FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 64909/16 Maria Henryka SZYPROWSKA against Poland

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 6 November 2018 as a Committee composed of:

Ksenija Turković, President, Krzysztof Wojtyczek, Armen Harutyunyan, judges,

and Abel Campos, Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 28 October 2016,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant, Ms Maria Henryka Szyprowska, is a Polish national, who was born in 1945 and lives in Bełchatów. She was represented before the Court by Mr Łukasz Korpecki, a lawyer practising in Łódź.

The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms J. Chrzanowska, and subsequently by Mr J. Sobczak, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The applicant complained under Article 10 of the Convention that her conviction for defamation constituted an unjustified and disproportionate interference with her freedom of expression.

On 22 September 2018 and 25 September 2018 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Poland in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay her 15,000 PLN (fifteen thousand Polish zlotys) to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

THE LAW

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 29 November 2018 .

Abel Campos Ksenija Turković Registrar President