FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 40271/02 by Galmutdin Khayritdinovich KHAYRITDINOV against Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 22 January 2004 as a Chamber composed of:

Mr C.L. Rozakis , President , Mrs F. Tulkens , Mr E. Levits , Mrs S. Botoucharova , Mr A. Kovler , Mrs E. Steiner , Mr K. Hajiyev, judges , and Mr S. Nielsen , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 10 October 2001,

Having regard to the Court's decision to apply the procedure under Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together,

Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, Mr Galmutdin Khayritdinovich Khayritdinov, is a Russian national who was born in 1931 and lives in Yekaterinburg.

A. The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

In 1998 the applicant brought proceedings against the Welfare Ministry of the Sverdlovsk Region to claim compensation for damage to his health sustained during his military service.

On 9 June 2001 the Leninskiy District Court of Yekaterinburg granted the applicant's claim. He was awarded the arrears for the period from 1 February 1998 until 9 June 2001 in the amount of RUR 55,975.49.

On 20 August 2001 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court reversed this judgment on appeal and remitted the case to the first instance court for fresh examination.

On 26 November 2001 the Leninskiy District Court of Yekaterinburg granted the applicant's claim. He was awarded the arrears for the period from 1 February 1998 until 26 November 2001 in the amount of RUR 63,892.62.

On 19 March 2002 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court reversed this judgment on appeal and remitted the case to the first instance court for fresh examination.

On 11 April 2002 the Leninskiy District Court of Yekaterinburg awarded the applicant the arrears for the period from 1 February 1998 until 31 March 2002 in the amount of RUR 53,036.19.

On 15 August 2002 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court upheld the judgment of 11 April 2002.

On 31 January 2003 the Leninskiy District Court of Yekaterinburg took an additional decision clarifying its judgment of 11 April 2002. It stated that the applicant was entitled to a monthly payment of RUR 2,500.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained under Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention about the authorities' failure to pay the judgment debt.

THE LAW

On 1 December 2003 the applicant informed the Court that all the outstanding amounts, updated to take account of inflation, had been paid to him, along with compensation for non-pecuniary damage. He informed the Court that he wished to withdraw his application.

The Court notes that the applicant does not intend to pursue his application within the meaning of Article 37 of the Convention, which, in so far as material, reads:

“1. The Court may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that

(a) the applicant does not intend to pursue his application; ...

...

However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto so requires.”

The Court considers that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols does not require it to continue the examination of the case.

In these circumstances it considers that the application to the case of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should be discontinued and that the case should be struck out of the list in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Søren Nielsen Christos Rozakis Registrar President