EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
822
8.11.2001
Press release issued by the Registrar
CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING
Denmark, France and Turkey
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following three Chamber judgments of which only Tuncay and Özlem Kaya v. Turkey is final[1]:
SECTION 2
(1) Laumont v. France (application no. 43626/98) No violation Article 5 § 1
Guy Laumont, a French national, relying on Article 5 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, complained of unlawful detention on account of the fact that his detention had continued pursuant to the initial order for his detention pending trial, and in the absence of any order extending that measure, while further inquiries ordered by the Court of Appeal were being conducted.
The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights. (The judgment is available only in French.)
SECTION 4
(2) Tuncay and Özlem Kaya v. Turkey (no. 31733/96) Friendly settlement
On 22 October 1995, during a security operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the applicants, both Turkish nationals, were arrested and placed in police custody. Tuncay Kaya was held for 14 days and Özlem Kaya, for four days. On 8 June 1998 Tuncay Kaya was found guilty of belonging to an illegal organisation and sentenced to 14 years, eight months and 20 days imprisonment. He is being held in Kırklareli Prison.
Tuncay Kaya complained that the length of his detention in police custody was excessive, that the proceedings were unfair and that the Istanbul State Security Court was not independent or impartial. He relied on Article 5 §§ 3 (right to be brought promptly before a judge) and 4 (right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court) and Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (right to a fair trial).
The case has been struck out following a friendly settlement in which 27,000 French francs (FRF) is to be paid to Tuncay Kaya for any non-pecuniary and pecuniary damage and FRF 10,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French.)
(3) Sarı v. Turkey and Denmark (no. 21889/93) No violation Article 6 § 1
Hamdi Sari, a Turkish national born in 1945, was judged in Turkey for a crime committed in Denmark. He complained, relying on Article 6 § 1, about the length of the criminal proceedings against him, which lasted eight years, seven months and 22 days.
The Court held unanimously that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 1. (The judgment is available only in French.)
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The Court’s judgments are accessible on its Internet site (http://www.echr.coe.int).
Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Contacts: Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)
Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15)
Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91
The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.
[1] Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the
17-member Grand Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its Protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.