Communicated on 27 November 2020 Published on 1 4 December 202 0

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 40044/19 Charles COLTHURST against Ireland lodged on 25 July 2019

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applicant commenced judicial separation proceedings in the High Court through the issue of a special summons on 27 January 2004. A hearing took place over 17 days between April and November 2005, judgment was delivered on 25 July 2005 and final orders issued on 7 November 2005. Both parties appealed. On 13 December 2007 the applicant commenced divorce proceedings and the appeals in the judicial separation proceedings were struck out by consent. The divorce proceedings were heard over 31 days between February 2010 and December 2011, judgment was delivered on 2 March 2012 and final orders issued on 14 September 2012. Both parties appealed. The appeals were transferred to the Court of Appeal in October 2014, that court delivered judgment on 26 October 2016 and remitted the proceedings to the High Court. The High Court made final orders on 29 January 2019.

The applicant complains that the period of 15 years between the issue of his judicial separation proceedings in December 2003 and the final orders in the divorce proceedings on 29 January 2019 is incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and that under Article 13 he has no effective domestic remedy for this violation.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. In determining the total duration of the domestic proceedings is it appropriate to consider the judicial separation proceedings and the divorce proceedings as a single or separate set of proceedings?

2. Was the length of the civil proceedings in the present case in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?

3. Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for his complaint under Article 6 § 1, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?

4. The applicant is requested to make available to the government for the non-contentious phase any further relevant documents relating to the history of the proceedings before the domestic courts.

5. In the event that this case reaches the contentious phase before this court the applicant is requested to submit copies of all applications, orders, decisions and judgments in the domestic proceedings.