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CLOSTERLING v. SWEDEN

Doc ref: 12195/86 • ECHR ID: 001-231

Document date: August 8, 1988

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Cited paragraphs: 0
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CLOSTERLING v. SWEDEN

Doc ref: 12195/86 • ECHR ID: 001-231

Document date: August 8, 1988

Cited paragraphs only

AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF

Application No. 12195/86

by Eric CLOSTERLING

against Sweden

The European Commission of Human Rights sitting in private

on 8 September 1988, the following members being present:

MM. C. A. NØRGAARD, President

E. BUSUTTIL

G. JÖRUNDSSON

A. S. GÖZÜBÜYÜK

A. WEITZEL

J. C. SOYER

G. BATLINER

H. VANDENBERGHE

Mrs. G. H. THUNE

MM. F. MARTINEZ

C. L. ROZAKIS

Mrs. J. LIDDY

Mr. J. RAYMOND, Deputy Secretary to the Commission

Having regard to Article 25 of the Convention for the

Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

Having regard to the application introduced on 24 March 1986

by Eric CLOSTERLING against Sweden and registered on 29 May 1986 under

file No. 12195/86;

Having regard to the report provided for in Rule 40 of the

Rules of Procedure of the Commission;

Having deliberated;

Decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The facts of the case, as they appear from the applicant's

submissions, may be summarised as follows.

The applicant is a Swedish citizen born in 1924 and resident

at Norrköping.

The applicant owns a property, Stg 2257 CD, on which he lives.

On 28 October 1981 the Health Care Committee

(hälsovårdsnämnden) of the Municipality of Norrköping rejected an

application from the applicant for permission to install a water

closet on his property.

The applicant appealed to the County Administrative Board

(länsstyrelsen) of the County of Östergötland, which rejected the

appeal on 8 April 1982. In its decision the Board found that further

private water closets would create a sanitary risk in the area in

question.

The applicant appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal

(kammarrätten) of Jönköping which, on 25 May 1984, rejected the

appeal. In its judgment the Court noted that since 1 July 1983

Section 7 para. 2 of the Health Care Act (hälsoskyddslagen) required

the permission of the Environmental and Health Care Committee

(miljö-och hälsoskyddsnämnden) as a condition for the installation of

a sewage system to which a water closet is connected. However, in

view of the plans of the municipality for the area in question as well

as other circumstances, the Court considered that the applicant's

request for such permission should not be granted.

The applicant appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court

(regeringsrätten), which, on 6 December 1985, refused to grant leave

to appeal.

In a letter of 20 August 1985 to the applicant a member of the

Health Care Committee, in his capacity as the local chairman of the

Conservative Party, stated that "it is a breach of the law to bury the

sewage on one's own property". According to the applicant, other

members of the Committee had accused him of destroying the ground

water.

On 3 March 1986 the Environmental and Health Committee of

Norrköping rejected a fresh application from the applicant for a

permit to install a water closet with a closed system.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complains that he is not allowed to install a

water closet with a closed sewage system on his property, and he

submits that members of the Health Care Committee have accused him of

breaches of the law. He alleges that Article 6 paras. 1 and 2 of the

Convention have been violated.

THE LAW

1. The applicant complains that he has not been granted a permit

to install a water closet on his property. He invokes Article 6

paras. 1 and 2 (Art. 6-1, 6-2) of the Convention. Article 6 para. 1

(Art. 6-1) first sentence reads:

"In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or

of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to

a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an

independent and impartial tribunal established by law."

In an earlier decision the Commission has found that Article 6

para. 1 (Art. 6-1) of the Convention is not applicable to a

determination as to whether an individual should be granted a permit

to install a water closet on his property, since such a decision does

not relate to that individual's "civil rights" (see No. 11225/85, Dec.

7.10.85, unpublished). The Commission finds no reason to depart from

this view in the present case.

It follows that this part of the application is incompatible

ratione materiae with the provisions of the Convention within the

meaning of Article 27 para. 2 (Art. 6-2).

2. Article 6 para. 2 (Art. 6-2) of the Convention guarantees to an

individual who is charged with a criminal offence the right to be

presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, the Commission finds

no appearance of a violation of this provision on the facts presented

by the applicant.

It follows that in this respect the application is manifestly

ill-founded within the meaning of Article 27 para. 2 (Art. 27-2) of

the Convention.

3. The Commission further finds that there is no other provision

in the Convention or its Protocols on which the applicant could claim a

right to be allowed to install a water closet on his property.

For these reasons, the Commission

DECLARES THE APPLICATION INADMISSIBLE

Deputy Secretary to the Commission President of the Commission

(J. RAYMOND) (C. A. NØRGAARD)

LEXI

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