EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 894

 12.12.2000

Press release issued by the Registrar

CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING:

France

The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following two Chamber judgments[1]:

Section 3

(1)  Ballestra v. France (application no. 28660/95)         Violation Article 6 § 1

Albin Ballestra, a French national, complained about the length of three sets of administrative proceedings (lasting more than eight years, more than nine years and six months and nearly eight years and eleven months) following his committal to compulsory psychiatric care. The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights and awarded the applicant 85,000 French francs (FRF) for non-pecuniary damage and FRF 15,300 for costs and expenses. The judgment is available only in French.

(2)  Geneste v. France (no. 48994/99)         Violation Article 6 § 1

Daniel Geneste, a French national, complained about the length (nine years and five days) of industrial tribunal proceedings to which he was a party. The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded him FRF 40,000 for non-pecuniary damage. (Judgment 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.