CASE OF JANOWIEC AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 55508/07 and 29520/09)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

16 April 2012

Referral to the Grand Chamber

24/09/2012

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Janowiec and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (former Fifth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:

Dean Spielmann, President,
Karel Jungwiert,
Boštjan M. Zupančič,
Anatoly Kovler,
Mark Villiger,
Ganna Yudkivska,
Angelika Nußberger, judges,
andStephen Phillips, Deputy SectionRegistrar,

Having deliberated in private on 20 March 2012,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in two applications (nos. 55508/07 and 29520/09) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by fifteen Polish nationals (“the applicants”), on 19 November 2007 and 24 May 2009, respectively.

2. The applicants’ names are listed in paragraphs 22 to 34 below. They live in Polandand the United States of America. The applicants Mr Janowiec and Mr Trybowski were represented before the Court by Mr J. Szewczyk, a Polish lawyer practising in Warsaw. Mr J. Malewicz was granted leave to present his own case (Rule 36 § 2 in fine of the Rules of Court). All the other applicants were represented by DrI.Kamiński from the Institute of Legal Studies, MrR.Nowosielski and Mr B. Sochański, Polish lawyers practising respectively in Gdańsk, Szczecin, as well as by Mr R. Karpinskiy and MsA.Stavitskaya, Russian lawyers practising in Moscow.

3. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were represented by Mr G. Matyushkin, Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights.

4. The Polish Government, who intervened in the case in accordance with Article 36 § 1 of the Convention, were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

5. On 7 October 2008 and 24 November 2009 the Court decided to give notice of the applications to the Russian and Polish Governments. It was also decided to grant priority to the applications under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court. The parties submitted their observations on the admissibility and merits of the applications.

6. By a decision of 5 July 2011, the Court joined the applications. It further decided to join to the merits the Government’s objection to the Court’s jurisdiction ratione temporis in respect of the complaint under the procedural limb of Article 2 of the Convention and declared the applicationspartially admissible.

7. The parties filed further written observations (Rule 59 § 1).

8. A hearing took place in public in the HumanRightsBuilding, Strasbourg, on 6 October 2011 (Rule 59 § 3).

There appeared before the Court:

(a) for the Russian Government
Mr G.Matyushkin, Representative,
Mr N.Mikhaylov,
Mr P.Smirnov, Advisers;

(b) for the applicants
Mr I. Kamiński,
Mr B. Sochański, Counsel,
Mr J. Szewczyk,
Mr R. Nowosielski,
Ms A. Stavitskaya, Advisers;

(c) for the Polish Government
Mr J. Wołąsiewicz, Agent,
Ms A. Mężykowska,
Mr C. Swinarski, Advisers.

The Court heard addresses by Mr Kamiński and Mr Sochański, Mr Matyushkin, Mr Wołąsiewicz and Ms Mężykowska and their replies to questions put by its members.

THE FACTS

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 802