Information Note on the Court’s case-law 10

September 1999

Siegel v. France (dec.) - 36350/97

Decision 28.9.1999 [Section III]

Article 6

Civil proceedings

Article 6-1

Reasonable time

Length of proceedings having chiefly been handled by notaries and not by a court: admissible

Following his mother’s death the applicant filed an application on 8 January 1993 with the tribunal d’instance asking for a notary be a ppointed to distribute his mother’s estate. His brother, whom the court had informed of that application, requested on 27 April 1993 that the distribution be extended to his father’s estate. In an order of 8 July 1993 the presiding judge of the tribunal d’ instance granted the applications and appointed two notaries to distribute the estates. He instructed the parties to address their claims to them. Thereafter the proceedings were conducted exclusively before those two officers. The court’s only involvement was to forward to the notaries, instructing them to reply, a request from the applicant who, not having received any information about the proceedings, was enquiring as to their progress. On 4 December 1997 the court discontinued the proceedings as the pa rties had decided to withdraw their application for distribution by the courts.

Admissible under Article 6 § 1.

© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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