Published on 13 September 2021

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 21487/21 Evgeni IOFFE against Georgia lodged on 15 April 2021 communicated on 24 August 2021

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the refusal of the Supreme Court of Georgia to examine the applicant’s appeal on points of law on account of his failure to pay the court fees, which are determined as a percentage of the claim. The applicant, a pensioner with serious medical conditions, showed that the required amount of the fees amounted to two and a half years of his pension; that his wife was also a pensioner; that their only son had passed away; and that he had no other source of income except for his pension. The court did not, however, consider this as a sufficient ground for either postponing or exempting him from the payment or providing for the court fees to be reduced. The applicant complains of a violation of his right of access to a court, as guaranteed under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been a breach of the applicant’s right of access to court as guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see, for example, Kreuz v. Poland , no. 28249/94, ECHR 2001 ‑ VI, and Weissman and Others v. Romania , no. 63945/00, ECHR 2006 ‑ VII (extracts))?