PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE BAKA

I voted with the majority in holding that there has been no violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) in the present case. However, my reasoning differs from that of the majority of the Court.

Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) of the Convention is applicable in relation to the criminal process once a "criminal charge" is laid against a suspect (which is definitely not the case here as regards the applicants) or, alternatively, in criminal proceedings in so far as they also involve the determination of "civil rights and obligations".

In the latter connection the French legal system enables civil parties to join a public prosecution or initiate criminal proceedings. In doing so, it gives recognition to two interests of civil parties: firstly it accepts that relatives and victims have a legitimate interest in taking part in the procedure with a view to finding the perpetrator and contributing in some way to the administration of criminal justice; secondly, it allows civil parties to claim compensation for damage sustained, thereby protecting their civil rights and obligations.  The outcome of a criminal prosecution may be said, in a sense, to be directly decisive for a subsequent claim for damages, but it must also be recognised that such a claim, that is the "civil right" interest attracting the application of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1), may not necessarily exist in a given criminal process.

In this case the applicants joined the relevant criminal proceedings as a civil party, but did not claim damages.  The whole investigation procedure was concerned with the issue of whether a criminal prosecution should be brought; it did not involve at any point the determination of a "civil right".  Consequently, I hold that Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) has no ap plication in the present case.

[1] The case is numbered 45/1994/492/574.  The first number is the case's position on the list of cases referred to the Court in the relevant year (second number).  The last two numbers indicate the case's position on the list of cases referred to the Court since its creation and on the list of the corresponding originating applications to the Commission.

[2] Rules A apply to all cases referred to the Court before the entry into force of Protocol No. 9 (P9) and thereafter only to cases concerning States not bound by that Protocol (P9).  They correspond to the Rules that came into force on 1 January 1983, as amended several times subsequently.

[3] Note by the Registrar: for practical reasons this annex will appear only with the printed version of the judgment (volume 333-A of Series A of the Publications of the Court), but a copy of the Commission's report is obtainable from the registry.