FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no . 46229/06 J ā nis BÄ’RZIÅ…Å against Latvia

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 27 November 2012 as a Committee composed of:

David Thór Björgvinsson , President, Zdravka Kalaydjieva , Krzysztof Wojtyczek , judges, and Fatoş Aracı , Deputy Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 20 October 2006,

Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 26 July 2012 and the applicant ’ s acceptance of its terms,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant, Mr Jānis Bērziņš , is a Latvian national, who was born in 1947 and lives in Priekule parish. He was represented before the Court by Ms J. Kvjatkovska , a lawyer practising in Rīga .

The Latvian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agents, Mrs I. Reine and subsequently by Mrs K. Līce .

The applicant complained about his ill-treatment on 29 October 2004 by the police officers of the CÄ“sis District Police Department and the effectiveness of the investigation in that regard.

On 20 November 2009 the Court decided to communicate the application to the Government under Article 3 of the Convention.

By letter of 26 July 2012 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a declaration with a view to resolving the issue raised by the application. They admitted a violation of the applicant ’ s rights under Article 3 of the Convention on account of his ill-treatment by the police officers and the lack of effective investigation in that regard. They also undertook to pay the applicant EUR 9,000 (nine thousand euros ) (6,326 Latvian lati ) to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage together with any costs and expenses incurred as well as any tax that may be chargeable, considering this payment the final resolution of the case. The payment would be effected within a period of three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay within that period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, as established in the Court ’ s decision. They further requested the Court to strike out the application from its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.

By letter of 17 August 2012 the applicant ’ s lawyer informed the Court that her client had agreed to the terms of the Government ’ s declaration.

THE LAW

The Court considers that the applicant ’ s express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government shall be considered as a friendly settlement between the parties (see Cēsnieks v. Latvia ( dec .), no. 9278/06, § 34, 6 March 2012, and Bakal and Others v. Turkey ( dec .), no. 8243/08, 5 June 2012 ).

The Court 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 pursuant to Article 39 of the Convention.

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.

Fatoş Aracı David Thór Björgvinsson Deputy Registrar President