PARTLY DISSENTIN G OPINION OF JUDGE MYJER

I voted against finding a violation of Article 6 (reasonable time).

True, a long time elapsed between the dies a quo (20 June 1994, the date when Romania ratified the Convention) and the dies ad quem (12 February 2004, when the Supreme Court delivered the final decision in this case). At first sight such a long period seems to be sufficient to conclude that the national judicial authorities did not act with the necessary diligence. However, as the Court rightly took into account in paragraph 113, the time during which the proceedings were suspended due to the applicant ' s illness (more than two years) should be deducted from that period. In my opinion, there were many other substantial delays attributable to the illness or poor health of the applicant and/or his absence from hearings, or to the fact that his lawyer did not attend the hearings. These delays should not be held against the Government. Besides, the case was a complex one and many hearings were needed in order to hear the testimonies of witnesses. The fact that the applicant made use of all the legal possibilities available to him to appeal against the various decisions and judgments also contributed to the overall length.

In general terms, the fact that a case was heard by eight courts at three levels of jurisdiction justifies the remark made by the majority in paragraph 120 that this discloses a serious deficiency in the judicial system. However, in the particular circumstances of this case, I consider this to be too harsh and unjust.

Because in my opinion there has been a violation of Article 3 only insofar as the conditions of detention are concerned, I also voted against the amount of compensation awarded in respect of non-pecuniary damage.