Lexploria

FIRST SECTION

DECISION

This version was rectified on 31 August 2023 under Rule 81 of the Rules of Court.

Application no. 24735/16 Cecilia RULLO against Italy and 29 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 4 May 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 applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications 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 applicantsâ€™ complaints under Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning the application of retrospective legislation (Article 1 Â§ 218 of Law no. 266/2005 of 23 December 2005) to pending national proceedings were communicated to the Italian Government (â€œthe Governmentâ€).

THE LAW

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

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

The Government acknowledged the violation of Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and that of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

With regard to the applicants C. Rullo, G. Annecchini, D. Dâ€™Antonio, S. Gargrella, M.C. Giacomucci, V.C. Di Marzio, D.O. Di Biase, P. Dâ€™Ippolito, A. Bronzo, R. Nardone, B.D. Marchegiano, G. Dâ€™Amico, A. Spaventa, M.P. Ricci, N. Dâ€™Andrea, E. Manzi, C.A. Merlo, P. Cecchetto, M.L. Malin [1] and F. Romano, the Government offered to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike their applications 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 these cases.

With regard to the applicants [2] E. Campanella, L.M.L. Scaglione, E. Garato, L. Calore, F. Volpe, L. Brusco, P. Briatore, R. Barbiero, C. Bertani, C. Aonzo, A. Barabino, L. Bargnolo, M. Agamennone, L. Benini, S. Andrioli, A. Lavezzo, G. Tagliari, G. Tosi, A. Sontuoso, R. Fioratto, A. Vernizzi, R. Biancardi, C. Tumiatti, M. Toniolo, M.C. Enricio, C. Derni, P. Finesso, A.M. Ciatto (heir: Cecchinato), R. Passudetti, G. Sbrizza, R. Crivellaro, M. Toniolo, R. Zorzetto, A. Carpesio, G. Galliani, G. Agnolin, S. Benato, F. Meneghini, G. Tomanin, E. Contin, R. Bon, R. Campagnolo, O. Sartore, M. Ferronato and L. Cattozzo the Government offered not to proceed with the recovery of 40% of the sums paid to these applicants in execution of the first-instance judgments later reversed on appeal following the application of Article 1 Â§ 218 of Law no. 266/2005 of 23 December 2005.

The Court also notes that the Government proposed to award each applicant 30 (thirty) euros (EUR) for costs and expenses.

The applicants were sent the terms of the Governmentâ€™s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations.

The Court firstly notes that there was no objection from the Government, and it also accepts, that the heir of Ms A.M. Ciatto (see attached table) has standing to continue the proceedings in the late applicantâ€™s stead.

The Court further 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 cases 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).

The Court has established clear and extensive case-law against Italy emphasising that the adoption of Law no. 266/2005 which definitively and retroactively settled the merits of the pending dispute between the applicants and the State and rendered futile any continuation of the proceedings was not justified by overriding reasons of general interest (see, for example, Cicero and Others v. Italy , nos. 29483/11 and 4 others, Â§Â§ 31-33, 30 January 2020; De Rosa and Others v. Italy , nos. 52888/08 and 13 others, Â§Â§ 48-54, 11 December 2012; and Agrati and Others v. Italy , nos. 43549/08, 6107/09 and 5087/09, Â§Â§ 59-66, 7 June 2011). When the Court found a violation of Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention, it considered that the applicants had suffered a real loss of opportunity and that, consequently, the violations found were likely to have caused the applicants material damage. As to non-pecuniary damage, the Court considered that the finding of a violation constituted in itself just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage suffered by the applicants (see De Rosa and Others , cited above, Â§Â§ 60-62).

Noting the admissions contained in the Governmentâ€™s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed 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 applications (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 applications (Article 37 Â§ 1 in fine ).

Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications 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).

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

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Finds that the heir of the late applicant, Ms A.M. Ciatto, has standing to pursue the proceedings before the Court in her stead (for further details see the appended table);

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

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

Done in English and notified in writing on 25 May 2023.

Viktoriya Maradudina Alena PolÃ¡ÄkovÃ¡ Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 Â§ 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention

(legislative interference)

No.

Application no. Date of introduction

Applicantâ€™s name

Year of birth

Representativeâ€™s name and location

Date of receipt of the Governmentâ€™s declaration

Date of receipt of the applicantâ€™s comments, if any

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per

applicant

(in euros) [1]

Amount awarded for costs and expenses per applicant

(in euros) [2]

24735/16

26/04/2016

Cecilia RULLO

1955Merlino Elisabetta

Lanciano

31/01/2023

11/03/2023

6,288

30

24775/16

26/04/2016

Giuseppe ANNECCHINI

1957

1,202.88

25743/16

30/04/2016

Donato Dâ€™ANTONIO

1951

4,767.22

25750/16

30/04/2016

Sergio GARGRELLA

1951

752.48

25753/16

30/04/2016

Maria Cristina GIACOMUCCI

1960

8,740.26

25956/16

03/05/2016

Franca ROMANO

1960

5,532.80 [3]

29770/16

19/05/2016

Velia Cristina DI MARZIO

1947

5,966.66

44720/18

14/09/2018

Donato Ottavio DI BIASE

1938

2,473.29

44724/18

14/09/2018

Pina Dâ€™IPPOLITO

1961

6,094.42

44726/18

14/09/2018

Alessandro BRONZO

1961

4,636.77

45910/18

26/09/2018

Rosanna NARDONE

1952

3,934.14

45913/18

14/09/2018

Biagio Donato MARCHEGIANO

1952

752.48

24043/19

24/04/2019

Gabriella Dâ€™AMICO

1945Salvatore Gabriele

Chieti

06/03/2023

10,652.06

24793/19

02/05/2019

Elvira CAMPANELLA

1952-

25208/19

29/04/2019

Antonina SPAVENTA

1943

16,916.29

25216/19

29/04/2019

Maria Pia RICCI

1958

5,061.34

27807/19

16/05/2019

Leda Maria Loredana SCAGLIONE

1949-

27988/19

16/05/2019

Nicola Dâ€™ANDREA

1954

11,400.14

27990/19

16/05/2019

Enio MANZI

1948

6,535.43

30650/19

29/05/2019

(21 applicants)

Matteo TONIOLO

1982Zampieri Nicola

Schio

10/03/2023

-

Maria Cristina ENRICIO

1966-

Carlo DERNI

1944-

Paolo FINESSO

1957-

Anna Maria CIATTO

1953Deceased in 2021

Heir:

Nedda CECCHINATO

1979-

Raffaella PASSUDETTI

1968-

Gianni SBRIZZA

1967-

Rosanna CRIVELLARO

1948-

Marco TONIOLO

1974-

Renato ZORZETTO

1965-

Angela CARPESIO

1968-

Giulio GALLANI

1954-

Giorgio AGNOLIN

1956-

Sandro BENATO

1959-

Francesco MENEGHINI

1956-

Giampaolo TOMANIN

1957-

Enrico CONTIN

1959-

Renato BON

1945-

Renato CAMPAGNOLO

1951-

Orfeo SARTORE

1954-

Maria FERRONATO

1955-

23252/21

23/04/2021

Liliana CATTOZZO

1950-

52069/21

30/09/2021

Maria Luisa MALIN

1951

2,688.5

42368/19

26/07/2019

(3 applicants)

Emanuela GARATO

1959Romano Giovanni

BÃ©nÃ©vent

13/03/2023

-

Patrizia CECCHETTO

1960

9,242.4

Carlo Alberto MERLO

1954

34,980.79

42374/19

26/07/2019

Fabio VOLPE

1946-

Carla TUMIATTI

1958-

42376/19

26/07/2019

Lores BRUSCO

1954-

42489/19

26/07/2019

(5 applicants)

Livio BENINI

1953-

Sabrina ANDRIOLI

1971-

Aida LAVEZZO

1947-

Giuseppe TAGLIARI

1958-

Gianpaolo TOSI

1964-

43936/19

26/07/2019

(3 applicants)

Alessandro SONTUOSO

1963-

Riccardo FIORATTO

1965-

Adamo VERNIZZI

1948-

43667/19

07/08/2019

Lello CALORE

1944Sullam Isacco

Milan

13/03/2023

-

43703/19

07/08/2019

(7 applicants)

Piero BRIATORE

1950-

Rodolfo BARBIERO

1949-

Carlo BERTANI

1951-

Claudio AONZO

1942-

Adolfo BARABINO

1946-

Luisa BARGNOLO

1960-

Maurizio AGAMENNONE

1954-

47248/19

02/09/2019

Roberto BIANCARDI

1946Biancardi Serena

Este

13/03/2023

-

[1] Rectified on 31 August 2023: â€œandâ€ has been removed before â€œM.L. Malinâ€ and â€œand F. Romanoâ€ has been added after â€œM.L. Malinâ€.

[2] Rectified on 31 August 2023: â€œF. Romanoâ€ has been deleted.

[3] Rectified on 31 August 2023: â€œ5,532.80â€ has been added.

[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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RULLO AND OTHERS v. ITALY

RULLO AND OTHERS v. ITALY

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