Information Note on the Court’s case-law 63

April 2004

Sürmeli v. Germany (dec.) - 75529/01

Decision 29.4.2004 [Section III]

Article 13

Effective remedy

Effectiveness of a constitutional complaint as remedy in respect of the excessive length of pending civil proceedings

The case concerned civil proceedings for damages and an allowance, brought by the applicant following an accident of which he had been the victim. The proceedings had been pending before the Hanover Regional Court since 1989. In 1991 the court delivered a partial judgment in which it noted that the applicant was entitled to claim damages for the consequences of the accident at a rate of 80%. This judgment was upheld by the Federal Court of Justice in December 1993. In 1994 proceedings resumed in the regional court for the purpose of assessing the amount of damages and the allowance. In 2001 and 2002 the appeals by the applicant to the Federal Constitutional Court, complaining of the length of the proceedings, were dismissed, the first by a decision that did not state reasons. The applicant had also sued the State for the length of the proceedings. The applicant complained before the Court of t he length of the pending proceedings and of the absence of an effective remedy to challenge the excessive length of the proceedings.

Admissible under Article 6 § 1 (reasonable time) and Article 13.

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

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