issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 304 (2023)
09.11.2023
Judgments and decisions of 9 November 2023
The European Court of Human Rights has today given notification in writing of 13 judgments1 and
ten decisions2:
two Chamber judgments are summarised below;
a separate press release has been issued for one Chamber judgment in the case of Legros and Others
v. France (application no. 72173/17 and 17 other applications);
a separate press release has also been issued for a decision in the case of Rivadulla Duró v. Spain
(no. 27925/21)
ten Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been examined by the Court, and
The judgments summarised below are available only in English.
Toivanen v. Finland (application no. 46131/19)
The applicant, Kari Risto Kalevi Toivanen, is a Finnish national who was born in 1958 and lives in
Sulkava (Finland). He is a lawyer licensed to act as counsel before the courts.
In connection to court proceedings he himself was involved in, he wrote emails to several judges and
judicial bodies, criticising them and asking them to take measures on his behalf. This led to the Board
on Trial Counsel (oikeudenkäyntiavustajalautakunta, rättegångsbiträdesnämnden) revoking his
licence to represent clients before the courts. The case concerns the applicant’s appeal against that
decision to the Helsinki Court of Appeal and that court’s subsequent decision to hear the case in its
extended composition.
Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicant
complains of bias against him in the Court of Appeal and of the alleged unlawful transfer of his case
to the extended composition of that court.
No violation of Article 6
Lang v. Ukraine (no. 49134/20)
The applicant, Craig Austin Lang, is a United States national who was born in 1990 and lives in Kyiv.
Mr Lang, who had previously served in the US army, fought with varying Ukrainian armed formations
for several periods between 2015-19. The case concerns the possible extradition of Mr Lang to the
US following requests by the US Government. He is wanted in the States of Florida, North Carolina
and Arizona and for a number of offences, including, among others, use and discharge of a firearm
during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in murder; conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or
1
Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a judgment’s
delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five
judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final
judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,
judgments delivered by a Committee are final.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution.
2
Inadmissibility and strike-out decisions are final.
