EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 745

 19.10.2000

Press release issued by the Registrar

CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING:

GREECE AND ITALY

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

(1)  Ambruosi v. Italy (application no. 31227/96)             Violation Article 1 Protocol No. 1

Virginia Ambruosi, an Italian national and a lawyer who had acted as counsel for certain pensioners claiming undue tax they had paid on their old-age pensions, complained about the offsetting, through a law-decree, of the legal costs relating to these proceedings, in which she had obtained from the relevant courts the direct discharge of her fees.

The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No.1. (peaceful enjoyment of possessions) of the European Convention on Human Rights. As the applicant did not submit a claim for just satisfaction or costs, the Court held that the finding of a violation constituted sufficient just satisfaction for any non-pecuniary damage suffered. The judgment is available only in English

(2)  Ikonomitsios v. Greece (no. 43615/98)                    Violation Article 6 § 1

Vassilios Ikonomitsios, a Greek national, complained about the length of the criminal proceedings, on fraud charges, against him (at least thirteen years, four months and ten days). The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the Convention and awarded him 2,000,000 drachmas (GRD) for non-pecuniary damage and GRD 1,000,000 for costs and expenses. (Judgment in French)

(3)  Zarmakoupis and Sakellaropoulos v. Greece (no. 44741/98)        Violation Article 6 § 1

Anastassios Zarmakoupis and Georgios Sakellaropoulos, both Greek nationals, complained about the length of the criminal proceedings (six years and ten months) issued against them  for fraud and forgery. The Court held unanimously that there had a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded each applicant a total of GRD 5,000,000 for pecuniary and 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.