THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 35015/97 by Tomasz KRAWCZYK against Poland

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 11 December 2001 as a Chamber composed of

Mr G. Ress , President , Mr I. Cabral Barreto , Mr P. Kūris , Mr B. Zupančič , Mr J. Hedigan , Mrs M. Tsatsa - Nikolovska , Mr K. Traja , judges , and Mr V. Berger , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 20 May 1996 and registered on 21 February 1997,

Having regard to Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, by which the competence to examine the application was transferred to the Court,

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, Tomasz Krawczyk, is a Polish national, who was born in 1965 and lives in Nakło, Poland. In the proceedings before the Court, he was represented by Mrs R. Orlikowska-Wro ń ska , a lawyer practising in Sopot , Poland. The respondent Government were represented by their Agent, Mr K. Drzewicki , of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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

A. Proceedings in the Złotów District Court

On 18 March 1991 the applicant was brought before the Złotów District Prosecutor ( Prokurator Rejonowy ), charged with two counts of theft, one count of aggravated theft and two counts of dealing with stolen goods and detained on remand.

On 20 May 1991 the Złotów District Prosecutor lodged a bill of indictment with the Złotów District Court ( Sąd Rejonowy ). The bill of indictment comprised charges against the applicant and his three co-defendants.

The trial started on 21 June 1991.

The applicant was released under police supervision in July 1992. The trial continued but many hearings were cancelled because the applicant’s co-defendants repeatedly failed to appear before the court.

In view of that, the applicant asked the court to sever the charges against him from the case but his application was to no avail.

He also complained about the length of the trial to various authorities.

From 13 December 1994 to the beginning of 1998 the court cancelled nearly all hearings.

On 10 February 1999 the court held a final hearing and gave judgment. That judgment became final on 24 February 1999.

B. Proceedings in the WÄ…growiec District Court

On an unknown date in 1991 the WÄ…growiec District Prosecutor charged the applicant with aggravated theft and detained him on remand.

On 2 January 1992 the prosecutor lodged a bill of indictment with the Wągrowiec District Court.  The bill of indictment comprised the charges laid against the applicant and the same co-defendants as those who had been indicted in the proceedings in the Złotów District Court (see above).

On 29 December 1992 the court stayed the proceedings.

On 4 September 1995 the court resumed the proceedings and set the trial for 10 October 1995; however, the trial was postponed because one of the co-defendants had not been brought to court from the Bydgoszcz prison.

On 11 March 1996 the District Court stayed the proceedings in view of the fact that at the same time the criminal proceedings against the applicant and his co-defendants were pending before the Złotów District Court.

In June 1996 the applicant asked the court to proceed with the trial and to sever the charges against his co-defendants from the case. On 13 June 1996 the court resumed the proceedings but refused to make a severance order.

On 23 July 1996 the court cancelled the hearing which was to be held on 30 July 1996 since one of the applicant’s co-defendants had meanwhile been placed in Koronowo Prison; that event had apparently made it impossible to bring him to the trial court.  The next date for hearing was fixed for 8 October 1996; on that day the trial was adjourned to 28 November 1996 because one of the applicant’s co-defendants had failed to appear.

On 16 January 1997 the court held a final hearing and gave judgment. The applicant was convicted as charged and sentenced to one year and six months’ imprisonment. The parties appealed.

On 27 November 1997 the Poznań Regional Court amended the first-instance judgment and increased the applicant’s sentence to two years and six months’ imprisonment.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that in both sets of criminal proceedings against him his right to a “hearing within a reasonable time” had not been respected.

THE LAW

On 16 March 1999 the Court communicated the application to the Polish Government under Rule 54 § 3 (b) of the Rules of Court.

On 26 October 2001 the Court received the following declaration from the respondent Government:

“I declare that the Government of the Republic of Poland offer to pay to Mr Tomasz KRAWCZYK a sum of 12,000 (twelve thousand) PLN with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the application no. 35015/97 pending before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This sum shall cover any eventual pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs, and it will be payable to the applicant after signing the declarations by the parties concerned, however not later than three months after the notification of the decision delivered by the Court pursuant to Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

I declare at the same time that the offer of the above-mentioned amount has been made in connection with duration of the proceedings in the applicant’s case before the organs of the Polish judiciary.

I further undertake not to request the reference of the case to the Grand Chamber under Article 43 of the European Convention.”

On 20 November 2001 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant :

“I note hereby that the Government of the Republic of Poland are prepared to pay to me a sum of 12,000 (twelve thousand) PLN covering any eventual pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the application no. 35015/97 pending before the European Court of Human Rights. This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

I further undertake not to request the reference of the case to the Grand Chamber under Article 43 of the European Convention.”

The Court takes note of the agreement reached between the parties and considers that the matter has been resolved (Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention). Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine , the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the examination of the application to be continued. Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

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

Vincent Berger Georg Ress Registrar President