Lexploria

FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 32590/07 Donatella DE STASIO and Others against Italy and 10 other applications (see list appended)

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 13 June 2023 as a Committee composed of:

PÃ©ter Paczolay , President , Gilberto Felici, Raffaele Sabato , judges ,

and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to:

the applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended tables,

the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 19 January 2023 requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases and the applicantsâ€™ reply to that declaration;

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

1. The list of applicants is set out in the appended tables.

2. The applicants were represented by Mr. Giuseppe Ferraro, a lawyer practising in Naples.

3. The Italian Government (â€œthe Governmentâ€) were represented by their Agent, Mr L. Dâ€™Ascia.

4. The applicantsâ€™ complaint under Article 6 of the Convention concerning the legislative interference pending judicial proceedings was communicated to the Government.

THE LAW

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

6. The Court firstly takes note of the information regarding the death of certain applicants, indicated in Appendix I, and the wish of their heirs to continue the proceedings in their stead, as well as of the absence of an objection to that wish on the Governmentâ€™s part. Therefore, the Court considers that the heirs indicated in Appendix I have standing to continue the proceedings in the late applicantsâ€™ stead.

7. On 19 January 2023 the Government informed the Court that all of the applicants listed in Appendix II had died. The applicantsâ€™ representative did not contest that information and no heirs have come forward.

8. Accordingly, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications with respect to the applicants listed in Appendix II (Article 37 Â§ 1 (c) of the Convention).

9. As concerns the applicants listed in Appendix I, on 19 January 2023, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issues raised by these applicants. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.

10. The Government acknowledged the legislative interference pending judicial proceedings. They offered to pay these applicants the amounts detailed in Appendix I and invited the Court to strike the 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.

11. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

12. The applicants were sent the terms of the Governmentâ€™s unilateral declaration on 24 January 2023. On 20 February 2023, the Court received a response from the applicantsâ€™ representative refusing the terms of the declaration.

13. 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€.

14. 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, Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, Â§Â§ 75 â€‘ 77, ECHR 2003-VI).

15. The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the legislative interference pending judicial proceedings in Italy (see, for example, Arras and Others v. Italy , no. 17972/07, 14 February 2012; Natale and Others v. Italy , no. 19264/07, 15 October 2013; and Casacchia and Others v. Italy , nos. 23658/07 and 2 others, 15 October 2013).

16. In the present case, the Court takes note of the applicantsâ€™ argument that, with regard to certain applicants, the amounts offered are based on a standardised determination of damages. Nevertheless, the Court also notes that only a limited number of applicants have provided individual calculations of the amounts claimed, whereas the remaining ones generically referred to the applicable criteria and claimed that they were unable to submit a precise calculation. The Court recalls that it is for the applicants to prove, as far as possible, not only the existence but also the amount of the damage. Although the Court accepts that a precise calculation of the sums due is not always possible (see, for example, KuriÄ‡ and Others v. Slovenia (just satisfaction) [GC], no. 26828/06, Â§Â§ 87-90, ECHR 2014), in the present case it is not convinced by the applicantsâ€™ arguments. The existence of the criteria mentioned by the common representative, along with the fact that some of the applicants have provided detailed calculations, indicates that at least an estimate of damages was possible in the present case. In these circumstances, the Court considers that the amounts offered by the Government are consistent with those that the Court would have awarded, based on the criteria adopted in similar cases (see, for example, Arras and Others , cited above).

17. Therefore, noting the admissions contained in the Governmentâ€™s declaration, as well as the amount of compensation proposed, the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications relating to the concerned applicants (Article 37 Â§ 1 (c)).

18. 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 with respect to the applicants concerned (Article 37 Â§ 1 in fine ).

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

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

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Holds that the heirs indicated in Appendix I have standing to pursue the proceedings in the stead of the deceased applicants;

Takes note of the death of the applicants listed in Appendix II and of the absence of any heirs wishing to pursue the proceedings before the Court in their stead;

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Governmentâ€™s declaration concerning the remaining applicants (see Appendix I), and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.

Done in English and notified in writing on 6 July 2023.

Liv Tigerstedt PÃ©ter Paczolay Deputy Registrar President

Appendix I

Application no. Case name

Introduction date

Applicantâ€™s name Year of birth

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant/household

(in euros)

Amount awarded for costs and expenses per applicant/household

(in euros)

32590/07 De Stasio and Others v. Italy 26/07/2007

Donatella DE STASIO 1975 Giuseppe PETROSILLO 1937

Household Fernanda DE GREGORIO 1931 Luisella MASCIOLI 1957 Davide MASCIOLI 1982 Marta MASCIOLI 1985

4,400

6,000

4,600

200

12769/10 De Divitiis and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Household

Maria Antonietta IMPERIO Born in 1933

Deceased in 2013 Francesco DE MATTIA 1959 (also as heir) Antonio DE MATTIA 1961 (also as heir) Alfonso Maria DE MATTIA

1965 (also as heir)

Adriana MAGGIA 1934 Marino BALZERANO 1950 Vittorio VEGLIANTE 1937

Alberto DE MARCO 1913 Vito Vittorio CARIGNANI 1943 Michele ANGELILLIS 1929

8,400

4,000

4,200

6,800

4,000

5,300

4,000

200

12770/10 Damiano and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Liliana DAMIANO 1951

Household

Maria Ludovica Dâ€™ANCHINO 1948 Donatella Dâ€™ANCHINO 1957 Annalisa Dâ€™ANCHINO 1955

Franco BENAZZO Born in 1931

Deceased in 2015

Heirs

Nella PRIANO

1935Michela BENAZZO

1969Alessandro DI SALVIA Born in 1940

Deceased in 2011

Heirs

Grazia ZAMBELLI

1938Antonio Pio Giovanni DI SALVIA

1969Angelo DI SALVIA 1979

Maria Antonietta CAPACCHIONE 1950

Franco DE BORTOLI 1942

4,900

8,700

4,300

6,600

4,200

6,700

200

12771/10 Acquisgrana and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Domenico ACQUISGRANA 1932 Carmela Silvana ANCORA 1944 Elisabetta CELENTANO Born in 1920

Deceased in 2010

Heirs

Annamaria CUOMO

1947Gilberto CUOMO

1952Donatella CUOMO

1956Lanfranco CUOMO

1962 Umberto PORPORA 1930 Carla VITAGLIANO STENDARDO 1950 Domenico GABRIELE Born in 1933

Deceased in 2018

Heirs

Vincenza FALCONE

1946Tommaso GABRIELE

1965Corrado GABRIELE

1966Alessandra GABRIELE

1974Household Maria AVERSA 1927

Antonio TALEVI 1952 Francesco TALEVI 1958

Egidio VERGINE 1930 Mauro BALDI 1940 Vito DE NITTO 1947 Checchina Santa SCARDINO 1923 Lidia MACCHIA Born in 1925

Deceased in 2011

Heir

Rocco Roberto BRAY

1952Household

Aida DE SOCIO Born in 1919

Deceased in 2013 Silvia DI STEFANO 1953 (also as heir) Annamaria DI STEFANO 1960 (also as heir)

4,000

200

12773/10 Mosca and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Giulio MOSCA 1936 Liliana SCARAIA 1941 Domenico SIMONELLI 1936 Silvano DUGGENTO 1943 Vito MODUGNO 1939

8,000

8,900

7,100

7,200

6,500

200

12774/10 Tiso and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Umberto TISO 1940 Household Gaetano VOLLARO 1951 Antonio VOLLARO 1950

6,800

4,000

200

12775/10 Zeccardo and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Quirino ZECCARDO Born 1923

Deceased in 2015

Heir

Michele ZECCARDO

1955 Ugo REPETTO 1948 Francesco Saverio RENDINA 1941

5,500

4,400

6,900

200

12778/10 Picarelli and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Manlio PISTOLESI 1933 Antonio RUSSO 1935

Household Italo RUSSO 1951

Ludovico RUSSO 1948

7,800

8,100

7,900

200

12780/10 Pisano and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Pier Luigi PISANO 1943 Maria SANTONI 1948 Aldo PUGNO 1938 Girolamo PULINO Born in 1925

Deceased in 2011

Heirs

Rita SPINELLI

1935Adele PULINO

1960Alessandra PULINO

1964Vincenzo PULINO

1970Erasmo NOCELLA 1940 Carlo MARTUCCI 1939 Lucia DI PAOLANTONIO 1950 Roberto CARUSO 1938 Clelia BELLONE 1953 Gennaro SPEZZAFERRO 1939 Vittorio LUPOLI 1940 Anna SGROâ€™ Born in 1923

Deceased in 2013

Heir

Rita SGROâ€™

1954

6,200

4,700

4,400

8,300

7,000

4,000

4,300

7,100

4,000

13,200

15,300

7,800

200

12781/10 Pescatori and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Gaetano PESCATORI 1938 Household Eduardo PESCE 1959 Alessandra PESCE 1964 Annuziata DI LUCCI 1947 Francesco VASCETTA 1943

Household Gabriella OLIVA 1938 Giacomo OLIVA 1941 Giorgio OLIVA 1943 Giovanni SASSO Born in 1949

Deceased in 2019

Heir

Maria SASSO

1939Massimino PERILLI 1932

Giuseppe SABATINI Born in 1928

Deceased in 2019

Heirs

Salvatore SABATINI

1951Enrica SABATINI

1958Monica SABATINI

1961Carlo GIACHERY 1925 Armando IANNETTA 1937 Aldo OTTONELLI Born in 1933

Deceased in 2015

Heirs

Clara SANFRATELLO

1939Valeria OTTONELLI

1968Luca OTTONELLI

1969 Lorenzo INGLESE Born in 1924

Deceased in 2018

Heirs

Gemma Marina DE MAIO

1930Roberto INGLESE

1954Riccardo INGLESE

1958Giovanni Giuseppe VERRENGIA 1945 Antonio POMPILIO Born in 1920

Deceased in 2010

Heir

Maria Filomena MONDELLI

1935Giuseppe TARTAGLIONE Born in 1938

Deceased in 2021

Heirs

Tommasina MAZZA

1939Luigi TARTAGLIONE

1963Iolanda TARTAGLIONE

1965Rosa TARTAGLIONE

1966Luciano MUCCIANTE Born in 1926

Deceased in 2015

Heir

Tiziana MUCCIANTE

1961Maria UMMARINO 1947

Household

Chiara Irene NOCERINO 1941

Maria NOCERINO 1946

Luigi Rosario Mauro NOCERINO Born in 1949

Deceased in 2017

Heirs

Santa FORMISANO

1939Rita Maria NOCERINO

1971Salvatore

NOCERINO

1974Household

Giancarla TORRIGLIA 1941

Sara SAMPELLEGRINI 1963 Marco SAMPELLEGRINI 1967

Emilio GRASSO 1947

Agata GENNARO 1932

Household Agata GENNARO 1932

Concetta LABATE 1958 Demetrio LABATE 1961 Antonino LABATE 1966 Santina LABATE 1967 Household Umberto SCALA 1949 Vincenzo SCALA 1954 Maurizio SCALA 1959

8,000

10,900

5,100

6,700

6,100

4,600

8,200

4,500

14,300

8,100

9,400

8,800

6,000

9,900

7,400

9,400

4,100

8,300

5,500

4,000

10,100

4,000

200

200APPENDIX II

Application no. Case name

Applicantâ€™s name Year of birth

Deceased in

32590/07 De Stasio and Others v. Italy 26/07/2007

Massimo RUSSO 1934

2020

12769/10 De Divitiis and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Gaetano DE DIVITIIS 1936

Giuseppina RIOTTA 1927

Piero GUERRINI 1949

2019

2020

2011

12770/10 Damiano and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Anna DE GIORGIO 1920

Mario DEL PIZZO 1937

2022

2019

12771/10 Acquisgrana and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Oscar GIULIANI 1925 Umberto GARZONIO 1923 Giovanni TRITAPEPE 1924

Angiola Maria TOSANOTTI 1925 Mario GAMBARDELLA 1924

2014

2020

2022

2010

2022

12774/10 Tiso and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Miranda PAOLETTI 1923

2022

12776/10 Filantropo and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Anna FILANTROPO 1912 Teresa Maria NICOLO 1943

2010

2011

12778/10 Picarelli and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Maria Elisa PICARELLI 1925

2015

12780/10 Pisano and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Gina CARDILLI 1929 Vincenza MAFFIONE 1922 Aldo GUIDA 1937 Rosaria DONATI 1940

2019

2020

2022

2017

12781/10 Pescatori and Others v. Italy 18/12/2009

Elio GIARDINA 1934

Marina GRIMALDI 1954

Luigi IMPERATO 1932

2021

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DE STASIO AND OTHERS v. ITALY

DE STASIO AND OTHERS v. ITALY

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