FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no . 28103/11 Lasha LANCHAVA against Georgia

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 23 June 2015 as a Committee composed of:

George Nicolaou, President, Krzysztof Wojtyczek, Yonko Grozev, judges,

and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 13 April 2011,

Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 13 March 2015 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant ’ s reply to that declaration,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

1. The applicant, Mr Lasha Lanchava, is a Georgian national, who was born in 1992 and was represented before the Court by Ms I. Saghinadze, a lawyer practising in Kutaisi.

2. The Georgian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr L. Meskhoradze of the Ministry of Justice.

3. The application mainly concerned the alleged ill-treatment of the applicant during a violent incident in Kutaisi no. 2 Prison and the alleged unfairness of the ensuing criminal proceedings. Notice of the above complaints under Articles 3 and 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) and (d) of the Convention was given to the Government on 1 September 2014.

4. By a letter of 13 March 2015 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issues raised by the application. The declaration read as follows:

“With due regard to the applicant ’ s claims under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Government of Georgia acknowledge a violation of Article 3 of the Convention under its procedural limb due to certain deficiencies identified in the course of the investigation into the applicant ’ s allegations of ill-treatment on 6 July 2009 in Kutaisi no. 2 Prison.

The Government accepts that in the particular circumstances of the present case there was a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention on account of the applicant ’ s unjustified expulsion from the court proceedings. Although, the above shortcoming did not render the proceedings unfair as a whole; remarkably, apart from the testimonies of several witnesses, the domestic courts reasoned the applicant ’ s conviction with, inter alia, the letter of the head of Kutaisi no. 2 Prison dated 7 July 2009 and other relevant documents confirming the applicant ’ s presence in cell no. 102 during the incident of 6 July 2009; the protocol of crime scene examination reflecting the damage to prison property in cell no. 102; the report of traceological expertise conducted with respect to the material evidence seized from the crime scene, reports of forensic medical examination of two victims and other evidence in the case file.

Taking into account the fact that the allegations of the lawyers of the applicant and the remaining eighteen juveniles concerning their ill-treatment on 6 July 2009 as well as their proposals to obtain information from witnesses, namely the medical personnel of the prison, the representatives of the Public Defender ’ s Office and social services, were not directly related to the charges against the applicant.

In the light of particular factual circumstances of the case and with due regard to the applicant ’ s claims under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Government, within the framework of the present declaration, undertakes to ensure the effectiveness of the investigation into the applicant ’ s allegations of being subjected to ill-treatment on 6 July 2009 in Kutaisi no. 2 Prison.

In addition, in the light of the above considerations and taking into account the factual circumstances of the case, the Government declare that they are prepared to pay Mr Lanchava 4,500 (four thousand five hundred) Euros to cover any pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applications.

This sum will be converted into Georgian national currency at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake 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. ...

5. By letter of 2 June 2015 the applicant ’ s representative informed the Court that her client had accepted the terms of the Government ’ s declaration. The applicant had also agreed to waive any further claims against Georgia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application.

THE LAW

6. The Court finds that following the applicant ’ s express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government, the case should be treated as a friendly settlement between the parties.

7. It therefore 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 16 July 2015 .

Fatoş Aracı George Nicolaou Deputy Registrar President