Information Note on the Court’s case-law 31

June 2001

Agoudimos and Cefallonian Sky Shipping Co. v. Greece - 38703/97

Judgment 28.6.2001 [Section II]

Article 6

Civil proceedings

Article 6-1

Access to court

Legislative interference in pending court proceedings: violation

Facts : The first applicant is one of the liquidators of the second applicant, a shipping company in liquidation. In 1984 the sailors' social secu rity fund ordered the applicants, in their capacity as previous owners of a particular ship, to pay social security contributions in respect of the period prior to the compulsory sale of the ship by auction. The applicants unsuccessfully contested the orde r in the first instance court but their appeal was upheld by the Court of Appeal, relying on a different interpretation of the relevant decree, there being conflicting case-law of the Court of Cassation in the matter. In June 1987, Parliament enacted a law which gave an authoritative interpretation of the decree, to the effect that it extended to compulsory sale by auction. The Court of Cassation consequently found in favour of the sailors' social security fund and remitted the case to the Court of Appeal, where the proceedings are pending.

Law : Article 6 § 1 – While the new law expressly excluded final court decisions from its scope, it settled once and for all the terms of the dispute before the ordinary courts and did so retrospectively, in reality determ ining the substance of the dispute. Since social security bodies perform a public service mission and are subject to ministerial supervision, the intervention of the legislature took place when legal proceedings to which the State was a party were pending. The State infringed the applicants' rights by intervening in a decisive manner to ensure the outcome of the proceedings was favourable to it.

Conclusion : violation (unanimously).

Article 41 – The Court awarded the applicants 2,000,000 drachmas (GRD) in re spect of non-pecuniary damage and also made an award in respect of costs and expenses.

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

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