A.S. v. AUSTRIA
Doc ref: 15220/89 • ECHR ID: 001-45622
Document date: October 15, 1993
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Application No. 15220/89
A. S.
against
Austria
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
(adopted on 15 October 1993)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
PART I: STATEMENT OF THE FACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PART II: SOLUTION REACHED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
INTRODUCTION
1. This Report relates to the application introduced under
Article 25 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by A.S. against Austria on 5 June 1989.
It was registered on 19 July 1989 under file No. 15220/89.
The applicant was represented by Mr. T. Prader, a lawyer
practising in Vienna.
The Government of Austria were represented by their Agent,
Mr. F. Cede, Ambassador, Head of the International Law Department at
the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. On 3 May 1993 the Commission declared admissible the applicant's
complaints under Article 8 of the Convention regarding his surveillance
by the police from 1970 to 1978 and the storing of the data so
obtained, and to this extent also the complaint under Article 13 of the
Convention, and declared inadmissible the remainder of the
application. It then proceeded to carry out its task under Article
28 para. 1 of the Convention which provides as follows:
"In the event of the Commission accepting a petition referred to
it:
a. it shall, with a view to ascertaining the facts, undertake
together with the representatives of the parties an
examination of the petition and, if need be, an
investigation, for the effective conduct of which the
States concerned shall furnish all necessary facilities,
after an exchange of views with the Commission;
b. it shall at the same time place itself at the disposal of
the parties concerned with a view to securing a friendly
settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for Human
Rights as defined in this Convention."
3. The Commission found that the parties had reached a friendly
settlement of the case and on 15 October 1993 it adopted this Report,
which, in accordance with Article 28 para. 2 of the Convention, is
confined to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached.
The following members were present when the Report was adopted:
MM. C.A. NØRGAARD, President
S. TRECHSEL
A. WEITZEL
F. ERMACORA
E. BUSUTTIL
G. JÖRUNDSSON
A.S. GÖZÜBÜYÜK
J.-C. SOYER
H.G. SCHERMERS
H. DANELIUS
Mrs. G.H. THUNE
MM. F. MARTINEZ
C.L. ROZAKIS
Mrs. J. LIDDY
MM. J.-C. GEUS
M.P. PELLONPÄÄ
B. MARXER
G.B. REFFI
M.A. NOWICKI
I. CABRAL BARRETO
B. CONFORTI
N. BRATZA
PART I
STATEMENT OF THE FACTS
4. The applicant, born in 1950, is an Austrian national resident in
Vienna. On 25 March 1983 the applicant unsuccessfully applied for the
post of a librarian at the Federal Chancellery.
5. On 15 May 1988 he received from an anonymous sender a copy of his
personal file which had been established by the Federal Chancellery
upon his job application in 1983. It appeared from this file that the
Federal Chancellery had ordered police investigations in respect of the
applicant. The file contained, inter alia, a report by the Vienna
Federal Police Department (Bundespolizeidirektion) on police
investigations carried out between 1970 and 1978. The applicant's
complaint with the Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof)
remained unsuccessful. On 7 November 1991 the Data Protection
Commission (Datenschutzkommission) found that the Vienna Federal Police
Department had violated Section 1 para. 1 of the Data Protection Act
(Datenschutzgesetz) by transferring several data to the Federal
Chancellery.
6. Before the Commission the applicant complained under Article 8
para. 1 of the Convention that the police surveillance from 1970 until
1978, the storage of the data compiled during that period and their
transfer to the Federal Chancellery violated his right to respect for
his private life and that he had no effective remedy within the meaning
of Article 13 of the Convention against those violations.
7. On 1 May 1993 the Security Police Act (Sicherheitspolizei-
gesetz) entered into force which regulates the collecting and
processing of personal data by police authorities.
PART II
SOLUTION REACHED
8. Following the decision on the admissibility of the application,
the Commission placed itself at the disposal of the parties with a view
to securing a friendly settlement in accordance with Article 28
para. 1 (b) of the Convention and invited the parties to submit any
proposals they wished to make.
9. In accordance with the usual practice, the Secretary to the
Commission, acting on the Commission's instructions, contacted the
parties to explore the possibilities of reaching a friendly settlement.
10. By letters of 17 August and 6 September 1993 the parties
submitted the following agreement reached between them:
"Erklärungen der Parteien zur gütlichen Regelung
In der Beschwerdesache Nr. 15220/89 des Herrn (Name des
Beschwerdeführers) einigen sich die Parteien unter Bezugnahme auf
Artikel 28 Abs. 1 lit. b der Europäischen Konvention zum Schutze der
Menschenrechte und Grundfreiheiten und unter Mitwirkung der
Europäischen Kommission für Menschenrechte auf die nachstehende
gütliche Regelung:
1. Die österreichische Regierung zahlt dem Beschwerdeführer
als Ausgleich für sämtliche etwaige Ansprüche im Zusammenhang mit
der vorliegenden Beschwerde einen Gesamtbetrag von öS 130.000,--.
Dieser Betrag umfaßt öS 50.000,-- hinsichtlich der Gebühren und
Auslagen, die im Rahmen des Verfahrens vor der Kommission
entstanden sind.
Dieser Betrag wird an den Verfahrensbevollmächtigten des
Beschwerdeführers Herrn Rechtsanwalt Dr. Thomas Prader in Wien
überwiesen.
2. Die Republik Österreich verpflichtet sich, die den
Beschwerdeführer betreffende Karteikarte, die im Zuge der
Ermittlungen über seine Person angelegt wurde und die noch
Vorhanden ist, zu vernichten.
3. Der Beschwerdeführer erklärt seine oben genannte Beschwerde
als erledigt.
4. Der Beschwerdeführer verzichtet auf die Geltendmachung
allfälliger weiterer Forderungen gegen die Republik Österreich
im Zusammenhang mit dem der Beschwerde zugrundeliegenden
Sachverhalt."
"Statements of the parties with a view to a friendly settlement
With reference to Article 28 para. 1 (b) of the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
the parties in the proceedings concerning Application No. 15220/89,
lodged by Mr. (name of the applicant), declare with a view to a
friendly settlement, reached with assistance of the European Commission
of Human Rights, as follows:
1. The Government of the Republic of Austria will pay to the
applicant a sum amounting to altogether AS 130,000 as
compensation in respect of any possible claims relating to the
present application. This sum includes AS 50,000 in respect of
counsel's fees and expenses incurred in the proceedings before
the Commission.
This amount will be paid to the applicant's representative
Mr. Thomas Prader in Vienna.
2. The Republic of Austria undertakes to destroy the
applicant's file card which was established in the course of the
investigations concerning him and which is still in existence.
3. The applicant declares his application settled.
4. The applicant waives any further claims against the
Republic of Austria relating to the present application."
11. At its session on 15 October 1993, the Commission noted that the
parties had reached an agreement regarding the terms of a settlement.
The Commission further noted that on 1 May 1993 the Security Police Act
had entered into force which regulates the collecting and processing
of personal data by police authorities.
The Commission considered, having regard to Article 28
para. 1 (b) of the Convention, that the friendly settlement of the case
had been secured on the basis of respect for Human Rights as defined
in the Convention.
12. For these reasons, the Commission adopted this Report.
Deputy Secretary to the Commission President of the Commission
(M. de SALVIA) (C.A. NORGAARD)