Information Note on the Court’s case-law 49

January 2003

Caldas Ramirez de Arrellano v. Spain (dec.) - 68874/01

Decision 28.1.2003 [Section IV]

Article 35

Article 35-1

Exhaustion of domestic remedies

Effective domestic remedy

Effectiveness of claim for compensation under Article 292 of the Judicature Law with regard to the length of completed constitutional proceedings: non-exhaustion

Article 6

Criminal proc eedings

Article 6-1

Criminal charge

Constitutional Court proceedings: Article 6 applicable

The Audiencia nacional found the applicant guilty of trafficking in psychotropic substances which were not a serious danger to health, and sentenced him to imprisonment, a fine and temporary withdrawal of his civic rights.  The Supreme Court allowed an appeal on a point of law by the prosecutor’s department and set this judgment aside.  The applicant was found guilty of repeated offences against health, involving substances which damaged health seriously, and his prison sentence and fine were both increased.  In January 1995, th e applicant brought an amparo appeal in the Constitutional Court, which rejected it as manifestly ill-founded in July 2000.  The applicant complains of the length of the proceedings in the Constitutional Court.

Inadmissible under Article 6 § 1 (reasonabl e time): concerning the applicability of Article 6 § 1: The proceedings in the Spanish Constitutional Court were directly concerned with the validity of the criminal charges brought against the applicant.  When it wholly or partly allows an amparo appeal, the Constitutional Court does not limit itself to determining the constitutional provision which has been violated.  It sets the decision complained of aside, and the case is referred back to the relevant court for review.  In other words, the constitution al proceedings were a further stage in the criminal proceedings, with potentially decisive consequences for the person sentenced – which means that Article 6 applies.

Concerning failure to exhaust domestic remedies: In view of the Constitutional Court’s special character, as national court of last instance and guarantor of the fundamental rights embodied in the Constitution, an application for compensation offers the only adequate redress for delays already incurred in the constitutional proceedings.  The Government’s observations, which are not contested by the applicant, indicate that this remedy is provided for in Sections 292ff. of the Organisation of the Courts Act, under which the applicant may apply, following the Court’s decision on admissibility, to the Ministry of Justice for compensation, with every chance of succeeding: non-exhaustion.

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

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