Lexploria

FIFTH SECTION

CASE OF DEMBO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE

( Application no. 2778/18 and 46 others – see appended list )

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

1 1 March 2021

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Dembo and Others v. Ukraine ,

The European Court of Human Rights ( Fifth Section ), sitting as a Committee composed of:

Ivana Jelić , President, Ganna Yudkivska , Arnfinn Bårdsen , judges, and Liv Tigerstedt , Acting Deputy Section Registrar ,

Having deliberated in private on 18 February 2021 ,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1 . The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table

2 . The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

3 . The list of applicant s and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4 . The applicant s complained of their life sentence with no prospect of release .

THE LAW

5 . Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

6 . The applicants complained of their life sentence with no prospect of release . They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of the Convention , which read s as follows:

Article 3

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

7 . The Court reiterates that the Convention does not prohibit the imposition of a life sentence on those convicted of especially serious crimes, such as murder. Yet to be compatible with Article 3 such a sentence must be reducible de jure and de facto , meaning that there must be both a prospect of release for the prisoner and a possibility of review. The basis of such review must extend to assessing whether there are legitimate penological grounds for the continuing incarceration of the prisoner. These grounds include punishment, deterrence, public protection and rehabilitation. The balance between them is not necessarily static and may shift in the course of a sentence, so that the primary justification for detention at the outset may not be so after a lengthy period of service of sentence. The importance of the ground of rehabilitation is underlined, since it is here that the emphasis of European penal policy now lies, as reflected in the practice of the Contracting States, in the relevant standards adopted by the Council of Europe, and in the relevant international materials (see Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC] , nos. 66069/09 and 2 others, §§ 59-81 , ECHR 2013 (extracts) ).

8 . In the leading case of Petukhov v. Ukraine (no. 2) , no. 41216/13, 12 March 2019, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

9 . Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. They are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention .

10 . Article 41 of the Convention provides:

“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”

11 . Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case ‑ law (see, in particular, Petukhov (no. 2), cited above, § 201), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT , UNANIMOUSLY,

Done in English, and notified in writing on 1 1 March 2021 , pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

{signature_p_2}

Liv Tigerstedt Ivana Jelić Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention

( life sentence with no prospect of release )

No.

Application no.

Date of introduction

Applicant ’ s name

Year of birth

Representative ’ s name and location

Name of the trial court

Date of the life sentence

Judicial decision upholding the conviction

2778/18

04/01/2018

Andriy Adolfovych DEMBO

1963Kyiv City Court,

27/12/1999

N/A

8520/18

23/04/2018

Denis Yuryevich MELNIKOV

1981Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal,

16/08/2011

High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters, 17/04/2012

20076/18

12/04/2018

Yevgeniy Vladimirovich TALYANOV

1979Military Court of Appeal of the Western Region,

24/04/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/07/2002

20083/18

17/04/2018

Vadym Leonidovych NECHYPURENKO

1977Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Kirovograd Regional Court of Appeal,

26/01/2006

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 07/12/2006

22291/18

27/04/2018

Yevgen Oleksandrovych BAGNYUK

1975Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Chernigiv Regional Court of Appeal,

24/07/2006

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 20/02/2007

23034/18

07/05/2018

Oleksandr Oleksiyovych VASYLYUK

1967Kirovograd Regional Court, 14/04/1998

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/07/1998

23511/18

02/08/2018

Yuriy Mykhaylovych KONOVALOV

1981Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal,

19/07/2005

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 18/10/2005

24170/18

11/05/2018

Ivan Petrovych DZYADCHENKO

1974Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Chernigiv Reginal Court of Appeal

24/07/2006

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

20/02/2007

24461/18

11/05/2018

Sergiy Kostyantynovych TITARENKO

1983Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal,

31/03/2009

Supreme Court of Ukraine

08/02/2011

25350/18

27/04/2018

Volodymyr Volodymyrovych MINKO

1965Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Chernigiv Reginal Court,

19/03/1999

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

08/06/1999

28059/18

25/05/2018

Stepan Stepanovich LITVIN

1975Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,

06/10/2000

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

11/01/2001

28163/18

05/06/2018

Stanislav Valeryevich SHTANKO

1972Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal,

31/08/2007

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

22/01/2008

28240/18

26/05/2018

Mykhaylo Vasylyovych GRECHUKH

1982Zayets Sergiy Anatoliyovych

Irpin

Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Court of Appeal,

02/03/2005

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

14/06/2005

32752/18

04/07/2018

Oleksandr Petrovych KOVALENKO

1981Vinnytsya Regional Court,

18/11/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

20/02/2003

33648/18

07/07/2018

Vitaliy Viktorovich TKACHENKO

1979Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

25/11/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

04/03/2003

38043/18

02/08/2018

Maksim Aleksandrovich IVANENKO

1978Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

16/05/2003

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

09/09/2003

39775/18

10/08/2018

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich BOROTBENKO

1977Kyiv Court of Appeal,

06/06/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

28/11/2002

40845/18

19/07/2018

Viktor Nikolayevich PONOMARYOV

1972Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

14/06/2007

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

16/10/2007

41730/18

03/07/2018

Ivan Ivanovych KARPENKO

1973Cherkasy Regional Court of Appeal,

24/03/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

12/10/2004

45303/18

12/09/2018

Aleksandr Vladimirovich DIGTYAR

1979Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

22/04/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

30/07/2002

45778/18

14/02/2019

Viktor Petrovych SINOGACH

1966Zarichnyy Local Court of Sumy,

08/12/2014

Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

11/02/2015

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

04/07/2018

55254/18

14/02/2019

Ruslan Volodymyrovych ARTYUSHENKO

1983Sumy Regional Court of Appeal,

15/12/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

22/03/2005

56263/18

13/11/2018

Sergey Nikolayevich SHAKHOV

1979Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal,

02/10/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

03/02/2004

57033/18

20/11/2018

Valeriy Petrovych DATSYUK

1987Kharkiv Local Court of Kharkiv Region,

30/0 7 /2013

Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal,

22/10/2013

59345/18

08/12/2018

Vyacheslav Ivanovych POLISHKO

1977Poltava Regional Court of Appeal,

14/05/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

30/09/2004

7751/19

19/01/2019

Mykhaylo Mykolayovych ZHDANOV

1988Petruk Viktoriya Yuriyivna

Kyiv

Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal,

27/03/2008

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

12/05/2008

8148/19

05/01/2019

Mger Lenorovich PETROSYAN

1976Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal,

03/11/2005

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

18/01/2007

10731/19

03/02/2019

Sergiy Anatoliyovych SAFRONOV

1978Kirovograd Regional Court of Appeal,

09/04/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

30/09/2004

15611/19

12/03/2019

Volodymyr Oleksiyovych KICHA

1975Sumy Regional Court of Appeal ,

18/06/2008

Supreme Cour t of Ukraine,

03/02/2009

16699/19

13/03/2019

Sergey Valeryevich ROMANOV

1971Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,

18/07/1997

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

02/10/1997

16955/19

04/06/2019

Vladimir Mikhaylovich KONONOV

1977Odessa Regional Court,

18/11/1997

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

07/05/1998

17321/19

20/03/2019

Oleksandr Leontiyovych TYMOSHCHUK

1971Kyiv City Court,

27/10/1999

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

15/06/2000

21407/19

09/04/2019

Gennadiy Volodymyrovych KAPELKO

1967Kyiv City Court,

27/08/2000

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

08/02/2001

27033/19

16/07/2019

Andrey Viktorovich ROMASHKEVICH

1962Obolonskyy Local Court of Kyiv,

02/03/2015

High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters,

13/04/2016

40236/19

16/07/2019

Mikhail Vitaliyevich BILOTSKIY

1983Zhytomyr Regional Court of Appeal,

14/04/2009

N/A

41481/19

10/03/2020

Ruslan Anatoliyovych IGLIN

1981Revyakin Maksym Oleksandrovych

Kharkiv

Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal,

06/01/2005

High Specialised Court for Civil and Criminal Matters,

04/06/2013

45123/19

17/08/2019

Oleksandr Oleksiyovych STUKAN

1958Bondarenko Viktor Gennadiyovych

Lutsk

Volyn Regional Court of Appeal,

02/02/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

22/06/2004

54098/19

23/09/2019

Anatoliy Fedorovych BONDARENKO

1966Cherkasy Regional Court of Appeal,

27/11/2006

N/A

2808/20

02/04/2020

Maksim Viktorovich STEPANENKO

1975Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna

Strasbourg

Donetsk Regional Court, 25/09/1997

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 12/02/1998

11213/20

14/02/2020

Oleksandr Valeriyovych IVZHENKO

1977Donetsk Regional Court of Appeal,

21/07/2006

N/A

11572/20

18/02/2020

Pavlo Oleksandrovych CHEKAN

1979Kharkiv Regional Court, 15/12/2000

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 26/06/2001

14392/20

10/03/2020

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych NIKOLAYENKO

1982Ovdiyenko Ganna Volodymyrivna

Kharkiv

Chernigiv Regional Court,

01/06/2001

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 09/10/2001

14677/20

11/03/2020

Sergiy Sergiyovych KONDRASHYN

1982Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych

Kyiv

Appellate Court of Donetsk Region,

22/04/2002

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

17/04/2003

18095/20

30/03/2020

Vadym Anatoliyovych ZYKOV

1969Koval Sergiy Volodymyrovych

Kovel

Kyivskyy Local Court of 11/08/1997

Supreme Court of Ukraine,

29/01/1998

18690/20

07/04/2020

Sergiy Volodymyrovych POMEYCHUK

1980Odessa Regional Court of Appeal,

16/10/2008

N/A

19959/20

25/04/2020

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych DRUGOV

1964Kychenok Andriy Sergiyovych

Kyiv

Sumy Regional Court of Appeal

15/12/2004

Supreme Court of Ukraine

22/03/2005

21015/20

22/05/2020

Igor Stepanovich PETRIKIV

1968Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna

Strasbourg

Kherson Regional Court, 27/04/1998

Supreme Court of Ukraine, 07/07/1998

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CASE OF DEMBO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE

CASE OF DEMBO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE

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