Lexploria

FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 63312/13 Claudio ACQUAVIVA and Others against Italy

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 29 June 2023 as a Committee composed of:

Alena PolÃ¡ÄkovÃ¡ , President , Gilberto Felici, Raffaele Sabato , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 26 September 2013,

Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.

The applicants were represented by Mr A. Salerni, a lawyer practising in Rome.

The applicantsâ€™ complaints under Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning the application of retrospective legislation (Law no. 148/2011 of 13 August 2011) to pending national proceedings were communicated to the Italian Government (â€œthe Governmentâ€).

THE LAW

On 28 April 2023 the applicantsâ€™ representative informed the Registry that one of the applicants, Clara Canestrelli, had died and that none of her heirs wished to pursue the application before the Court.

In the light of the foregoing, the Court concludes that the applicantâ€™s heirs do not wish to pursue the application within the meaning of Article 37 Â§ 1 (a) of the Convention. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 Â§ 1 in fine , the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto which require the continued examination of the application.

Accordingly, the application should be struck out of the list in so far as it concerns the complaint by Ms Clara Canestrelli.

The Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the application in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.

After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government acknowledged the violation of Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. They offered to pay the applicants, excluding Clara Canestrelli, the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 Â§ 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Courtâ€™s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

The Court also notes that the Government proposed to jointly award the applicants, save for the applicant Clara Canestrelli, 2,000 (two thousand) euros (EUR) for costs and expenses.

On 3 April 2023 the Government acknowledged a material error in the calculation of the sum to be awarded to the applicant Anna Antonietta Sforza and proceeded to amend the amount proposed.

The applicants were sent the terms of the Governmentâ€™s unilateral declaration several weeks before the date of this decision. They indicated that they were not satisfied with the terms of the unilateral declaration.

The Court observes that Article 37 Â§ 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:

â€œ... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applicationâ€.

Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 Â§ 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the case to be continued (see, in particular, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, Â§Â§ 75 â€‘ 77, ECHR 2003-VI).

Noting the admissions contained in the Governmentâ€™s declaration as well as the amount of compensation proposed for pecuniary damage â€“ which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases â€“ the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application in the part covered by the unilateral declaration (Article 37 Â§ 1 (c)).

In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the application insofar as it concerns the complaints of the applicants covered by the unilateral declaration of the Government (Article 37 Â§ 1 in fine ).

Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declaration, the application in that part may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 Â§ 2 of the Convention (see JosipoviÄ‡ v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).

The Court also has the discretion to award legal costs when it strikes out an application (Rule 43 Â§ 4 of the Rules of Court). The general principles governing reimbursement of costs under Rule 43 Â§ 4 are essentially the same as under Article 41 of the Convention (see, among others, Romanenco v. the Republic of Moldova (dec.), no. 39107/14, 25 March 2021, Union of Jehovahâ€™s Witnesses of Georgia v. Georgia (dec.), no. 72874/01, Â§ 33, 21 April 2015, and Meriakri v. Moldova (dec.), no. 53487/99, Â§ 33, 1 March 2005). In the present case, having regard to the documents in its possession, to its case-law and to the amount already proposed by the Government, the Court considers it reasonable to award jointly to the applicants, excluding Clara Canestrelli, an additional sum of EUR 2,500 (two thousand and five hundred euros) in respect of legal costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to them.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in respect of Ms Clara Canestrelli in accordance with Article 37 Â§ 1 (a) of the Convention;

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Governmentâ€™s declaration and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;

Decides to strike the remainder of the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 Â§ 1 (c) of the Convention;

Holds

(a) that the respondent State is to pay to the applicants, excluding Clara Canestrelli, within three months, in addition to the sum contained in the unilateral declaration submitted by the Government, EUR 2,500 (two thousand and five hundred euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable in this respect to the applicants, to be converted into the national currency at the rate applicable on the date of settlement;

(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English and notified in writing on 20 July 2023.

Viktoriya Maradudina Alena PolÃ¡ÄkovÃ¡ Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

Application raising complaints under Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1

(legislative interference)

Application no. Date of introduction

Applicantâ€™s name

Year of birth

Representativeâ€™s name and location

Date of receipt of Governmentâ€™s declaration

Date of receipt of applicantsâ€™ comments

Amount awarded for pecuniary damage

per applicant

(in euros) [1]

Amount awarded for costs and expenses

(in euros) [2]

63312/13

26/09/2013

(122 applicants)

Claudio ACQUAVIVA

1966Salerni Arturo

Rome

01/01/2023

28/04/2023

7,446.76

2,000,

under the Governmentâ€™s unilateral declaration,

jointly to all applicants, save for Clara Canestrelli,

and

2,500,

award made by the Court jointly to all applicants, save for Clara Canestrelli

Cristiana ALFIERI

1967

4,935.73

Massimo AMADEO

1962

8,235.09

Lorenzo ARCARI

1959

8,407.83

Antonella ARSENTI

1956

8,378.53

Carla BABINI

1959

9,281.96

Andrea BALDI

1958

5,795.49

Donatella BALDINI

1958

9,416.78

Euro BARTOLOMUCCI

1956

4,480.64

Giuseppina BELVISO

1961

9,051.61

Paola BOCHICCHIO

1953

5,170.14

Gabriella BOEMIO

1946

5,325.90

Marco BORRIELLO

1964

6,946.84

Rossella CALIFANO

1981

4,304.60

Flaviano CAMPITIELLO

1945

7,446.76

Elisabetta CAMPO

1955

2,680.99

Gianluca CAPUTO

1968

5,925.41

Anna Maria CARCÃ’

1958

4,882.38

Roberta CARDAMONE

1954

4,220.09

Elena CARNEVALI

1951

7,446.76

Emanuela CARIDÃ€

1954

8,840.79

Silvana CARROTTA

1963

4,795.98

Leonardo CATROPPA

1963

4,915.50

Annunziata CERVONE

1944

9,552.89

Basilia CHESSA

1952

7,985.83

Giulietta CIABATTI

1954

6,517.90

Stefano CIRILLI

1959

9,281.96

Ubaldo CIAVAGLIOLI

1951

9,281.96

Caterina CIVELLO

1956

7,635.90

Caterina COLAPIETRO

1964

2,617.51

Pierfrancesco CONTESE

1967

7,340.73

Vincenzo CORDIANI

1945

9,281.96

Renzo CORI

1952

6,863.52

Rosanna CORONA

1958

7,183.41

Adriana CUFFARO

1957

10,391.49

Marzio Dâ€™AGOSTINO

1973

4,387.68

Isabella Dâ€™AMORE

1960

6,449.33

Antonella DAPPORTO

1970

6,672.20

Simonetta DE FELICIS

1953

10,495.64

Antonio DE SANTIS

1943

7,398.82

Ivano DE SIMONE

1971

7,446.76

Valentina Dâ€™EMIDIO

1977

4,640.31

Gianluca DI FELICE

1965

7,411.84

Maria Vittoria DI MAGGIO

1963

7,513.44

Donatella DI VIRGILIO

1966

6,732.50

Angelo FARCHIONI

1950

7,446.76

Domenico FERRANTE

1947

4,527.25

Maria Margherita FERRO

1958

6,282.55

Nicola Tommaso FIRMANI

1946

8,422.04

Patrizia FRISINA

1964

6,456.19

Valentina GAMBELUNGHE

1956

8,840.79

Silvana GAROFOLO

1952

7,446.76

Patrizia GIACCIO

1968

4,897.20

Angelo GIOÃˆ

1962

9,281.96

Ornella GIOFFRÃˆ

1946

3,700.56

Felicetta Wanda GRILLO

1947

8,528.92

Massimiliano GUADAGNOLI 1961

8,235.09

Gianpaolo IULIUCCI

1967

8,235.09

Fabrizio IURLANO

1965

8,829.07

Alessandra LA CAVA

1962

6,100.12

Massimo LA BARBERA

1950

6,765.55

Anna Maria LELLI

1942

4,918.47

Salvatore LEONARDI

1948

6,664.46

Rita LIOTTI

1954

5,373.70

Camillo Emanuele MADELLA

1959

7,280.12

Agnese MAIOLATI

1961

8,185.42

Antonella MANCA

1966

5,239.07

Salvatore Maria MARANO

1951

2,787.20

Ivano MARCHI

1943

9,846.74

Manuela MASCALI

1969

7,110.40

Francesca MASTROFINI

1960

6,698.64

Giuseppe MELI

1959

3,963.37

Alfredo MELONI

1953

6,632.08

Franco MERZETTI

1956

6,787.28

Sabrina MICHIORRI

1968

8,510.39

Salvatore Maria MIGNACCA

1968

4,643.39

Maririta MURGIANO

1946

6,439.40

Gonario MURRU

1946

5,739.65

Cristiana NINCI

1966

7,138.17

Mario Giacomo NOVIELLI

1946

7,462.59

Donatella ORLANDI

1964

6,787.28

Riccardo ORLANDI

1965

7,988.93

Luigi PADULAROSA

1947

6,541.19

Maria Ausilia PANETTA

1957

5,349.80

Rita PATRIGNANI

1954

2,277.61

Sergio PERSIANI

1953

4,286.97

Maria Antonietta PETRICCA

1962

6,160.99

Graziella PICCIONE

1951

8,235.09

Maria Cristina PINO

1970

3,542.57

Valerio PIRAS

1961

6,581.00

Maria Teresa PORCELLI

1954

7,486.98

Orietta RANUCCI

1944

9,281.96

Stefania REMIGI

1963

1,039.97

Carla RISA

1942

3,110.50

Leila Anneli RISSANEN

1958

5,987.13

Riccardo ROMANAZZO

1955

9,452.56

Ugo RUFINO

1957

10,495.64

Andreina SABBI

1950

4,529.11

Raffaele SANNA

1963

7,446.76

Laura SAPIENZA

1954

7,425.96

Bruno SAUCHELLI

1955

8,235.09

Nicola SAUCHELLI

1953

3,461.84

Loris SEVERINI

1956

6,380.67

Anna Antonietta SFORZA

1943

5,478.87

Susanna SGOIFO

1955

981.45

Silvia SIMONI

1961

9,075.04

Giuseppe SPATUCCI

1945

3,863.21

Margherita SPORENI

1949

7,023.99

Cinzia SIMONETTI

1954

8,235.09

Norberto Maria STEINMAYR

1954

9,281.96

Antonio TESTA

1953

3,429.90

Francesca TIBERI

1947

7,275.19

Melitina TIBERI

1949

6,184.63

Donatella TOCCHIO

1957

7,446.76

Simonetta TRONU

1957

5,410.44

Laura TROVARELLI

1956

5,325.90

Giorgio VALCASTELLI

1956

9,281.96

Patrizia VETRALLA

1959

6,060.70

Violetta VITTORIA

1963

5,165.14

Rosamund Mary WHITING

1951

8,235.09

Patrizia ZAMPIERI

1947

4,843.64

Claudia Nicoletta ZINCONE

1959

7,278.74

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

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ACQUAVIVA AND OTHERS v. ITALY

ACQUAVIVA AND OTHERS v. ITALY

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