D. AND A.A. H. v. GREECECONCURRING OPINION OF Mr. C.L. ROZAKIS
Doc ref: • ECHR ID:
Document date: October 23, 1995
- Inbound citations: 0
- •
- Cited paragraphs: 0
- •
- Outbound citations: 0
CONCURRING OPINION OF Mr. C.L. ROZAKIS
While I agree that in the present case there has been a violation
of Article 6 para. 1 of the Convention in that the applicants did not
have an effective determination of their rights by a court, I am of the
opinion that the reasoning of the Commission does not address the
central problem of the case, which is the responsibility of the
administration to comply with judicial decisions, and, thus, to honour
the principle of separation of powers and respect the rule of law.
It is indeed part and parcel of the concept of separation of
powers and of the principle of the rule of law in a democratic State
that each power - the legislative power, the executive power and the
judicial power - has its own field of competence, within which it is
the only entity with decision-making capacity. In this field no other
power can enter and interfere with decisions on the procedure or the
merits. But the requirements of the concept of separation of powers go
beyond stipulating that each State power has its own sphere of
exclusive activity. A corollary of the principle of separation of
powers is that, wherever there is an osmosis of competence involving
more than one power in the effective implementation of a decision taken
by one of them, the power which "interferes" with the decision must co-
operate in putting it into effect. Otherwise, the power of decision-
making may be devoid of all significance. It is, for instance, an
obligation of the judiciary to apply the decisions of the legislative
power (legislation) when it decides on a case, as it is the obligation
of the executive to assist in the implementation of judicial decisions
by executing them without hindering that implementation.
In the circumstances of the case, the State authorities - the
executive power - have not complied with the rule of separation of
powers and have prevented the judiciary from deciding in its own sphere
of competence; and, hence, the applicants did not see their expectation
of an effective determination of their rights fulfilled.
(Or. French)
LEXI - AI Legal Assistant
