsible ... The trajectory of the bullets that caused the holes is from the rear of the car towards the front ... The shape and size of the holes suggest that the bullets were fired by a 9 mm calibre firearm. ... On the driver’s side of the car, there is a mark on the rear wing, near the wheel; its dimensions are approximately 55 x 25 mm. From the shape of the mark it may be assumed that the bullet that caused it came from the rear of the car towards the front, with an upward trajectory. On the right-hand side of the car, the window of the front passenger’s door is broken. There is a bump on the roof of the car, and a corresponding hole in the upholstery inside. This has been caused by a bullet that travelled upwards from the rear of the car towards the front. It may be assumed that the bullet entered the car through the rear window ...” (b) As regards the firearms “In total, twenty-three revolvers, six pistols, four submachine guns and three bullets were sent to us ... Twenty-three of the weapons are revolvers of .357 Magnum calibre; six are pistols, five of which are of 9 mm Parabellum calibre and one of .45 ACP calibre; and four are HK MP 5 submachine guns of 9 mm Parabellum calibre. The serial numbers of the weapons, their make and the names of the police officers to whom they belong are indicated in the above-mentioned document as well as in the delivery and confiscation reports of 14 and 16 September 1995 of the Paleo Faliro police station, copies of which are attached to this report. We performed the same number of trial shots with the twenty-three weapons, using three cartridges in each case. All the weapons functioned properly. The spent cartridges and bullets for each weapon were put into plastic envelopes for identification purposes, and each envelope was marked with the distinctive characteristics of the weapon. ... Two of the three bullets were found in the car and the third was surgically removed from the first metatarsal of the injured driver’s right foot. For identification purposes, the bullets were marked ‘PB1/4722’ (for the bullet from the injured person’s body) and ‘PB2 and PB3/4722’ (for the bullets found in the car). They will be regarded as evidence ... The heads and cylindrical surfaces of all three bullets are more or less deformed as a result of hitting hard surfaces, and have broken sabots and parts missing. The average diameter of the bullet bases is 9 mm. From the measurements and their characteristics it is surmised that the bullets come from 9 mm Parabellum cartridges (9 x 19). These kinds of cartridges are fired mainly by pistols and submachine guns of the same calibre ...” (c) Conclusions “... Sixteen holes were found on the car, caused by the direct impact of the same number of bullets. It is assumed that the bullets that caused the holes were fired by 9 mm calibre weapons. Inside the car, there are holes due to secondary impact and ricochets from some of the above bullets. ... The exhibit bullet ‘PB2’ and the bullets the metal sabots ‘PP1’ and ‘PP2’ come from were fired by the HK MP 5 submachine gun no. C273917. ... The exhibit the metal sabot ‘PP3’ comes from was fired by the Sphinx pistol no. A038275. ... The exhibit bullet ‘PB1’ that was removed from the injured driver’s body and the bullet ‘PB3’ that was found in the car have a 9 mm Parabellum (9 x 19) calibre and were fired by the same weapon of the same calibre. Despite being deformed, the two bullets exhibit sufficient and reliable traces from the inner part of the weapon barrel from which they were fired; comparison of these traces has led to the conclusion that they are identical. Comparative tests of the traces on these two bullets and those on the sample bullets fired with the examined 9 mm calibre weapons (see above) have not disclosed any similarities, which leads to the conclusion that the bullets in question were not fired by any of these weapons ...” 15. Following the administrative investigation, the public prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings against seven police officers (Mr Manoliadis, Mr Netis, Mr Markou, Mr Souliotis, Mr Mahairas, Mr Ntinas and Mr Kiriazis) for causing serious bodily harm (Articles 308 § 1 (a) and 309 of the Criminal Code) and unauthorised use of weapons (section 14 of Law no. 2168/1993). At a later stage, the applicant joined the proceedings as a civil party claiming a specific amount by way of damages. 16. The trial of the seven police officers took place on 5 December 1997 before the Athens First-Instance Criminal Court. The applicant’s statement was taken down as follows: “I was on Dinokratous Street. I turned right at the traffic lights, and saw two police officers in front of me on Vassilissis Sofias Street. I was driving at a high speed and I couldn’t stop immediately. I moved a little to the left, and they immediately started firing at me. I was afraid, I thought they wanted to kill me, so I accelerated and drove off. They chased me and fired constantly. I moved into the oncoming lane and hit some cars. I was very scared. I had recently been in hospital for depression. I stopped at a petrol station and, while I was taking off my seat belt, I opened the door a little and they injured my arm and chest. They pulled me out of the car; a police officer injured me again, on the leg, and put handcuffs on me. I heard banging noises on the car, but I don’t know what they were. There were gunshots coming from everywhere, also from above. I don’t know exactly who injured me. I didn’t have a weapon. I never carry a weapon. They took me to the General State Hospital. A chief officer of police came and brought me a document to sign, but I didn’t sign it because I didn’t know what they had written in it. This happened at the same place where they took 3.5 litres of blood from me. They removed the bullet from my leg without anaesthetic. It was very painful; I don’t know why they did this. I had internal bleeding and the doctors said it was from my teeth. My father obtained a paper from the public prosecutor so that he could take me from the General State Hospital to the KAT (centre for rehabilitation following injury). A bullet has remained in my lung and the other bullet has caused an internal wound below my waist. The first gunshot was on Vassilissis Sofias Street. Perhaps they were looking for something; perhaps they thought I was someone else. I drove towards Sintagma. They fired at me during the entire chase. When they pulled me out of the car, they made me lie on the ground, shot at me and then put handcuffs on me. It was then that they shot me in the foot. After the incident I suffered from psychological shock and was admitted to the State Hospital. I am still receiving medical attention from [another hospital] and I take medication. Before the incident I worked as a plasterer. Since then I haven’t been able to work. I have never in my life held a gun, apart from when I was in the army, where I served normally. There was no roadblock on Vassilissis Sofias Street. I saw two police officers. One of them waved at me to stop and the other pointed his weapon at me. I was frightened because of the weapon and I didn’t stop immediately. After some time they started firing at me. I don’t remember whether I noticed a police car or not near the War Museum. When I reached Parliament, they had their sirens on and they were following me and firing at me. I moved into the oncoming lane. I wanted to get home quickly. In Siggrou Avenue there was a police roadblock. I didn’t take any notice of it. On Flisvos Street there was another roadblock. I didn’t take any notice of that one either. Further down, at some traffic lights, I wove my way through the traffic in order to get away. I remember colliding sideways with someone, not head on. I don’t remember causing a car to turn over. I don’t remember a seeing a roadblock on Kalamakiou Street. I don’t remember if they were shooting at me there. I stopped at the petrol station because I had already been hit by a bullet and I was in pain. Besides, there were a lot people there and I wasn’t so scared. I stopped and tried to unbuckle my seat belt. Right then, I felt bullets in my back. The windows were broken. A police officer came, pulled me out and, while I was lying on my side, face down, they shot me in the foot. I don’t know which one of them shot me. I didn’t see who shot me because I was lying face down. Before the incident I had been in hospital once only, for minor depression. After the incident I developed persecution mania. Before the incident I had only had minor depression. When I was at the petrol station I did not make any movements that could make the police officers think I was carrying a weapon.” 17. The defendants’ statements were taken down as follows: 1. Mr Manoliadis “I was in police car no. A62. We were in the Paleo Faliro area. We heard about the chase on the radio. We arranged with the control centre to create traffic congestion at the beginning of the road close to Trokadero. We positioned the police car sideways across the road, facing the sea. I also stopped some civilian cars in order to block the road. Suddenly I saw flashing lights, sirens and a car at a distance of 30 metres coming towards me. The driver moved to the right of the street that leads to the marina and drove past me at a distance of 1 metre; I even jumped out of the way so that he wouldn’t run me over. Motorcycles and police cars drove past, following at a distance of 30 to 40 metres. There were no gunshots fired by anyone there. We got in the car and followed the other police cars at a distance of about 300 metres. I remember seeing a red car that had skidded on to the barrier. We lost control briefly, then continued driving. I heard gunshots after seeing the car that was turned upside down on Kalamakiou Street. I used my weapon later. We followed the fugitive’s course. When we reached Kalamakiou Street, we heard gunshots again. We went towards the petrol station. I got out of the car, there was chaos everywhere, and I heard gunshots. Some colleagues had ducked, others were on the ground, others were taking cover. I didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from. They could also have been coming from the Skoda [the applicant’s car]. I saw some of my colleagues firing in the air. Then I fired two shots in the air and threw myself to the ground. I was 50 metres away from the car. I didn’t get close to fire the shots, because there was a block of flats nearby. I heard the shouts of the colleagues who were telling the driver to get out of the car. Finally, I saw the police officers who were at the front walking freely and I realised the incident was over. I believe that the weapons of the colleagues who were summoned, or who had notified the control centre, were checked. From where I was standing, I couldn’t see the victim in the car.” 2. Mr Netis “Since 9 p.m., we had been on duty at the B department of the Flying Squad. We heard on the radio that a chase was in progress, starting from the American embassy, of a car which had almost run over two pedestrians and a traffic warden. We followed the car. Near Trokadero we saw that the police had formed a roadblock. Manoliadis was using his whistle to stop the cars. The Skoda drove over to the right, to the side street, and then suddenly turned left. Manoliadis jumped out of the way instinctively, and the Skoda passed very near him. At Rodeo there was a roadblock similar to the one where Mr Manoliadis was. The victim hit a red car and caused it to turn upside down. The radio of the first police car informed us of the course the Skoda was taking. As we approached the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets and we were 50 to 60 metres behind, I heard the first gunshots. We continued driving and entered Kalamakiou Street. There were some police cars ahead of us. Among them, there may have been some that had not been called but had come on their own initiative. When we arrived, I got out of the police car and went towards the vehicle that was being chased. Other colleagues kept calling to the driver to get out of the car. He didn’t get out. I heard someone say, ‘Let’s fire some shots to intimidate him’, and I took my weapon out and shot twice in the air. One of my colleagues took advantage of a break in the shooting to pull the driver out of the car. I was 10 to 15 metres away from the Skoda, or 8; I don’t remember exactly. The control centre issued a warning that the man was carrying a weapon. I have been in many chases, and this particular individual gave me the impression that he was familiar with this kind of thing.” 3. Mr Markou “I ride a motorcycle. On Posidonos Street we heard on the radio that a chase was in progress from the American embassy. Very soon afterwards we heard that the driver had reached Onassio Hospital. I tried to get on to the central reservation to take up my position and wait for him. I saw the car coming. Risking my life, I got down from the high pavement and followed it. A police car and two motorcycles were in pursuit. I heard on the radio that the individual was dangerous and possibly carrying a weapon; he was driving very dangerously. At the traffic lights on Posidonos Street, close to Edem, as we reached the marina of Amfithea and Posidonos, I was struck by his ability to weave in and out of the other cars. I had never seen a chase like this one, although I had spent fifteen years in the service. At the junction of Amfitheas and Posidonos Streets, he collided with a taxi. At the traffic lights at that junction there was a police roadblock. Makaratzis turned right and entered the side street. He was driving into the oncoming traffic and, having gone past the traffic lights, he turned left and created confusion, because the lights changed and the cars were moving off. I didn’t know whether anyone had been killed, or what was happening. I was still in the right side street. The Skoda had been blocked by the other cars, and I shot three times in the air to intimidate him. It was impossible to aim at the Skoda because it was between other cars. Makaratzis drove off, continued down Kalamakiou Street, drove uphill and, as I was approaching at a distance of 30 metres, I saw the car at the petrol station. I got off my motorcycle and entered the petrol station from the right. I went into the workshop and shouted ‘Everyone move out of the way!’. I climbed up a staircase and on to the veranda. While I was climbing up the stairs, I heard gunshots. I didn’t know where they were coming from. When I got up there I heard the others calling to the driver to get out of the car. I saw him leaning over to the side and opening the glove compartment, and I assumed that he was going to take out a weapon and shoot. I shouted at the others to be careful because he might have a weapon. I picked up a big pot and threw it at the car. I was watching the driver’s hands, so as to be able to shout and warn my colleagues if I saw him taking something out to throw.” 4. Mr Souliotis “Mahairas and I set off together. At 9.15 p.m. I was standing in front of the police car. I saw the Skoda coming from the Naval Hospital, going through a red light and almost hitting a couple. I waved to the driver to stop. He drove straight towards me and almost hit me. I jumped aside. No one took out their weapons. I got in the car and we chased him, not only for contravening traffic regulations, but also because he had almost hit me. At Vassilissis Sofias Street we crossed into the oncoming lane and turned right at a red light. We had the flashing lights on and we were driving very fast, but we couldn’t locate him. Suddenly, we saw the Skoda in front of the War Museum. We turned on the flashing lights and the siren, and we flashed our lights at him. He saw us from his car, braked and turned on his hazard lights, and suddenly he drove off again at high speed, sounding his horn. He reached Sintagma, crossed into the oncoming lane near the flower shops and drove into Amalias Street against the traffic. We turned the flashing lights on again and followed him. We continued driving and notified the control centre. On Kallirois Street he almost collided with another police car. At the traffic lights at Diogenis Palace he went through a red light, crossed into the oncoming lane, hit a car and continued driving. Two motorcycles came close to him. At Trokadero, a police car, two motorcycles and fifteen civilian cars had formed a roadblock. He drove towards the right, mounted the pavement and went past them. At Flisvos he caused a Daihatsu to turn upside down. We thought that whoever was in it must be dead. The control centre told the officers on motorcycles to follow him from a distance because of the danger. At Amfithea he collided with a taxi driver, causing him a neck injury; he later had to wear a collar. He continued down Posidonos Street and Kalamakiou Street. He entered the side street and drove against the traffic. He drove past the other cars and crossed over to Kalamakiou. That was where the first gunshots were fired. I leaned out of the left window at the back and shot at the back left tyre of the Skoda. The tyre burst. I was certain about the direction of the bullet. I knew that no one was in danger. When a bullet hits a tyre, it does not ricochet. I fired from a distance of 5 metres. After firing, I saw that the tyre had been punctured. Mahairas fired at the right tyre at the back. With his tyres burst, Makaratzis stopped at the petrol station. We were almost level with him. I acted as a traffic controller. I stopped the oncoming cars, and once the arrest had been made I saw how many police cars there were. There were more than nine. When all the police cars were at the petrol station, shots were fired in the air, not at the car. The car had been hit at the junction. There were a lot of policemen. They occupied both lanes of the street. The Skoda had to slow down, and they fired at him. I was stopping the cars. If they had aimed at the car when we were at the petrol station, they would have shot me too. I believe all the gunshots, even the ones that hit the windows, were aimed at the tyres.” 5. Mr Mahairas “I was at the American embassy with Markou. We saw a Skoda going through a red light. The traffic warden waved to him to stop. The Skoda continued driving towards our colleague, at the risk of hitting him. We got in our car and followed him. He crossed into the oncoming lane and went through a red light at Vassilissis Sofias Street. We lost him and then we suddenly saw him at the War Museum. We followed him, turned on the flashing lights and waved to him to stop. At the flower shops he turned on his hazard lights as if he were going to stop. Suddenly, he increased his speed and crossed into the oncoming lane on Amalias Street and continued towards Sintagma and Siggrou. We followed him. Other police cars arrived. At Trokadero he bypassed a roadblock by driving around the side. At Flisvos he caused a Daihatsu to turn upside down and continued on his way. Further down the road there was a roadblock. He collided with a taxi driver and continued on. At the junction of Kalamakiou and Posidonos Streets there was another roadblock. He turned right into a side street and then turned left, crossing Posidonos Street. I heard some gunshots there. We drove to the top of the side street, followed him and, when we reached Posidonos Street, we were 5 metres away from him. I took my weapon out and aimed at his right rear tyre. When you fire shot after shot it is difficult to aim. I put my weapon on to automatic, which makes it fire three or four times. The Skoda stopped 70 metres away, at the petrol station, and we followed. The entire course and his behaviour had seemed extremely dangerous to us, like that of a terrorist. Other police cars and motorcycles arrived. They called to him to get out of the car. He didn’t, and some gunshots were fired. We were 10 metres behind him. If they did fire from the other police cars directly at him, we weren’t in their line of fire. I heard some colleagues say, ‘Let’s fire some gunshots to intimidate him’. Someone got up on the veranda and threw a pot down. One of my colleagues, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, and whom I did not know, along with someone else, got close, broke the window and called to him to get out. He didn’t, so they pulled him out. One of them attempted to put handcuffs on him. Someone shouted ‘Careful, he is injured’ and they didn’t put them on. The ambulance came. I didn’t know whether he had been injured by a bullet or in a car accident. Neither my weapon nor Souliotis’s fires Magnum bullets. The A-45 is very powerful and has a great force of penetration. I don’t know who said that he was armed and that we should fire in the air.” 6. Mr Ntinas “Kiriazis and I were on duty as instructed at Neos Kosmos. We received a message to go to Siggrou, where a car which had hit other cars and hadn’t stopped when signalled to by a traffic warden, etc., was being chased. We went to Siggrou and followed the driver. At Interamerican he drove through a red light and continued towards the coastal avenue. At Trokadero we saw a lot of police cars and flashing lights. We remained behind him and, at Flisvos, we saw the car that had been turned upside down. We were left a bit behind. At the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets we lost him completely. We asked a civilian, who told us that he had turned right and was heading towards Kalamakiou Street, and we headed that way. I heard some gunshots that I thought were coming from the junction of Kalamakiou and Posidonos Streets. Artificial traffic congestion had been created. The control centre issued a warning that the man was armed and dangerous. We stopped 100 metres to the right of the petrol station and heard gunshots. We didn’t know whether they were coming from the victim or the police officers because we couldn’t see the car. We took cover and heard him being called out of the car. We fired some intimidation shots in order to confuse him, because we knew that a police officer would try to arrest him.” 7. Mr Kiriazis “Ntinas was my chief of crew. We received a message and chased the car, getting close to it at the traffic lights at Amfitheas Street. At Trokadero we were falling behind. The driver went through the roadblock that had been set up. At Flisvos we saw the car that had been turned upside down. There was a problem with the traffic and we were left behind. At the junction of Amfitheas and Posidonos Streets a taxi had been damaged. Further down we heard gunshots. Some civilians told us that the driver had turned left. We followed him. When we got to the petrol station we heard gunshots. Some colleagues were heard shouting, ‘Get out’, ‘Be careful’, and someone else said, ‘Shoot to intimidate him’. So I fired two shots to intimidate him. I have served for fifteen years. I have never seen anything like this. During the chase we heard from the control centre that the individual was extremely dangerous and possibly armed.” 18. The witnesses’ statements were taken down as follows: 1. Mr Ventouris “I am the driver who chased the victim. Mahairas, Souliotis and I serve in the Flying Squad. The victim’s car was considered suspicious. We consider suspicious anything that moves around the American embassy. One of my colleagues, who was not carrying a gun, signalled the driver to stop. My other colleague and I waited at a distance, outside the car. Instead of stopping, the driver continued towards my colleague and almost hit him. Then he drove off. We considered him dangerous, and had to chase after him. At first we lost him for a while, but then we spotted him again near the War Museum. We waved to him to stop. He hesitated for a while, looked as if he was about to stop, but then drove on. At this point we started chasing him with the sirens on. He reached Parliament, crossed into the oncoming lane and continued towards Siggrou at full speed. We had notified other police cars that were going to Siggrou. At some stage he almost collided with a police car. When he reached the coastal avenue, we had already formed a roadblock. He collided with some civilian cars, got away, and drove on. Further down, at Flisvos, he collided with a red car and caused it to turn over, and then drove off at full speed. There was traffic in the area. There was a lot of traffic in Kalamakiou and he moved on to the hard shoulder. It was in that area, in Kalamakiou, that we heard gunshots for the first time. Until then we hadn’t fired because there was a lot of traffic and we could have injured civilians. We didn’t lose him at any point; we only almost lost him at the beginning of Kalamakiou, where there was an obstacle on the pavement. Mr Mahairas and Mr Souliotis were in the car with me and it was around that area that our colleagues fired at the tyres of the car. I maintain that, with our training, we can hit the target in 99% of cases, if not 100%. The driver stopped at the petrol station. We moved the civilians out of the way and some other colleagues who were wearing bullet-proof vests approached his car, broke the windows and pulled him out of the car, because they had called to him to get out several times but he hadn’t. Gunshots were heard from a distance. I don’t know where they were coming from. A colleague had gone up on to the veranda, but I don’t think he fired. He threw a pot at the driver. When the gunshots were fired, the victim’s car was parked sideways on the right of the petrol station. We were at the left of the petrol station and the others were behind me. I don’t know if others fired at the car. We heard gunshots at the beginning of Kalamakiou, and at the end, when everything was over. The final shots were probably fired to intimidate the victim. [Officer] Boulketis was the one that pulled him out. I don’t think he fired at him. There was no reason to do so. The victim made some movements in the car: he moved right and then left, as if looking for something, and it was conceivable that he had a weapon. That is why colleagues wearing bullet-proof vests went to pull him out of the car. I don’t know about the ballistic investigation. The bullets found inside the car were from the weapons of Souliotis and Mahairas. However, my colleagues were aiming at the tyres. The speed of the chase was approximately 60 km/h in Vassilissis Sofias and Amalias Streets, because there was traffic. We were about 10 metres behind him. Near the columns [of the Temple of Olympian Zeus] motorcycles appeared both ahead of us and behind. At the beginning of Siggrou another police car came up in front of the victim and he almost collided with it. He was moving from left to right in Siggrou, racing at 160 km/h and changing lanes constantly. I can’t say which police cars were behind us at the corner of Kalamakiou, because when we chase someone we don’t see what is going on behind. We stopped at the petrol station; two motorcycles stopped behind us, and another car stopped behind them. The first gunshots were fired at the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets. In Kalamakiou Street, before Posidonos Street, when we were 5 metres behind him, Mr Mahairas used his firearm and shot at the tyres of the car. Mr Souliotis must have used his weapon too at the same spot. When the driver reached the petrol station and stopped, I called from the car to the civilians to move out of the way and to the driver to get out, and a colleague who was wearing a bullet-proof vest went to pull him out. I don’t know how many bullets were fired; the front windscreen broke because a pot was thrown at it. I do not know how the front passenger’s window broke, or how the back window broke. I don’t know how the victim’s foot was injured. It couldn’t have been when shots were fired around the car. Finally, we went to the police station to make a statement. Our lives weren’t directly at risk during the incident. The driver had caused accidents, driven into the oncoming traffic and endangered many people. In total, he had been chased by thirty-three policemen, whose weapons were confiscated, but others had also got involved. We had never seen anything like it. They told us on the radio to be careful, that the individual was carrying a weapon and might be extremely dangerous. Souliotis is a traffic warden. Of course he was not carrying a weapon when he waved to him to stop. The police roadblocks were set up because they had been ordered by the control centre. We also created artificial traffic congestion with civilian cars at the traffic lights. During the incident we noticed that civilians were injured, that cars were turned upside down; we didn’t have any other way of stopping him, after the roadblocks and the artificial traffic congestion. The last roadblock was on Kalamakiou Street. There were police officers on foot in the side street. He drove straight at them. That was the moment when the first gunshots were fired. That was also the moment when my colleagues first fired from the car at his tyres. It is possible that other weapons were used besides the thirty-three that were confiscated. For that matter, the bullet that was taken from his leg did not belong to any of the thirty-three weapons that were confiscated. If someone had fired in the victim’s direction at the petrol station, the petrol would have caught fire. At the petrol station they fired shots in the air. Probably in order to cover the colleague that went to pull him out. One of my colleagues climbed up on to the veranda and threw a pot at him to create confusion. Boulketis pulled him out and handcuffed him. We saw that he was bleeding and they took him to hospital. The investigation was carried out by our officers and some other department, not by those of us who had gone to the police station.” 2. Mr Nomikos “I was on the old coastal avenue in Agia Skepi. I saw a vehicle driving erratically. We got an order from the control centre and went after it. On the way we saw all the accidents, the cars that had been hit and someone who was injured. We reached Kalamakiou from Amfitheas. We were far behind. We didn’t hear any gunshots. Even if there had been gunshots, we would not have heard them. Mr Boulketis, who was with me, had a bullet-proof vest. He put it on, while another colleague broke the window. Mr Boulketis pulled the driver out and put handcuffs on him, but when he saw that he had been injured he removed them. The victim was looking right and left; his hands were on the floor, we could not see them, and we assumed he had a gun. When we reached the petrol station, I heard one or two gunshots; I don’t know where they came from. Boulketis and Xilogiannis were with me in the police car. Xilogiannis and I didn’t have bullet-proof vests and we didn’t move closer, as Boulketis did. There were a lot of police cars and motorcycles. There is no way any weapons could have been concealed or changed hands. Our weapons are given to each of us personally. We do not give them to other colleagues. At the petrol station, when we moved closer so that Boulketis could pull the driver out of the car, nobody fired. No colleague could have become involved in the incident without receiving an order, unless someone heard about it and came on his own initiative. If such a person had used his weapon, there is no way he would have left without handing it over.” 3. Mr Xilogiannis “I was the driver of the last police car, where Mr Boulketis was. We received an order from the centre and we followed the chase. We were the last to get to the petrol station where the Skoda was parked. There were a lot of police cars and motorcycles. Everybody was out of their cars; the Skoda was right next to the pump that is on the right-hand side when facing the petrol station. Everyone was out of their cars ... Mr Boulketis put on his bullet-proof vest and I covered him from the back, while behind me there were more officers covering him. When we got there, we heard some gunshots. When we got out of the car and were standing very close to the Skoda two or three gunshots were fired; they were not fired in my direction, because we were very close to the Skoda ... Perhaps the car was hit in the process, I don’t know. I am not in a position to know at which stage the victim was hit; probably during the chase ...” 4. Mr Davarias “... The shots fired at the petrol station were for intimidation. I didn’t see any shots fired at the car, the shots were fired towards the car but in the air, that is, the bullets went up in the air. I don’t know the [police officers] who fired. I had never seen them before. I know Markou and Kasoris. The police officer who climbed up on to the veranda didn’t shoot; he threw a pot. We are bound by our duty and have to follow orders when it comes to the areas we are patrolling, but we don’t always follow them and often go on our own initiative to the scene of incidents like this one where colleagues are in danger and all manner of things have happened in the past. The entire operation at the petrol station lasted ten to fifteen minutes; the Skoda had stopped along the kerb at the petrol station. I parked on the right, I arrived almost at the same time as the men in the first police car, and the rest got there immediately afterwards, one after the other. All the men were holding weapons in their hands. Usually all police cars have a light machine gun. After I got there I took cover behind a column. We called to the driver to get out of the car, and then the shooting began. I don’t remember even approximately how long afterwards the shooting began. The victim made some movements in the car. The movements he made while he was unlocking the car and all his other movements could have been seen by us as movements to get his weapon out from a holster under his arm, or to take out a hand grenade. At the junction of Kalamakiou and Posidonos Streets I didn’t notice any shots being fired at the right-hand side of the Skoda, only the ones fired at the tyres on the left-hand side. The first photograph shows that the tyres on the left-hand side are burst, the second one shows that the ones on the right are burst. As to the injury to [the applicant’s] right foot, it is possible that a bullet that was fired at the tyres ricocheted and penetrated through the metal plate of the car, which is only a few millimetres thick. There are bullets that can pierce metal plates of double thickness. In those cars there is no chassis. There are only plain metal plates, which can be pierced by a ricocheting bullet: the victim may have been hit in the buttock in this way. He may have been hit in the armpit area in the same way. At some point I saw him leaning towards the seat; I thought he might have been hit and I shouted.” 5. Mr Mastrokostas “I am the petrol station attendant. I was in front of the pump, filling up. Suddenly, I saw the Skoda slowly coming up and stopping next to me, with the front facing the street as you can see in the photograph. The driver was not moving. Then the police cars arrived; the policemen were shouting, ‘Move out of the way, move out of the way!’. I left the pump and went inside, 4 to 5 metres away, and the owner and I moved to an area further at the back. There is a second door, and we went through to the workshop. When I went inside the store I heard gunshots. There was chaos. More gunshots were fired. They were firing, but I don’t know in which direction. I couldn’t see anything. The pumps were next to the store; if they had fired towards the car the bullets would also have hit the pumps. I think someone went up on to the veranda and threw a pot down. I saw it because I had gone out the back but I didn’t go close. I couldn’t see anything and I didn’t witness the arrest or see whether they shot him. When the car arrived I saw the tyres were burst, but I do not remember whether the windows were also broken. In the first photograph, I think the tyres are burst. It was the first statement I had ever made, I was still in a state of panic and I don’t know whether I reported everything accurately. It’s the same today, two years having passed since the incident. When I went to the back, I saw the police officer. He didn’t shoot, he threw a pot, but I couldn’t see the victim’s car. Neither the Vespa, which was half a metre away, next to the car, nor the pumps, of course, had any bullet holes. The end of the veranda where the police officer went overlooked the car. The front of the car must have been protruding a bit under the veranda.” 6. Mr Georgopoulos “I am the owner of the petrol station. I was standing a bit further inside than Mastrokostas. I saw the Skoda coming up slowly. It stopped, and seconds later I heard gunshots. The boy heard the shouting, I didn’t. When I heard the gunshots I left, I went up to the house, and then a police officer came and threw a large pot at the roof of the car. He didn’t shoot. I came down when the shooting had stopped and I saw the victim as they were pulling him out of the car. I think the man who pulled him out was wearing civilian clothes. I am not sure. I saw him holding a big machine gun. I don’t know if he fired. I don’t remember. If he had fired, I would remember it. He may have fired; but I didn’t see him do it. I don’t remember whether the windows of the car were broken. I remember that he had crashed ... I didn’t find any cartridge cases anywhere. I didn’t find any bullet holes anywhere. When I saw the police officer who came from the back on to the veranda, I left and didn’t see if he fired. I went downstairs and saw them pulling the driver out of the car. The police officer didn’t shoot him. It may also have been the person that got off the motorcycle. The veranda is wide and it covered more than half of the car.” 7. Mr Kiriazidis “I was at the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets ... Suddenly, I saw in my rear-view mirror a car coming from the side street at great speed; it drove over the curb, came from the right and crashed into me. It threw me a distance of 10 to 15 metres. There was a police car next to me. The police officers must have been out of the car, and were holding weapons. I heard gunshots and I was frightened. More police cars came and followed the Skoda to the left, towards Kalamakiou Street. He caused great damage to me. If someone had been sitting in the back seat, they would not have survived.” 19. Having deliberated, the court acquitted the seven police officers on both the criminal charges brought against them (see paragraph 15 above). On the first count (causing serious bodily harm), the court found that it had not been established that the accused were the ones who had injured the applicant. A number of police officers who had taken part in the incident had left the scene after the applicant’s arrest without revealing their identity or giving the necessary information concerning their weapons. The bullet that was removed from the body of the victim and a bullet that was found inside the car were fired from the same weapon but were unrelated to the traces from the thirty-three weapons that were examined. The other bullet and some of the metal fragments found in the applicant’s car had been fired from the weapons of two of the accused. However, it had not been shown beyond a reasonable doubt that these officers had injured the applicant, given that many other shots had been fired from unidentified weapons. As regards the second charge (unauthorised use of weapons), the court held that the police officers had used their weapons for no other purpose than trying to stop a car whose driver they reasonably considered to be a dangerous criminal. The relevant passages of the court’s judgment read as follows: “On 13 September 1995 the victim, Christos Makaratzis, was driving a private vehicle with the number plate YIM 8837 in Athens in the area around the American embassy. At the junction of Telonos and Kokkali Streets, a unit of the special police control division of the Flying Squad of Attica was carrying out checks on passing cars. The accused Mahairas, Souliotis and Ventouris were part of this unit. The victim’s vehicle was coming from the direction of the hospital; he drove through a red light and the accused Souliotis signalled to him to stop. Instead of stopping at the signal made by the traffic warden, however, he continued driving towards him and almost hit him. The police crew got into their car immediately and began chasing him. At Vassilissis Sofias Street he entered the oncoming lane and drove through a red light. Because of the traffic, the police officers lost the car, which they were chasing with their flashing lights on, and met with it again near the War Museum. They flashed their lights at the driver in order for him to stop; the siren and the flashing lights of the police car were on. Initially the victim turned his hazard lights on, as if he were going to stop the car. However, he suddenly accelerated and drove off. He reached Sintagma near the flower shops; he entered the oncoming lane at Amalias Street and continued towards Siggrou Avenue. The police car informed the Flying Squad control centre, and the control centre notified other units that were on duty in the area in which the victim was moving, in order for them to come and assist. At Siggrou Avenue the car was moving at a very high speed from one lane to the other. Near Kallirois Street the driver almost collided with a police car; at the traffic lights at Diogenis Palace he drove through a red light, entered the oncoming lane and collided with a car. At Trokadero there was a roadblock formed by a police car, two motorcycles and fifteen civilian cars, which he got past by driving on the pavement, and the crew of the police car were almost run over. At Flisvos he collided with a Daihatsu that was stationary, caused it to turn upside down, injuring the driver, and on Amfitheas Street he collided with a car and a taxi, whose driver was injured. At the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets there was a police car in the side street, and the cars moving towards Glifada had been blocked. The victim drove over the central reservation towards the right, in order to head towards the side street, but then he noticed the police car and drove over the central reservation towards the left and collided with two cars that were crossing Posidonos Street and almost ran over Police Constable Stroumpoulis. The first gunshots directed at the pursued car, which were fired in order to stop the victim, were heard at the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets. It was in that area that the accused Mahairas, who was riding in the police car and had been chasing the vehicle from the beginning, fired a burst of shots when the car was at a distance of approximately 5 metres, with his firearm no. MP 5 C273917, because the car was moving. He aimed at the rear right tyre. The accused Souliotis, who was riding in the same police car, fired from the left window, with his pistol no. AO 38275, aiming at the rear left tyre, which he punctured. Near that junction the victim had to slow down. Many police officers had reached that spot and occupied both lanes; other police officers, besides those already mentioned, also fired at the car, as many gunshots were fired at that spot. It is also to be noted that, during the entire course, policemen, police cars and motorcycles joined the chase, without being able to stop the vehicle. It continued its course along Kalamakiou Avenue, despite the gunshots, and stopped at the junction of Kalamakiou and Artemidos Streets, at the entrance of a petrol station and near the petrol pumps, with the front facing the street. There, he was surrounded by the police units that were chasing him, and which the control centre knew had taken part in the operation, and also by other units that had come on their own initiative to help their colleagues when they heard about the incident from the control centre. In other words, there were units in the area that had gone to the scene of the incident, without being called. The police officers got out of their cars and off their motorcycles, holding their weapons. The victim made some movements in his car, which gave the police officers the impression that he had a weapon. The police officers asked him to get out of the car, but he did not, and the police officer who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, Nikolaos Boulketis, approached the car. Then, a lot of the police officers who were present began firing in order to intimidate the victim and cover their colleague; Nikolaos Boulketis took the opportunity to break the car window and arrest the victim. Earlier, the accused police officer Christos Markou had climbed on to the veranda which was above the petrol station and had thrown a pot down, which broke the windscreen without making it fall in. When the victim got out of the car, he was immobilised by the police officer who had arrested him, and by his colleagues, and then it became clear that he was injured. He had an exit wound on his right arm, another exit wound on the right of the thorax, with the entry from the back of the armpit. He had an exit wound at the end of his left foot, a wound high up on his left buttock and wounds on the outer surface of the kidney area. The windscreen of the car driven by the victim was broken, but had not fallen in; it had three bullet holes and a mark made by another. There were three bullet holes in the metal part of the left door at the back, and a bullet mark on the metal surface of the chassis. The back window was smashed and on its metal part there were two bullet holes and another one at the left rear lights. There was a bullet mark on the right rear wing above the wheel. The front passenger window was broken and there was a bullet mark on the outside of the roof. There were bullet holes inside the car under the glove compartment on the dashboard, on the radio, the top part of the dashboard, in the driver’s seat, in the front passenger seat and in the back seat. Two bullets and four fragments were found inside the car. Of the police officers who took part in the operation, thirty-three handed over their weapons, that is, all those who had been ordered to take part in the chase or who had notified the control centre and whose departments knew that they had taken part in the operation. However, others had taken part of their own accord in order to help their colleagues, and it is not known who they are or why they left after the arrest of the victim without informing the control centre of their presence at the scene of the incident. Among the thirty-three weapons, there were twenty-three revolvers of .357 Magnum calibre; six pistols, five of which were of 9 mm Parabellum and one of .45 ACP calibre; and four HK MP 5 submachine guns of 9 mm Parabellum calibre. Of the thirty-three weapons, only the weapons of the accused had been fired. The three bullets that were found in the car and the one that was removed from the first metatarsal of the right foot of the driver came from cartridges of 9 mm Parabellum (9 x 19) calibre. Such cartridges are fired mainly from pistols and submachine guns with the same calibre. The four fragments found inside the car are sabot fragments of coated bullets of different calibre and it was not possible to identify the calibre of the bullets, although one of the fragments was assessed as a fragment of 9 mm Parabellum (9 x 19) calibre. The report by the laboratory expert confirmed that the three bullets, two of which were found in the car and one of which was found in the foot of the victim, came from cartridges of 9 mm Parabellum (9 x 19) calibre. The bullet [PB2] and the two metal sabots [PP1 and PP2] found inside the car were fired by the HK MP 5 submachine gun number no. C273917 that belonged to the accused Mahairas. The bullet from which the other metal sabot [PP3] came, which was found inside the car, was fired by the Sphinx pistol no. A038275 that belonged to the accused Souliotis. The bullet that was removed from the body of the victim and a bullet that was found inside the car were fired by the same weapon, of Parabellum (9 x 19) calibre, but bear no relation to the traces left by the thirty-three weapons that were examined. The victim, Christos Makaratzis, was indeed injured by the submachine guns used by the police officers who took part in the chase and which were fired during the pursuit at the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets where, apart from Souliotis, Mahairas and Markou [illegible] (third accused) other police officers fired who have not been identified, since there were many police officers who fired at that spot. This emerges indirectly from the fact that the bullet that was removed from the body of the victim and another one were fired by a weapon the owner of which was not identified and were not fired by the weapons of the accused. The fact that bullets and sabots that were found inside the car were fired by the weapons of the accused Souliotis and Mahairas leads to the conclusion that the physical injuries of the victim were caused by the weapons that belonged to the accused, apart from the one to his foot. In addition, since there were many bullet holes in his car that were caused by other, unidentified, weapons, the victim might have been injured by those bullets. As already stated, submachine guns and pistols are also of the same calibre. The first, second, third, sixth and seventh defendants fired shots for the purpose of intimidation in the area of the final operation (the petrol station). It is also to be noted that many others also fired shots there for intimidation purposes in order to assist their colleagues who were closer to the car to arrest the victim. They cannot have fired towards the car, because there was a danger of hitting the pumps of the petrol station, and there were no traces of gunshots in that area. The victim’s foot injury was caused from above, since only the top of the shoe was hit and not the sole, but it cannot be said that the shot was fired by the accused Markou, who had climbed on to the veranda of the petrol station, because the car was parked in such a way that almost half of it was under the veranda and thus the direction of the shot would have to have been almost vertical in order to hit the top part of the foot. If that had been the case, the bullet would also have had to go through a part of the dashboard. There is no trace of this, the closest mark being on the radio. Besides, if this injury had been caused by the weapon of the accused, it would have been confirmed by the expert investigation ... The injury was indeed on the top part of the foot; but it could have been caused by a shot that was fired from behind the car while the victim was driving and his foot was almost vertical to the accelerator, by one of the weapons fired at him at the junction of Kalamakiou and Posidonos Streets. The victim’s allegation that he was shot immediately after he was pulled out of the car must be considered groundless, since, as he stated, he was shot when he was ‘lying on his side, face down’. If that had been the case, the injury would have been different. Having regard to the above, and taking into account the fact that other police officers who have not been identified took part in the operation, some of whom possibly used their weapons, the Court has doubts as to whether the accused caused the victim’s injury. As a result, they should be declared innocent of the first act attributed to them. They should also be declared innocent of the second act because, although they used their weapons, they had attempted to stop the car by creating artificial traffic congestion and roadblocks and had failed, as the victim had continued driving while he was being chased by a large number of police officers, in a manner that was dangerous to the civilians that were in his way. Furthermore, the police officers did not know whether the civilians in the cars that had collided with the victim were killed, and they understandably considered him to be a dangerous criminal because of his behaviour and because they had received that information from the control centre. The Court also doubts whether the accused could have avoided using their weapons, which they did in order to stop him and intimidate him, so that he would stop driving in a manner that was dangerous to other civilians, and to protect the latter, as was their duty. Therefore, the accused must be declared innocent of the acts attributed to them in the indictment.” 20. The applicant, who was present when the judgment was pronounced, did not have the right to appeal under domestic law. The text of the judgment was finalised on 20 May 1999. 21. On 20 April 1997 the public prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings against the applicant. The indictment read as follows: “[The applicant] is accused ... of committing a number of offences and more specifically: 22. By judgment no. 16111/2000, the Athens First-Instance Criminal Court sentenced the applicant to forty days’ imprisonment.

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4. Ms Valentyna Mykolayivna Derkach, is a Ukrainian national, who was born in 1962. Mr Mykola Ivanovych Palek, is also a Ukrainian national, who was born in 1957. Both applicants reside in the town of Vyshgorod, Ukraine. 5. In 2001-2002 the applicants instituted separate sets of proceedings in the domestic local courts seeking the recovery of salary arrears and other payments against their former employer-the State-owned “Atomspetsbud” company which carried out construction work in Chernobyl, more precisely in the zone subject to compulsory evacuation. 6. By a decision of the Vyshgorodsky District Court of Kiev Region of 5 March 2002, Ms Valentyna Derkach was awarded UAH 9,133 (the equivalent of 1,405.08 euros [“EUR”]) in salary arrears and compensation. The decision came into force. On 22 April 2002 the Slavutsky District Department of the State Bailiffs' Service initiated enforcement proceedings. 7. By a decision of the Vyshgorodsky District Court of Kiev Region of 15 May 2002, Mr Mykola Palek was awarded UAH 15,476 (the equivalent of EUR 2,380.92) in salary arrears and compensation. The decision came into force. On 8 August 2002 the Bailiffs' Service instituted enforcement proceedings. 8. On 29 June 2002 the Ministry of Energy decided to wind-up the debtor company, given its unprofitability. On 18 July 2002 a liquidation commission was established. 9. In December 2002 the writs of execution in both cases were forwarded to the liquidation commission. 10. The judgments remain unenforced, in particular due to the fact that the debtor's property could not be attached to enforce the judgments. Attachment would have required a special authorisation of the Ministry for Emergencies due to the location of the debtor's property in the Chernobyl area, contaminated by radiation. Authorisation was not granted.

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9. The applicant was born in 1954 and lives in Bochnia, Poland. He works as a notary. 10. On an unspecified day in March 1991 a certain Mr X filed with the Bochnia District Court a request that the co-ownership of an estate be dissolved. 11. The court held hearings on 30 July 1991, 12 May 1992, 9 March 1993, 29 April 1994, 26 April 1995 and 8 May 1996. 12. On 29 August 1996 the applicant purchased a share in that estate. 13. On 6 September 1996 he requested the court to allow him to participate in the proceedings. 14. On 12 September 1996, as a party to the proceedings, he requested the court to appoint a guardian ad litem for those co-owners whose place of residence was not known and for the heirs of a late co-owner. The applicant further raised a claim to establish the title to the disputed property and to evict two individuals. 15. On 16 October 1996 the court granted the applicant leave to participate in the proceedings. 16. In November 1996 the case was transferred to the Kraków Nowa-Huta District Court. 17. Hearings were held on 4 February and 26 March 1997. 18. On 26 March 1997 the court refused to allow the former co-owners of the applicant's share to participate in the proceedings. On 30 September 1997 the Kraków Regional Court dismissed an appeal against that decision lodged by Mr X. 19. The District Court held hearings on 11 December 1997, as well as on 5 February and 3 December 1998. 20. On 28 February 1998 it refused certain co-owners' request for an interim measure. They appealed and on 21 July 1998 the Regional Court quashed that decision and ordered the re-examination of the request. On 9 and 28 October 1998 the District Court ordered interim measures. 21. On 20 February 1999 the court stayed the proceedings, considering that it was first necessary to carry on inheritance proceedings concerning the estate of a late co-owner in order to establish the identity of the heirs and their shares in the estate. The applicant and certain other co-owners appealed and on 18 June 1999 the Kraków Regional Court quashed that decision. In its decision it also ordered the District Court to exclude from those proceedings the issue of the ownership title to the estate and to initiate separate proceedings in this respect. It considered that in the light of a suspicion that Mr X and certain other participants in the proceedings could not be co-owners of the estate it was necessary to establish who had the genuine ownership title to the share allegedly owned by them. 22. The District Court carried out that order on 5 October 1999. On 11 October 1999 the court stayed the proceedings concerning the dissolution of the co-ownership until the proceedings concerning the establishment of the title to the disputed share were completed. 23. On 2 December 1999 the Kraków Nowa-Huta District Court declared its lack of jurisdiction over the case and transferred it to the Tarnów Regional Court. 24. On 7 December 1999 the District Court refused the applicant's request, lodged on 12 September 1996, to appoint a guardian ad litem. On 17 March 2000 the Kraków Regional Court quashed that decision and ordered the re-examination of the request. 25. On 22 January 2001 the Kraków Court of Appeal, on the request of one of the defendants, excluded the judges of the Tarnów Regional Court from participation in the proceedings concerning the establishment of ownership title. The court found, inter alia, that the applicant used to work as a judge on that circuit and was acquainted with the judges of that court. 26. On 22 March 2001 the Kraków Regional Court held a hearing, at which it decided to examine the case-file of the proceedings concerning the dissolution of the co-ownership and consider whether the case dealt with by it could be joined to those proceedings. 27. On 11 June and 11 October 2001 the court held hearings. 28. On the latter date it gave judgment. The court dismissed the applicant's claim. He and other plaintiffs appealed. 29. On 15 March 2002 the Kraków Court of Appeal quashed the judgment of the Regional Court and remitted the case for re-examination. 30. On 19 December 2003 the Kraków Regional Court gave a final judgment.

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6. The applicant was born in 1954 and lives in Sapy, Poland. 7. On 17 July 1992 the applicant lodged with the Skierniewice Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki) an action for damages against his neighbours. He claimed that the defendants had caused damage to his barn by improperly storing silage and animal waste. 8. In 1992 two hearings were adjourned. 9. On 16 February 1993 the court held a hearing at which it heard the parties and witnesses and ordered an expert opinion. 10. On 3 August 1993 an expert submitted his opinion to the court. The defendants' lawyer contested the expert's opinion. 11. A hearing scheduled for 17 September 1993 was adjourned due to the absence of the defendants' lawyer. 12. On 14 October 1993 the court held a hearing and heard an expert witness. 13. On an unknown later date, at the applicant's lawyer's request, the court ordered another expert opinion. In January 1994 the opinion was submitted to the court. Subsequently, the defendants' lawyer requested the court to order a supplementary expert opinion. 14. On 29 March 1994 the court held a hearing. It heard two witnesses and an expert witness. 15. Subsequently, the defendants' lawyer requested the court to order yet another expert opinion. 16. In August 1994 the applicant's and the defendants' lawyers requested the court not to schedule any hearings until 30 September 1994 because of their respective holidays. 17. On 8 December 1994 the court dismissed the defendants' request for exemption from the court fees. They lodged an appeal but on 9 January 1995 the Łódź Court of Appeal dismissed it. 18. In May 1995 the trial court asked the defendants to indicate an expert who would prepare an opinion. 19. Two subsequent hearings scheduled for 31 January and 23 February 1996 were adjourned due to the illness of the defendants and their lawyer. 20. On 10 July 1996 the court, sitting in camera, ordered another expert opinion. 21. On 6 August 1996 the defendant's lawyer requested the court to appoint two other experts indicated by him. On 15 November 1996 the trial court dismissed this application. 22. On 17 March 1997 an expert opinion was submitted to the court. 23. In June 1997 the case was assigned to another judge. 24. Subsequently, the applicant's lawyer requested the court not to schedule any hearings until 30 August 1997 because of his holidays. 25. On 8 September 1997 the court stayed the proceedings because one of the defendants had died. Later, his heirs joined the proceedings. 26. On 21 January 1998 the trial court resumed the proceedings and sent the case‑file to an expert in order to obtain an opinion. 27. On 20 March 1998 the expert submitted his opinion to the court. 28. Between 30 March 1994 and 5 May 1998 no hearings were held. 29. On 6 May 1998 the court held a hearing. 30. On 15 July 1998 the applicant's lawyer again requested the court not to schedule hearings during his holidays. 31. A hearing scheduled for 30 October 1998 was adjourned due to the absence of the defendants' lawyer. 32. In December 1998 the defendants' lawyer requested the court not to schedule any hearings between 1 December and 20 December 1998, and subsequently, until 1 February 1999. 33. A hearing scheduled for 8 February 1999 was adjourned because of the absence of the defendants' lawyer. 34. Between 7 May 1998 and 17 March 1999 no hearings were held. 35. On 18 March 1999 the court held a hearing. 36. On 31 March 1999 the Regional Court gave judgment in which it dismissed the applicant's claim. 37. The applicant lodged an appeal against the judgment. 38. On 21 October 1999 the Łódź Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) dismissed his appeal and upheld the first-instance judgment.

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10. The applicant was born in 1961 and is at present living in Istanbul. 11. On 6 August 1992, based on the statements given by two members of the PKK to the police, the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court ordered the arrest of five people, including the applicant, on suspicion of aiding and abetting an illegal terrorist organisation. Several terrorist acts, including an attack on the Hersan Police Station, carried out by the PKK were mentioned in the order. The public prosecutor further requested to be kept informed every three months about the progress being made in the investigation. 12. On 9 July 1995 at 5.40 a.m., the police eventually arrested the applicant at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport on the basis of an order prohibiting him from leaving the country. At about 10 a.m. he was taken to the Gayrettepe Office for the Enforcement of Judgments in Istanbul. 13. On 11 July 1995 at 2 p.m., the applicant was taken into custody at the Istanbul Security Directorate. On the same day the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court authorised the Istanbul Security Directorate to extend the applicant's detention for ten days, starting from 9 July 1995. 14. On 17 July 1995 the applicant was examined by a doctor at the Haseki Hospital in Istanbul. The doctor noted in his report that no pathological findings had been found on the applicant's body and that the final medical report would be drafted by the Forensic Medicine Institute. 15. On 18 July 1995, at about 6 a.m., the applicant was taken to the Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The applicant and the police officers who accompanied him took a plane to Bitlis. At 2 p.m. he was handed over to police officers from the Bitlis Security Directorate. On the same day, the Bitlis Public Prosecutor authorised the extension of the applicant's detention for three more days. 16. The applicant alleged that he was subjected to ill-treatment in the Bitlis Security Directorate, which included beatings, electric shock treatment, blindfolding, verbal insults, hosing with cold water, being stripped naked and deprived of food. 17. On 19 July 1995 the applicant was driven to different places around Bitlis in order to locate his different meeting places with terrorists. A sketch map, describing the attack on the Hersan Police Station and how he had assisted the terrorists, was drafted by police officers. In a statement signed by the applicant on 19 July 1995, he confessed that he had aided members of the PKK. He alleged that, after having signed this confession, he was again subjected to ill-treatment. 18. On 20 July 1995 the applicant was seen by a doctor in Bitlis who noted in his report that there were no marks on his body of beatings or injuries consistent with the use of force. The applicant alleged that the doctor neither spoke to him nor examined him. 19. On the same day the applicant was first brought before the Diyarbakır State Security Court Public Prosecutor who decided to join the investigation file on the applicant dated 1992 to the new investigation file dated 1995. The applicant contended that his police statements were taken under duress and refuted the reliability of the medical report. Moreover, he denied all the allegations made against him. Later he was taken before the judge at the Diyarbakır State Security Court. He repeated that his police statements were taken under duress and refuted the allegations against him. Noting that the applicant had a profession and a permanent address, the judge concluded that there was nothing in the case file that required the applicant's detention pending trial and ordered his release. 20. On 23 July 1995 the applicant went on his own to be examined by another doctor. The subsequent medical report dated 15 August 1995 read as follows (translation): “Report: Talat Tepe, born 1961 in Mutki Bitlis, was taken into custody in Istanbul on 9 July 1995 and was held in custody for a total of twelve days; ten days in Istanbul and two days in Bitlis. During his detention in Istanbul, he was subjected to duress, such as not having access to means of communication and not being allowed to receive visitors despite his requests. In Bitlis, he was subjected to physical and psychological torture for almost 40 hours. He was interrogated while he was completely naked. He was held in a cold and dirty cell which had a stone floor. His access to the toilet and sanitary materials were restricted. He was subjected to offensive language and behaviour. He was threatened with death. He endured psychological pressure which led to desperation and destroyed his self-confidence (he was repeatedly told that he would be put on trial and subsequently be sentenced to death; he would be killed even if he was released, etc.). He was beaten up four to five times during this interrogation. As a result of moving cables around his body, he was subjected to electric shocks six times in succession, mainly on his legs and feet. He was hosed down with cold water. His testicles were squeezed. He was basically subjected to a kind of torture which endangers the victim's life and causes extreme pain, but does not always leave marks on the body. While in Istanbul he had to pay for his food. During the 40 hours of detention in Bitlis, he was unable to eat the food given to him since he was exhausted as a result of the torture. He was not supplied with water and he was told that drinking water after being subjected to torture would be dangerous for his health. Before being released he was taken to the Bitlis State Hospital, where a medical report was issued, revealing that he was in good health. This report was prepared in the absence of a proper physical examination. On 23 July 1995 the torture victim had pain in his shoulders and back. He was suffering from weariness and violent headaches. He was going through the interrogation all over again in his dreams. During his sleep he needed to go to the toilet frequently, and he was often going through the whole interrogation procedure in his dreams. The weariness and the dizziness of the victim were easily observed during the first examination. The results of blood and urine tests were normal. As a result of the neurological consultation, his neck movements were observed to be painful, and hypoesthesia and hypoalgesia were found in his left C5 dermatome. In the cervical BT examination no medullar and spinal chord compression was discovered. It was considered that the applicant's complaints were due to the trauma applied to the cervical region. He is provided with an anti-inflammatory treatment and he is under surveillance. As a result of the psychiatric consultation, traumatic experience related insomnia was discovered. It was stated that he did not need psychotherapy. Considering his state of health, it would be appropriate for him to rest for 7 (seven) days. 15 August 1995 Dr Emel Gökmen (signature)” 21. On 24 November 1995 the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court filed an indictment with the same court accusing the applicant of aiding and abetting an illegal armed organisation, contrary to Articles 31 and 169 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of Law no. 3713 on the Prevention of Terrorism. 22. On 6 June 1996 the Diyarbakır State Security Court acquitted the applicant of the charges due to lack of evidence. 23. On 12 July 1995 the applicant's lawyers filed petitions with the Ministry of Justice complaining about the excessive length of the applicant's detention in police custody. 24. On 18 July 1995 the Ministry of Interior requested the Istanbul Public Prosecutor to investigate the complaints made by the applicant's lawyers. 25. On 27 July and 1 August 1995 the Istanbul Public Prosecutor took statements from the applicant's lawyers. They complained about the excessive length of their client's detention and his ill-treatment during his detention in Bitlis Security Directorate. 26. On 17 August 1995 the Istanbul Public Prosecutor took the applicant's statements. The applicant complained about the length of his detention and criticised the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court who had unlawfully authorised the prolongation of his detention. Moreover, he gave details of the alleged ill-treatment in Bitlis Security Directorate. He gave a description of the two police officers who were allegedly responsible for this treatment and maintained that one of them was the person who drove him from the airport to the Security Directorate. He stated that the doctor who examined him on 20 July 1995 did not ask him any questions and only checked the upper part of his body. However, he contended that the treatment that he had been subjected to was not the type of treatment which would necessarily leave traces on the body. Moreover, he was unable to complain to the doctor because police officers were present in the room. He further maintained that, apart from the documents in the case file before the Diyarbakır State Security Court, he did not have any evidence or witnesses to substantiate his allegations. 27. On 18 August 1995 the Istanbul Public Prosecutor sent a letter to the Bitlis Public Prosecutor requesting him to investigate the applicant's allegations of torture. 28. On 29 August 1995 the Bitlis Public Prosecutor requested information from the Bitlis Security Directorate about the identity of the two police officers who drove the applicant from the airport to the Security Directorate. Moreover, he sent a letter to the Diyarbakır State Security Court requesting a copy of the applicant's case file. He also sent a letter to the Istanbul Public Prosecutor requesting to have the applicant examined by a forensic doctor for traces of torture that allegedly occurred during his detention in Bitlis Security Directorate. 29. On 8 September 1995 the Bitlis Security Directorate informed the Bitlis Public Prosecutor of the names of the police officers who drove the applicant from the airport to the Security Directorate as well as those of the officers who questioned him during his detention. On 14 September 1995 five police officers were summoned before the Bitlis Public Prosecutor. In their statements to the public prosecutor all five police officers refuted the applicant's allegations. 30. On 24 October 1995 the Bitlis Public Prosecutor repeated his requests to the public prosecutor at the Diyarbakır State Security Court and the Istanbul Public Prosecutor. 31. On 8 January 1996 the Bitlis Public Prosecutor issued a decision of non-jurisdiction in respect of the prosecution of the police officers. He transferred the case file to the office of the Bitlis Governor pursuant to the provisions of the Law on the Prosecution of Civil Servants. 32. On 29 January 1996 the deputy police chief, in his capacity of investigator, took statements from the accused police officers and on 1 February 1996 drafted a report. On 6 February 1996 the Provincial Administrative Council in Bitlis rejected the report as the investigator failed to take the applicant's statements. 33. On 18 March 1996, pursuant to a rogatory letter sent by the investigator, a police officer from the Istanbul Security Directorate took the applicant's statements in which he reiterated his allegations and complaints. 34. On 10 April 1996 the applicant was examined by a doctor at the Istanbul Forensic Department. In his report, the doctor noted that there were no traumatic pathological traces found on the applicant's body. However, he concluded that it was also possible that his wounds could have healed by that stage. 35. In his final report, relying on the police officers' statements and the medical reports dated 17 and 20 July 1995 and 10 April 1996, the investigator proposed that no prosecution or disciplinary proceedings should be brought against the police officers as there was no evidence to support the allegations of torture. 36. On 18 April 1996 the Provincial Administrative Council in Bitlis decided that charges should not be brought against the five police officers. It noted in its decision that the applicant was interrogated on 19 July 1995 and seen by a doctor in the Bitlis State Hospital on 20 July 1995; a medical report drafted on the same day found no traces of blows to the applicant's body and mentioned that, subsequently, on 20 July 1995, the applicant was released following a decision of the Diyarbakır State Security Court. The Council consequently held that, contrary to what was claimed by the applicant, he had not been subjected to torture. 37. The applicant did not appeal against the decision of the Provincial Administrative Council. The decision was examined ex officio by the Supreme Administrative Court. On 18 March 1998 the court upheld the decision of the administrative council holding that there was no evidence to substantiate the applicant's claim that the police officers had committed the alleged crime.

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10. The applicants were born in 1952, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1985 respectively and live in Kahramanmaraş. 11. On 15 April 1991 terrorists raided the applicants' village in Kahramanmaraş and killed the men of the village, including the first applicant's husband and the father of the other applicants, A. O. 12. On 15 April 1992 the applicants brought an action before the Ankara Administrative Court against the Ministry of Internal Affairs, (hereinafter “the defendant”), claiming a breach of the State's responsibility to protect the life and security of its citizens. They requested the court to award them compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage in respect of A.O's death. 13. On 29 April 1992 the case was notified to the defendant. 14. On 28 May 1992 the defendant submitted its observations to the court. On 16 June 1992 the observations were sent to the applicants. 15. On 22 June 1992 the applicants submitted their response to the observations of the defendant. On 20 August 1992 the applicants' reply was sent to the defendant. 16. On 15 September 1992 the defendant submitted additional observations. They were notified to the applicants on 29 September 1992. 17. On 21 February 1994 the Ankara Administrative Court, after examining the parties' observations, declared itself incompetent ratione loci and sent the case file to the Gaziantep Administrative Court. 18. On 10 August 1994 the applicants paid an advance on the court fees. 19. On 22 December 1994 the Gaziantep Administrative Court gave an interim decision in which it requested information from different administrative authorities. The court also appointed an expert to calculate the amount of pecuniary damage the applicants had sustained as a result of the death of A.O. 20. Between 20 and 28 February 1995 documents requested from the Land Registry, the Elbistan Social Aid, the security forces, the Social Security Institution and the Elbistan District Governor's Office were deposited with the court. 21. On 7 March 1995 documents concerning the investigations into the killing of the applicant's husband were sent to the court by the Kahramanmaraş Gendarmerie Command. 22. On 4 April 1995 the court requested the birth records of the Ormancı family from the Elbistan birth registry. 23. On 5 June 1995 the files pertaining to the birth records of the Ormancı family were submitted to the court. 24. On 4 September 1995 the case file was sent to an expert. 25. On 22 September 1995 the expert's report was submitted to the court. 26. On 10 November 1995 the defendant objected to the report. 27. On 19 June 1996 the Gaziantep Administrative Court awarded the applicants compensation for non-pecuniary and pecuniary damage together with interest from the date of the action. 28. On 30 July 1996 the court requested the applicants to pay the fee for the communication of the decision to the parties. 29. On 27 September 1996 the court was informed that the applicants had paid the necessary fee. 30. On 9 December 1996 the defendant appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court against the decision of the Gaziantep Administrative Court. 31. On 13 February 1997 the applicants submitted their observations to the Supreme Administrative Court. 32. On 28 March 1997 the case file was received by the Supreme Administrative Court. The case was allocated to the 10th Division. 33. On 10 November 1997 the public prosecutor at the Supreme Administrative Court gave his opinion. 34. On 10 March 1998 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decision of the first-instance court. 35. The applicants were paid the amount awarded to them on 5 November 1997 and 30 April 1998.

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4. The applicant was born in 1938 and lives in Prague. She is the co-owner of a building and plot of land in the Strakonice region. 5. On 21 September 1988 the other owner instituted civil proceedings before the Strakonice District Court, seeking the termination of the co-ownership arrangement and the assignment of entire property to him. On 31 October 1988 the District Court heard the co-owner. Another hearing was scheduled for 16 November 1988 but, as the applicant failed to attend, it was adjourned. On 13 December 1988 the applicant was heard by the Prague 6 District Court at the request of the Strakonice District Court. 6. On 14 February 1989 the District Court appointed an expert in order to determine the manner in which the property should be divided. The report was submitted on 6 April 1989. 7. Three other hearings were held by the District Court on 23 and 30 October 1990 and 7 January 1991. 8. On 18 July 1991 the District Court ordered an on-site visit to the property. 9. On 16 March and 14 April 1992 the applicant requested the District Court to explain why her case was not progressing. On 4 September 1992 she filed a complaint with the Ministry of Justice alleging unreasonable delays in the proceedings. 10. On 25 September 1992 the President of the České Budějovice Regional Court (krajský soud) admitted that her complaint was justified, but explained that the District Court had serious staffing problems. 11. On 17 June 1993 the applicant again complained of delays to the President of the Regional Court. 12. On 9 July 1993 a geometric plan was submitted upon the District Court's request of 7 May 1992. 13. On 5 August 1993 the District Court held a hearing at which the applicant presented her proposal for the division of the property. She finalised her proposal on 23 August 1993. Another hearing was held on 30 September 1993, but was adjourned because the professional licence of the expert had to be verified. 14. On 25 October 1993 the District Court carried out an on-site visit to the property. On the same day, it adjourned the proceedings pending the production of the reports on the division of the property and its value. 15. On 6 June 1994 the court appointed an expert to assess the value of the property. 16. The next hearing was held before the District Court on 27 July 1995. At that hearing the parties disagreed on how to divide the property and settle the co-ownership issue. 17. On an unspecified date in 1994 the case was assigned to another judge. 18. A hearing held on 1 August 1995 was adjourned because a new expert had to be appointed to determine the manner in which the property should be divided. 19. On 16 February 1996 the applicant complained of delays in the proceedings to the Regional Court and, on 7 March 1996, to the President of the District Court. On 28 February 1996 she was informed by the latter that the length of the proceedings was due to the complex nature of the case and the judge's inexperience. 20. On 12 April 1996 the District Court appointed a third expert to determine the manner in which the property should be divided. A hearing held on 23 June 1996 was adjourned because the expert report had not yet been submitted. This report was submitted on 24 July 1996 and sent to the applicant on 14 October 1996. The latter challenged the expert's impartiality on 19 November 1996. On 10 December 1996 the other owner of the property submitted his comments on the evaluation made of the property. 21. On 30 April and 23 June 1997 two hearings were held by the District Court which, on 28 August 1997, appointed an expert to carry out an on-site examination of the property by 17 October 1997. According to the Government, these hearings were adjourned at the applicant's request. On 23 October 1997 the expert submitted his conclusions. 22. On 25 February 1998 the court held a hearing at which the expert was heard. The hearing was then adjourned because a new expert had to be appointed to determine the value of the property. The applicant was invited to submit her opinion in this connection. She submitted her opinion on 30 July 1998, after having been urged to so. On 16 October 1998, after the case had been assigned to a third judge, an on-site examination of the property was carried out on 14 October 1998 in the presence of the expert. On 3 November 1998 the court ordered an expert report to evaluate the property. 23. On an unspecified date in 1999 the case was assigned to a fourth judge. 24. On 15 February 1999 the expert on property division matters inspected the premises. On 9 March 1999 he presented his report to the court which, on 12 July 1999, held a hearing. On 30 August 1999 it appointed, at the parties' suggestion, an expert to assess the market value of the property and its sale price. On 11 November 1999 the expert submitted his report. According to the Government, the applicant's proposal to commission a new expert report was dismissed. 25. On 12 January 2000 a hearing was held before the District Court, but the applicant could not attend since he was ill. Another hearing took place on 10 February 2000 and was adjourned until 12 May 2000. 26. By a judgment of 17 July 2000 the court terminated the co-ownership, assigning the property to the other owner, who was ordered to pay CZK 127,500 (4,060 euros (EUR)) to the applicant in compensation for her share of the property. 27. On 2 March 2001 the Regional Court upheld the merits of this judgment.

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7. The applicant was born in 1956 and lives in Chişinău, Moldova. He is a journalist. 8. On 14 August 1998 the Russian language weekly newspaper “Express” published an article entitled “The minor affairs of the big Airport”, signed by the applicant. He gave as sources for his article the outcome of an investigation conducted by him and the materials of a Parliamentary Commission concerning the selling of aircraft. The article stated, inter alia, that: “The scandal of the sale of Moldovan aircraft at dumping prices attracted the public attention of Moldovan society, which is already used to being unsurprised by such events. However, these still ongoing events offered our newspaper the opportunity to focus on this topic (see, 'Express' No. 19 and 20 of 19 and 26 June 1998). This article is an attempt to give a meaning to the events, which happened within the State Administration of Civil Aviation ('SACA') in the last two years, on the basis of facts which became known as a result of a press investigation. In 1995 Chişinău International Airport ('CIA') split from the State Air Company 'Air Moldova' and became an independent enterprise. The Head of SACA was L.P., while A.I. was appointed as Head of CIA. An agreement was signed between SACA and A.I. for a period of three years. In 1996 the above agreement was cancelled on the grounds of the negligence of A.I. in carrying out his duties. This fact was the starting point of the story which follows. A.I. disagreed with SACA's decision on his dismissal and lodged a court action seeking his reinstatement. Since court proceedings in Moldova are so lengthy, A.I., who could not accept his dismissal, took steps to approach CIA's staff. To this end, he organised with the support of his adherents a demonstration on the old Airport square. A.I. took the floor and the core of his speech was that he was the only person who, as head of CIA, could ensure its economic growth. SACA also decided to seek the opinion of its staff and for this purpose, its Director General, L.P., summoned a meeting of his deputies and the Airport units' heads. Everyone expressed a view and the common opinion was that A.I. was not the right person to be the head of CIA. Hence, the meeting of the Airport administration clearly expressed its distrust of A.I. Nevertheless, such an outcome did not discourage the pretender to the chairmanship. He even issued a leaflet entitled 'Appeal to the Airport staff', which stated: 1. SACA unfairly dismissed A.I.; 2. A.I. will inevitably become CIA's Chief Executive. This proved to be true, when the court declared SACA's actions to be illegal and ordered the reinstatement of A.I. in his previous post. ...” 9. The following related to the events that took place after A.I.'s reinstatement: “...The purging and transfer of staff marked the reinstatement of A.I. in the position. Many were reminded of their disapproval of the candidature of A.I. for the position of Chief Executive of CIA, expressed at the meeting with directors and managers. ... Once he had become Chief Executive of the Chişinău Airport for the second time and after he had successfully accomplished the first staff purge by means of the reorganisation of the enterprise's structure, A.I. called up his 'team', which had been created in between his two directorships. ... the present Director General L.I., devoted to the policy chosen by his patron A.I. ... ...One can become convinced about this by the example of another worker promoted by A.I. It is I.V. Not long ago, I.V. was working somewhere in the system of road transport and knew no more about planes than an ordinary person knows, and perhaps what he had been told by his relative A.I. But, probably, I.V. had shown a special interest in airport matters and the idea to hire him at the Airport came to his influential relative. To this end, he did not even hesitate to invent a new position – Deputy Director of Handling. ... ...Later, A.I. dismissed them from their positions... Instead of them he appointed (a) K.V. (who some time ago had graduated the Odessa Institute of Communications), (b) S.I. (a graduate of the Kiev Institute of Food Industry). ...Frankly speaking, C.P. himself is not a great expert in landing planes... ...One of the most colourful figures of A.I.'s conscription became the head of the Staff Unit of the Airport, C.M. Indeed, his position can be characterised as follows: the head of the Airport's Staff Unit would puzzle even an employee of the Staff Unit of any penitentiary. Here are some extracts from reports made by Airport employees: 'I bring to your attention that on many occasions the head of the staff unit came to the Security Service and asked for a car... to take him home. Usually he was drunk.' ... 'I was silent for a long time about the sexual harassment I was exposed to from the head of the Staff Unit, until recently when he came to my office and invited me to his summer cottage. I refused but he started to touch me. I struggled free of his hands and threatened to hit him with a telephone if he would not stop.... Once, when I entered C.M.'s office for work-related purposes, he closed the door and asked me to show him my breasts.' ... ... it is probably unnecessary to describe every detail of the adventures of this unrestrained civil servant (распоясавшегося функционера)... ...The saying that everything is possible (не боги горшки обжигают) is borne out by another example, namely the former veterinary doctor, but currently the Manager of the Services' Purchase Unit, C.V... ...A.I. has appointed S.I. (a graduate of the Kiev Institute of Food Industry).... However, now public opinion in Moldova is focused, as we already stated, on the shady deal of the sale of aircraft. The shady deal, behind which, in the opinion of many civil aviation employees, were A.I. and S.I.” 10. On an unspecified date in 1998 six employees of CIA - I.V., C.P., C.M., C.V., S.I. and A.I. (hereinafter: “the complainants”) - lodged separate civil actions for defamation against the applicant and the publishing office of the newspaper with the Centru District Court. Relying on Articles 7 and 7/1 of the Civil Code, the complainants alleged that the article contained statements which were defamatory of them. On 5 September 1998 the Centru District Court decided to join all six actions. 11. On 3 December 1998 the Centru District Court found that the information contained in the article was defamatory of each of the complainants and did not correspond to reality in respect of I.V, C.V., S.I. and A.I. In the same decision, the complainants were awarded damages to be paid by the applicant and the newspaper. (i) In respect of I.V. 12. The court found that the following passage was defamatory of I.V. and did not correspond to reality: “...One can become convinced about this by the example of another worker promoted by A.I. It is I.V. Not long ago, I.V. was working somewhere in the system of road transport and knew no more about planes than an ordinary person knows, and perhaps what he had been told by his relative A.I. But, probably, I.V. had shown a special interest in airport matters and the idea to hire him at the Airport came to his influential relative. To this end, he did not even hesitate to create a new position – Deputy Director of Handling. ...” 13. The court found that I.V. was not a relative of A.I. and that there was no proof that it was A.I. who had invited I.V. to work at the Airport and created a new position for that purpose. The court also found that I.V. had completed technical studies and had graduated from the Academy of Public Administration. The applicant and the newspaper admitted that the information about I.V. being a relative of A.I. was not accurate. The newspaper offered to publish a notice withdrawing it. 14. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay I.V. damages of 900 Moldovan Lei (MDL) and MDL 1,350 respectively. (ii) In respect of C.P. 15. The court further ruled that the sentence: “Frankly speaking, C.P. himself is not a great expert in landing planes” was defamatory of C.P. The court agreed that C.P. had made a rough landing in Budapest once; however, that case could not serve as a basis to question his entire expertise. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay C.P. damages of MDL 900 and MDL 1,800 respectively. (iii) In respect of C.M. 16. The court quoted in its decision the following two passages as being defamatory of C.M.: “One of the most colourful figures of A.I.'s conscription became the head of the Staff Unit of the Airport, C.M. Indeed, his position can be characterised as follows: the head of the Airport's Staff Unit would puzzle even an employee of the staff unit of any penitentiary” and “it is probably unnecessary to describe every detail of the adventures of this unrestrained civil servant (распоясавшегося функционера).” 17. The applicant explained that the words used to describe C.M. were justified by the latter's conduct (see paragraph 9 above). In this respect the applicant put forward three witnesses. One of them declared that on one occasion C.M. had been drunk and that the witness had written a report to the Chief Executive about that. The other two witnesses were female employees who declared that on several occasions C.M. had sexually harassed them. 18. The court decided not to admit the testimony of the first witness, because no sanction had been applied to C.M. as a consequence of the report. As to the statements of the two female witnesses, the court did not make any assessment of them. 19. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay the complainant damages of MDL 900 and MDL 1,350 respectively. (iv) In respect of C.V. 20. The court found that the sentence: “The saying that everything is possible (не боги горшки обжигают) is borne out by another example, namely the former veterinary surgeon, but currently the Manager of the Services Purchase Unit, C.V.” was defamatory of C.V., and did not correspond to reality. 21. The applicant admitted that a mistake had been made, since C.V. did not graduate from a veterinary school. The court found that C.V. had a diploma from a business school. 22. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay the complainant damages of MDL 900 and MDL 1,350 respectively. (v) In respect of S.I. 23. The court found that the phrases: “A.I. has appointed S.I. (a graduate of the Kiev Institute of Food Industry) .... ... the shady deal, behind which, in the opinion of many civil aviation employees, were A.I. and S.I.” were defamatory of S.I., and did not correspond to reality. 24. The applicant admitted to having made a mistake as regards the university attended by S.I., the court finding that she had a diploma from a School of Commerce. As to the “shady deal”, the applicant argued that the dubious character of the transaction with State-owned aircraft was evident from an official report of a Parliamentary Commission and that the participation of S.I. in the conclusion of that transaction was not contested by S.I. herself. Relying on statements of A.I. and S.I., the court found that, even though they were involved in the transaction concerning the sale of State-owned aircraft, they were part of a special commission created by the Government for the purpose of the transaction and that they were not the key persons in that transaction. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay S.I. damages of MDL 900 and MDL 1,800 respectively. (vi) In respect of A.I. 25. The court identified in its decision the following extracts as being defamatory of A.I. and as not corresponding to reality: “... A.I. [...] organised with the support of his adherents a demonstration on the old Airport square. ... He even issued a leaflet, entitled 'Appeal to the Airport staff'. ... The purging and transfer of staff marked the reinstatement of A.I. in the position. Many were reminded of their disapproval of the candidature of A.I. for the position of Chief Executive of CIA, expressed at the meeting with directors and managers. ... Once he had become Chief Executive of the Chişinău Airport for the second time and after he had successfully accomplished the first staff purge by means of the reorganisation of the enterprise's structure, A.I. called up his 'team', which had been created in between his two directorships. ... the present Director General L.P., devoted to the policy chosen by his patron A.I. ... One can become convinced about this by the example of another worker promoted by A.I. It is I.V. Not long ago, I.V. was working somewhere in the system of road transport and knew no more about planes than an ordinary person knows, and perhaps what he had been told by his relative A.I. But, probably, I.V. had shown a special interest in airport matters and the idea to hire him at the Airport came to his influential relative. To this end, he did not even hesitate to invent a new position – Deputy Director of Handling. ... Later, A.I. dismissed them from their positions... Instead of them he appointed (a) K.V. (who some time ago had graduated the Odessa Institute of Communications), (b) S.I. (a graduate of the Kiev Institute of Food Industry). ... Later on, A.I. dismissed S.I. from the position of Director of the State Air Company 'Air Moldova'.... the shady deal, behind which, in the opinion of many civil aviation employees, were A.I. and S.I.” 26. The applicant put forward a witness who claimed to have heard about a meeting that was held on the Old Airport Square. He also referred to five employees of the Airport who had been dismissed immediately after A.I.'s reinstatement, in support of his statement regarding the alleged staff purge. The court considered that there was no proof that it was A.I. who had organised the meeting on the Old Airport Square or that it was he who later organised a staff purge. The court found that, according to the existing procedures, A.I. did not have the right to employ or to dismiss personnel. Relying on statements of A.I. and S.I., the court also found that even though they had been involved in the sale of State-owned aircraft, they had been part of a special Commission created by the Government for the purpose of the transaction and that they were not the key persons in that transaction. 27. The newspaper submitted that the article had not been intended to defame the complainants and that it was ready to publish a notice correcting the factual mistakes as to I.V. being a relative of A.I. and as to the schools attended by C.V. and S.I. 28. The court ordered the applicant and the newspaper to pay A.I. damages of MDL 1,800 and MDL 3,600 respectively and to publish a notice withdrawing all the statements concerning the complainants found to be defamatory. 29. The applicant and the newspaper lodged an appeal against this judgment with the Chişinău Regional Court. The applicant requested that the decision be quashed, submitting that he had produced sufficient evidence substantiating the accuracy of the statements made in the published article, despite certain minor and accidental factual errors. 30. As regards I.V., the applicant provided copies of the former's employment record, including his previous job at an insurance company specialising in car insurance. The applicant also argued that there was nothing defamatory in the statement that I.V. was a relative of A.I. and that it was true that the position of Deputy Director of Handling had never existed before the employment of I.V. 31. In respect of C.P., the applicant noted that the accuracy of his statements had been substantiated by the written depositions of the complainant himself, which established that he had been involved in a minor aircraft accident in Budapest. 32. As to C.M., the applicant pointed out that the witnesses put forward by him (Airport employees) confirmed the acts of sexual harassment and abuse (see paragraphs 9 and 17 above) by C.M. 33. As to C.V., the applicant admitted having made an error in the job profile and that C.V. was not a veterinary surgeon but had a basic diploma in nursing. The applicant did not consider the description given by him to be defamatory. 34. In so far as S.I. was concerned, the applicant stated that confusion had occurred in respect of the institution she had graduated from. He also submitted that she had indeed worked on the economic aspects of the transaction regarding the sale of State-owned aircraft and that the dubious character of that deal was proved by an official report in an issue of the Official Gazette (“Monitorul Oficial”). 35. As regards A.I., the applicant noted that the accuracy of the allegations had been proved by the depositions of witnesses and by the content of the leaflet attached to the appeal application. 36. On 5 July 1999 the Chişinău Regional Court allowed in part the applicant's appeal and amended the District Court's decision by dismissing the initial action filed by C.P., on the ground that the statement contained in the article about him (see paragraph 15 above) had reflected the truth and had therefore not been of a defamatory nature. The court also reduced the amount of the damages to be paid by the applicant and the newspaper to the complainants. The court justified the reduction by the fact that the circulation of the newspaper “Express” was limited. Accordingly, the applicant and the newspaper were ordered to pay MDL 450 and MDL 1,350 respectively to I.V., MDL 900 and MDL 1,350 respectively to C.M., MDL 180 and MDL 1,350 respectively to C.V., MDL 180 and MDL 1,350 respectively to S.I. and MDL 900 and MDL 1,350 respectively to A.I. 37. The applicant and the newspaper lodged an appeal in cassation with the Court of Appeal, submitting that sufficient supporting evidence had been produced to the first and the second instance courts to prove the truth of the statements made in the impugned article. In particular, the applicant noted that relevant supporting information had been contained in the report of the Parliamentary Comission on the illegal sale of aircraft published in the Official Gazette and that therefore he should be exonerated from any civil responsibility. 38. On 7 September 1999 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in cassation and upheld the decisions of the Regional Court and District Court, stating that the appeal in cassation was unfounded. The court concluded that the impugned article had contained both defamatory statements which did not correspond to reality and statements which were not of a defamatory nature but did not correspond to reality. The court further ruled that the award of damages imposed on the newspaper had not in any way infringed its right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution and by the Law on the Press.

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8. The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Grudziądz, Poland. 1. Proceedings against a dentist and a health centre 9. On 18 February 1994 the applicant filed with the Grudziądz District Court (sąd rejonowy) an action in which she claimed compensation from a dentist for alleged malpractice. Subsequently, she requested the court to stay the proceedings for half a year. 10. On 5 October 1994 the court refused the applicant's request for exemption from the court costs. Her appeal against that decision was rejected as having been lodged outside the prescribed time-limit. 11. The applicant submits that she did not attend the hearing held on 8 February 1995 because she had not been informed about it. 12. On 1 March 1995 the applicant also sued the health centre at which the defendant worked. On the same day the court held a hearing. On 28 April 1995 it granted the applicant's subsequent request for exemption from the court costs. 13. On 5 May 1995 the applicant requested the court to stay the proceedings for three months. 14. On 16 May 1995 the court held a hearing. It refused the applicant's request to have the proceedings stayed. 15. On 6 June 1995 the court gave judgment, in which it dismissed the applicant's action. She appealed. 16. On 6 October 1995 the Toruń Regional Court (sąd wojewódzki) quashed a part of the first-instance judgment and remitted the case, in this part, for re-examination. It dismissed the remainder of the appeal. 17. On 11 December 1995 the Grudziądz District Court held a hearing. On 19 January 1996 the case was transferred to the Regional Court, because the applicant had increased the amount of the compensation claimed. 18. The Toruń Regional Court held hearings on 9 May 1996 and in October 1996. The hearing scheduled for 3 December 1996 was adjourned due to the absence of a witness and the defendant's representative. 19. On 16 January 1997 the court held a further hearing, at which it ordered an expert opinion. On 13 June 1997 the experts returned the case file to the court, submitting that the applicant had refused to undergo a medical examination. On 18 June 1997 she requested the appointment of other experts. 20. The court held hearings on 21 November 1997 and 10 February 1998. 21. On 10 February 1998 it gave judgment, in which it dismissed the action. The applicant appealed. 22. On 18 June 1998 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (sąd apelacyjny) dismissed her appeal. She lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. 23. On 26 July 2001 the Supreme Court dismissed that cassation appeal. 24. On 27 April 1995 the applicant filed with the Grudziądz District Court an action in which she claimed compensation for alleged malpractice on the part of doctors who had performed a laser operation on her face. 25. On 5 May 1995 the court transferred the case to the Toruń District Court. 26. On 10 July 1995 the latter court refused the applicant's request for exemption from the court costs. On 9 August 1995 the Toruń Regional Court dismissed her appeal against that decision. 27. On 7 September 1995 the District Court summoned the applicant to specify the defendant party. 28. On 13 October 1995 the first hearing was held. Subsequently, the applicant increased the claimed amount. 29. The court summoned her to specify her claim. It adjourned the hearing scheduled for 14 November 1995 due to the applicant's failure to comply with its order relating to her claim. 30. On 20 November 1995 she increased the amount of the claimed compensation. 31. On 23 November 1995 the court exempted the applicant from the court costs and transferred the case to the Toruń Regional Court, following the increase of the applicant's claims. 32. On 7 March 1996 the court held a hearing. On 3 April 1996 it ordered the preparation of an expert opinion. The opinion was submitted to the court on 30 May 1996. 33. On 27 June 1996 the applicant challenged that opinion. On 16 September 1996 she requested the court to appoint another expert. 34. At the hearing held on 17 September the court requested the applicant to indicate other experts who could prepare the opinion. She provided the required information on 28 October 1996. On 6 December 1996 the court ordered another expert opinion, which was supposed to be prepared by 31 March 1997. In July 1997 the Warsaw Academy of Medicine, in charge of the preparation of that opinion, informed the court that due to the prolonged absence of an expert it was unable to set up a three-member commission to examine the case, the applicant having refused to be examined by only two members. In November 1997 the court summoned the Academy to expedite the work on the opinion, on pain of a fine. The opinion was submitted to the applicant in March 1998. On 17 April 1998 she challenged it. 35. On 17 April 1998 the court held a hearing. 36. On 24 April 1998 the Toruń Regional Court gave judgment, in which it dismissed the action. The applicant appealed. 37. On 20 October 1998 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal. The applicant lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court. On 24 November 1998 a legal-aid lawyer was appointed for her. On 11 January 1999 the Supreme Court summoned that lawyer to rectify procedural defects in that cassation appeal. 38. On 31 August 2001 the Supreme Court refused to entertain the applicant's cassation appeal. It relied on a provision of the newly amended Code of Civil Procedure empowering it to leave without examination manifestly ill-founded appeals or appeals in cases where no serious legal issue arises.

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9. The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Sofia. 10. During the relevant period the applicant, who was addicted to drugs, was charged with numerous counts of theft. The charges concerned thefts of electric appliances, small amounts of money, small religious ceremonial objects, food, cigarettes and objects of higher value, such as icons and antiquities. More than twenty separate investigations were launched in relation to those thefts. Some of the investigations were initially instituted against an unknown perpetrator whereas in others the applicant, either alone or together with other persons, was named as the suspected perpetrator from the outset. 11. In the course of the ensuing criminal proceedings the investigations were grouped. Two sets of such grouped proceedings are relevant to the present application: one concerning petty thefts and the second concerning icons and antiquities. 12. These included eight investigations and four summary investigations, instituted between 1993 and 1996. The applicant was charged for the first time on 26 October 1993 in respect of one of the investigations. Later charges were brought in the remainder and eventually the twelve files were joined. 13. During the investigation, between 1993 and 1996, the applicant and other suspected or accused persons were interrogated numerous times, forty‑four witnesses were questioned, fifteen on-site visits were made, nine searches were undertaken and numerous expert reports were commissioned and examined (psychiatric reports, finger-print reports and accounting reports). 14. Approximately one third of these acts of investigation concerned charges under which the applicant was eventually convicted. The remainder concerned charges in respect of which the applicant was later acquitted. 15. On 27 October 1994 the competent prosecutor referred the case back to the investigator as there had been irregularities and discrepancies. The investigator concluded his work on 15 June 1995. 16. On 20 February 1996 the Sofia Prosecutor’s Office submitted an indictment to the Sofia District Court. 17. On 18 March 1996 the Sofia District Court, noting that there had been breaches of procedural rules and discrepancies as regards the value of some of the stolen objects, referred the case back to the prosecutor. 18. On 20 February 1997 the prosecutor submitted a fresh indictment. 19. On 28 February 1997 the District Court, noting that some of the defects of the indictment had not been remedied despite the instructions given in the decision of 18 March 1996 and pointing to other discrepancies, referred the case back to the prosecutor. 20. On 22 January 1998 the prosecutor again submitted an indictment. 21. On 6 February 1998 the Sofia District Court, noting that certain procedural rules concerning the modification of the charges had not been observed, referred the case back to the prosecutor once more. 22. The final version of the indictment was submitted on 19 February 1998. It concerned sixteen counts of theft allegedly committed by the applicant and two other persons. 23. Throughout the judicial proceedings the applicant and his lawyer regularly appeared when summoned and did not cause any of the adjournments. 24. The first hearing was held on 13 May 1998. The court noted that one of the co-accused persons was not legally represented whereas legal representation was mandatory in view of the contradictory interests of the three accused persons. As a result, the hearing was adjourned. 25. It resumed on 10 June 1998 but had to be adjourned as one of the accused persons had not appeared. The court ordered his arrest. 26. On 14 July 1998 the hearing proceeded with the questioning of the three accused persons. Several experts and witnesses were also heard. As some of the witnesses had not appeared, the case was adjourned. 27. At the next hearing, held on 12 October 1998, several witnesses were heard. Others had not appeared, which necessitated an adjournment. 28. The hearing scheduled for 10 November 1998 could not proceed as one of the applicant’s co-accused was ill. 29. When the hearing resumed on 7 December 1998 several witnesses were heard but an adjournment was again necessary as other witnesses had not appeared. 30. The next hearing took place on 11 February 1999. Several witnesses were heard. The failure of one witness to appear prompted another adjournment. 31. Throughout the relevant period the Sofia District Court sought police assistance for the establishment of the addresses of witnesses. 32. On 29 March 1999, at the last hearing, the Sofia District Court acquitted the applicant on nine of the charges and convicted him on the remaining seven. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, suspended. 33. On 27 April 1999 the applicant appealed to the Sofia City Court. 34. The Sofia City Court listed a hearing for 13 December 1999 which, however, could not proceed as one of the accused persons did not appear. 35. The hearing took place on 10 April 2000. 36. On 12 June 2000 the Sofia City Court delivered its judgment. It accepted the applicant’s argument that the case should be treated as one concerning a continuing criminal activity and modified the conviction accordingly while upholding the sentence. 37. This second group of proceedings commenced on 26 November 1992 when the applicant was arrested and charged with theft. Other files, concerning separate thefts were opened between 1992 and 1995. The applicant was charged with having stolen icons and antiquities. 38. During the preliminary investigation ten files concerning separate thefts were joined. Eventually, however, the indictment only concerned four thefts, the other charges having been dropped. 39. Some of the investigations launched in 1992, 1993 and 1994 were suspended soon after their beginning as the perpetrators were unknown at the time. They resumed in 1996, when the applicant and other persons were charged. 40. In the course of the investigations many witnesses were heard, several accused persons, including the applicant were questioned, on-site visits and searches were made and expert reports were commissioned and examined. Apparently, only a part of those investigation acts concerned charges eventually retained. According to the applicant, the relevant investigation activity was limited to the questioning of eleven witnesses, three confrontations, six expert reports, four on-site visits and one search. 41. On 13 March 1997 the investigator completed his work and submitted the file to the competent prosecutor. 42. On 23 April 1997 the prosecutor ordered additional investigation. Those were finalised on 1 August 1997. 43. After having decided to drop one of the charges, on 10 December 1997 the prosecutor again referred the case back to the investigator who complied with the instructions and submitted a revised report on 19 March 1998. 44. On 26 June 1998 the prosecutor submitted an indictment to the Sofia City Court against three accused persons, including the applicant. 45. Throughout the judicial proceedings before the Sofia City Court the applicant and his lawyer regularly appeared when summoned and did not cause any of the adjournments. 46. The first hearing before the Sofia City Court, acting as a trial court, was listed for 13 November 1998 but could not proceed as one of the accused persons had not been summoned. 47. On 10 December 1998 and 13 January 1999 the trial could not begin as no ex officio lawyer had appeared for one of the accused, despite the court’s repeated requests to the Sofia Bar. 48. The hearing scheduled for 9 March 1999 could not proceed as one of the accused persons could not be brought from prison owing to his ill health. 49. The trial eventually began on 5 May 1999. On that day the Sofia City Court heard the accused persons and the witnesses who had appeared. As some of the witnesses had not shown up, the hearing was adjourned until 15 June 1999. 50. On that day another adjournment was ordered as certain witnesses and experts had not appeared. 51. The hearing could not proceed on 13 October 1999 as one of the accused persons, a prisoner, was not brought to the courtroom: the Minister of Justice had imposed a five-day ban on transfers of prisoners in view of municipal elections during that period. 52. On 12 November and 13 December 1999 the hearing was again adjourned as the lawyers of two of the accused persons had not appeared, apparently owing to ill health. 53. Throughout the relevant period the Sofia City Court sought police assistance for the establishment of the addresses of witnesses. 54. The last hearing took place on 23 December 1999. On that day the Sofia City Court convicted the applicant in respect of three thefts and acquitted him in respect of the fourth alleged theft. He was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. The two other accused persons were also convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. 55. Both the applicant and the prosecution appealed to the Sofia Appellate Court. 56. The applicant’s whereabouts were unknown until 15 December 2000 when he was arrested on new charges, unrelated to the present case. As a result of the applicant’s address being unknown, the Sofia Appellate Court could not proceed with the case until January 2001. 57. A hearing was listed for 30 March 2001 but was adjourned as one of the other accused persons was not legally represented. It appears that he was unable to continue paying his lawyer, which necessitated the appointment of an ex officio counsel and therefore an adjournment. 58. On an unspecified date in 2001 the Sofia Appellate Court held a hearing which was however adjourned as the report on the value of the stolen objects had not been submitted. 59. On 8 March 2002, having received the experts’ opinion that the value of the icons could not be determined, the Sofia Appellate Court set aside the judgment of the Sofia City Court of 23 December 1999 and referred the case to the preliminary investigation stage of the proceedings. The Appellate Court found, inter alia, that there had been a number of discrepancies concerning the value of the stolen objects which affected the legal characterisation of the charges, that the lower court’s judgment had not provided sufficient reasoning and that it had relied on inadmissible evidence. 60. As of 27 March 2002, the date of the latest information received from the parties in relation to the icons and antiquities case, the proceedings were pending at the investigation stage. 61. On 26 November 1992 the applicant was arrested and remanded in custody on one of the charges which eventually resulted in the criminal case concerning thefts of icons and antiquities. On 11 January 1993 the applicant was released on bail. 62. On 26 October 1993 the applicant was arrested and detained pending trial in relation to the group of case files which eventually resulted in the petty thefts case against him. On 8 April 1994 he was released on bail. 63. On 5 August 1994 the applicant was again arrested in relation to the petty thefts set of case files, brought before an investigator or a prosecutor, charged with additional counts of theft and placed under pre-trial detention. 64. On 17 October 1994 the applicant’s petition for release was dismissed by a prosecutor. 65. On 5 January 1995 another petition for release was dismissed on grounds that the applicant was suspected of having committed offences after his release on 8 April 1994 and that therefore there existed a danger of re‑offending. 66. On 27 August 1996 a request for release submitted by the applicant was dismissed by a district prosecutor. That decision was upheld on 23 September 1996 by a regional prosecutor. The applicant’s ensuing appeal was dismissed on 9 October 1996 by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The decision stated, inter alia, that the applicant was charged with numerous serious crimes and that there were other criminal proceedings pending against him. Therefore, his detention was mandatory under Article 152 § 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 67. According to the applicant, on 11 March and again on 24 April 1997 he submitted to the Sofia District Court, through the prison administration, appeals against his detention. The applicant stated that he had obtained registration numbers under the outgoing correspondence register of the prison but had never been notified of any examination or decision on his appeals. According to the Government, there was no evidence supporting the applicant’s statement that he had submitted appeals in March and April 1997 68. On 12 August 1997 the applicant appealed to the Sofia District Court against his pre-trial detention. He relied, inter alia, on a legislative amendment, in force since 12 August 1997, according to which pre-trial detention pending the preliminary investigation could not exceed one or two years, depending on the gravity of the charges. 69. The District Court held a hearing on 25 September 1997 and ordered the applicant’s unconditional release. The District Court stated, inter alia, that the applicant had been diagnosed as suffering from addiction to drugs and was in need of medical treatment. Furthermore, all evidence in the case had been collected. 70. Despite the District Court’s decision of 25 September 1997 the applicant was only released on 23 October 1997 owing to a misunderstanding concerning the different cases pending against him. 71. In particular, during a certain period of time, the petty thefts case had been dealt with under investigation file number 965/94. The applicant’s initial detention order of 5 August 1994 carried that reference. When later another file, no. 415A/96, had been added to the set, the latter number had become the number of the joint file. In his appeal to the District Court of 12 August 1997 the applicant had referred to file number 415A/96, which also figured in the District Court’s decision of 25 September 1997 ordering his release. 72. That decision was transmitted to the prison administration on 25 September 1997. The prison administration, apparently noting that there existed a detention order under investigation case number 965/94 and considering that that was a separate case, concluded that the applicant should remain in pre-trial detention. No written document was issued in this respect. 73. On 17 October 1997 the applicant submitted a complaint to the District Court stating that he was still in detention. He also stated that the two file numbers concerned the same case. The complaint was registered at the District Court on 21 October 1997. 74. On 23 October 1997 the District Court wrote to the prison administration clarifying the matter. The applicant was released on the same day. 75. On an unspecified date in 1997 the applicant, assisted by a lawyer, brought before the Sofia City Court a civil action against the prosecuting authorities and the Sofia District Court claiming non-pecuniary damages for his allegedly unlawful detention between 16 August 1997, the date by which his appeal of 12 August 1997 should have been decided in accordance with the statutory three-day time-limit, and 23 October 1997, the date on which he was released. 76. After several hearings, on 14 May 2001 the Sofia City Court reserved judgment. 77. By judgment of 27 February 2003 the Sofia City Court dismissed the applicant’s claims on grounds that the period of his pre-trial detention had been deducted from the term of imprisonment to which he had been sentenced and that no compensation for non-pecuniary damage was due in such circumstances. The applicant appealed. 78. On 24 March 2004 the Sofia Appellate Court partly upheld the lower court’s judgment, quashed it for the remainder and decided on the merits. 79. The Appellate Court noted that the fact that the applicant’s request for release filed on 12 August 1997 had not been examined until 25 September 1997 was in violation of domestic law. Nevertheless, the court considered that it was not possible to speculate whether or not his release would have been ordered had his application been examined before 25 September 1997. For these reasons, the court upheld the City Court’s judgment dismissing the applicant’s claims for the period between 16 August and 25 September 1997. 80. The Appellate Court found, however, that from 26 September until the applicant’s release on 23 October 1997 his detention had not been based on any legal ground. The court did not accept the reasoning of the Sofia City Court as regards the deduction of the time spent by the applicant in detention, since that deduction had been made from a suspended sentence and, therefore, the applicant had not benefited from a shorter stay in prison. On that basis the Appellate Court ordered the Prosecutor’s Office, the body in charge of supervising the enforcement of pre-trial detention orders, to pay to the applicant 500 Bulgarian levs (“BGN”) in non-pecuniary damages for his unlawful detention between 26 September 1997 and 23 October 1997. Since the applicant’s claim had been for BGN 7,000 and he owed court fees in an amount proportionate to the dismissed part of his claims, the applicant was ordered to pay BGN 260 in court fees. The applicant was thus eventually entitled to BGN 240 in compensation (the equivalent of about EUR 120). 81. The applicant filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Cassation. As of July 2004 the proceedings were pending.

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