Information Note on the Court’s case-law 66

July 2004

Rezette v. Luxembourg - 73983/01

Judgment 13.7.2004 [Section IV]

Article 6

Civil proceedings

Article 6-1

Reasonable time

Adjournment of civil proceedings pending outcome of parallel criminal proceedings: violation

Extract (Article 6): “The outcome of the criminal proceedings is capable of affecting the outcome of the dispute before the [civil] courts and is t hus to be taken into account in calculating the relevant period [in the civil proceedings]. The Court accepts that the fact of ruling in civil proceedings before the criminal proceedings are terminated could be incompatible with the principle of the proper administration of justice. Nonetheless, the adjournment of civil proceedings pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings has had the consequence of prolonging the civil proceedings for more than eight years, and the Court reiterates that it is for the national authorities to organise their judicial systems in such a way that the reasonable time requirement provided for in Article 6 is guaranteed for everyone. The [civil] proceedings began on 11 March 1996. On 30 June 1999 the court of appeal adjourned the proceedings … in application of the principle that ‘criminal proceedings take precedence over civil proceedings’. The proceedings … have already lasted more than eight years. Such a lapse of time seems a priori too long.…”.

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