Interim Resolution CM/ Res DH ( 2020 ) 208

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Merit and Svetlana Naumenko groups against Ukraine

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 1 October 2020

at the 1383 rd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

Application

Case

Judgment of

Final on

66561/01

MERIT GROUP (List of cases CM/Notes/1383/H46-24-app1 )

30/03/2004

30/06/2004

41984/98

SVETLANA NAUMENKO GROUP (List of cases CM/Notes/1383/H46-24-app2 )

09/11/2004

30/03/2005

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter “the Convention”);

Having regard to the considerable number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights finding violations of Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention, and also in some judgments violations of Article 13, due to the excessive length of civil and criminal proceedings and the lack of an effective remedy in this respect in Ukraine;

Recalling that the structural problems revealed by the present cases have been pending before the Committee of Ministers since 2004 and represent one aspect of the major deficiencies affecting the functioning of the justice system in Ukraine; recalling that delays in the administration of justice constitute a serious danger for respect for the rule of law, resulting in a denial of the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Convention;

Recalling Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)3 on effective remedies for excessive length of proceedings and stressing that the introduction of measures to address the excessive length of proceedings contributes, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, to enhancing the protection of human rights in member States and preserving the effectiveness of the Convention system, including by helping to reduce the number of applications to the Court;

Expressing deep regret that after so many years there are still no electronic tools for systematic data collection as regards the length of civil and criminal proceedings at all levels of jurisdiction which would enable both the authorities and the Committee to assess the impact of the substantive measures taken so far;

Noting with satisfaction nevertheless the initiative undertaken by the Supreme Court as regards the manual collection of statistical data on the length of proceedings, strongly encouraging the authorities to extend this initiative to build up a better picture of the current state of affairs in the absence of an automatic system; further encouraging the authorities to assess the impact of the introduced “cassation filters” and provide relevant statistical data confirming this assessment;

Noting with interest the steps taken to establish and develop the system of alternative dispute resolution, with the aim of reducing judicial workload by out of court settlements, and notably the adoption of the draft Law on Mediation in the first reading; encouraging the authorities to adopt this law and to align it with the Council of Europe recommendations, case-law of the Court, guidelines of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice and advice provided to the authorities through Council of Europe cooperation activities;

Expressing deep concern that the judiciary remains seriously understaffed with many judicial vacancies particularly in lower instance courts; noting with interest in that regard the recent decision of the Constitutional Court which suspended the proposed reduction of the number of the Supreme Court judges and encouraging the authorities to continue to cooperate with the Venice Commission in the adoption of an alternative law;

Noting that some steps have been taken to initiate reflection on the adoption of a comprehensive approach to resolve the issue of excessive length of proceedings and to the establishment of effective remedies in this respec t, including a proposal of an acceleratory remedy by the Supreme Court;

Emphasising the legal obligation of every State, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the final judgments of the European Court in any case to which they are a party, fully, effectively and promptly;

EXPRESSED profound concern about the lack of tangible progress in the implementation of this group of cases after so many years;

EXHORTED the Ukrainian authorities to uphold their commitment at the highest political level and ensure coordinated action by the relevant state authorities, to adopt a comprehensive approach to resolve the issue of excessive length of civil and criminal proceedings and to take resolute action without further delay to introduce an effective remedy in line with Convention principles as established in the Court’s case law and following Committee of Minister’s recommendations;

CALLED UPON the Ukrainian authorities to present by 1 July 2021 a concrete plan for both measures to reduce the length of proceedings, including information on the progress in filling judicial vacancies, and for the legislative process aiming at the adoption of a remedy (or a combination of remedies) covering all types of judicial proceedings; further calling upon the authorities to provide up-to-date information in respect of outstanding individual measures and statistical information on the length of proceedings before all courts, as well as on the discernible trends, allowing the Committee to assess the impact of the judicial reforms undertaken to date;

STRONGLY ENCOURAGED the Ukrainian authorities to take full advantage of the Council of Europe cooperation projects in this area with a view to achieving tangible progress in resolving this longstanding problem;

DECIDED to resume examination of this group of cases at its DH meeting in September 2021 at the latest.