Communicated on 13 March 2018

FOURTH SECTION

Application no. 72157/14 Nelson Alexandre BERNARDINO SILVESTRE against Portugal lodged on 5 November 2014

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the applicant ’ s unsuccessful application for prison leave. On 23 September 2014 the Lisbon Tribunal for the Execution of Penalties dismissed the application on the ground that the leave, if granted, “ would not offer any prospect of success”. No appeal lay against this decision. Had the application been granted, however, the public prosecutor would have been entitled to lodge an appeal.

QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES

1. Was Article 6 § 1 of the Convention under its civil head applicable to the proceedings in the present case? In particular, did the applicant possess a “right” for the purposes of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see Boulois v. Luxembourg [GC], no. 37575/04, §§ 90 to 94, ECHR 2012)?

2. If Article 6 § 1 was applicable, was the applicant ’ s right to access to a court respected, given that the only appeal possible in such cases is apparently that of the public prosecutor in case the application was granted? Is this procedural asymmetry compatible with the principle of “equality of arms” inherent in the notion of a fair hearing for the purposes of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?