CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 9 décembre 1994

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margin-bottom:12pt } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s85226119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:10pt }       COURT (CHAMBER)             CASE OF STRAN GREEK REFINERIES AND STRATIS ANDREADIS v. GREECE   (Application no. 13427/87)             JUDGMENT       STRASBOURG   09 December 1994 In the case of Stran Greek Refineries and Stratis Andreadis v. Greece [] , The European Court of Human Rights, sitting, in accordance with Article 43 (art. 43) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") and the relevant provisions of Rules of Court A [] , as a Chamber composed of the following judges:   Mr   R. Ryssdal , President ,   Mr   B. Walsh ,   Mr   R. Macdonald ,   Mr   C. Russo ,   Mr   N. Valticos ,   Mr   S.K. Martens ,   Mr   R. Pekkanen ,   Mr   F. Bigi ,   Mr   L. Wildhaber , and also of Mr H. Petzold , Acting Registrar , Having deliberated in private on 22 April and on 21 November 1994, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date: PROCEDURE 1.    The case was referred to the Court by the European Commission of Human Rights ("the Commission") on 12 July 1993, within the three-month period laid down by Article 32 para. 1 and Article 47 (art. 32-1, art. 47) of the Convention. It originated in an application (no. 13427/87) against the Hellenic Republic lodged with the Commission under Article 25 (art. 25) by a Greek private limited company, Stran Greek Refineries, and the latter’s sole shareholder, Mr Stratis Andreadis, on 20 November 1987. The second applicant died in 1989 and his son and heir, Mr Petros Andreadis, expressed the wish to continue with the application. The Commission’s request referred to Articles 44 and 48 (art. 44, art. 48) and to the declaration whereby Greece recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court (Article 46) (art. 46). The object of the request was to obtain a decision as to whether the facts of the case disclosed a breach by the respondent State of its obligations under Article 6 (art. 6) of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (P1-1). 2.    In response to the enquiry made in accordance with Rule 33 para. 3 (d) of Rules of Court A, the applicants stated that they wished to take part in the proceedings and designated the lawyer who would represent them (Rule 30). 3.    The Chamber to be constituted included ex officio Mr N. Valticos, the elected judge of Greek nationality (Article 43 of the Convention) (art. 43), and Mr R. Ryssdal, the President of the Court (Rule 21 para. 3 (b)). On 25 August 1993, in the presence of the Registrar, the President drew by lot the names of the other seven members, namely Mr B. Walsh, Mr R. Macdonald, Mr C. Russo, Mr S.K. Martens, Mr R. Pekkanen, Mr F. Bigi and Mr L. Wildhaber (Article 43 in fine of the Convention and Rule 21 para. 4) (art. 43). 4.    As President of the Chamber (Rule 21 para. 5), Mr Ryssdal, acting through the Registrar, consulted the Agent of the Greek Government ("the Government"), the applicants’ lawyer and the Delegate of the Commission on the organisation of the proceedings (Rules 37 para. 1 and 38). Pursuant to the order made in consequence, the Registrar received the Government’s memorial on 13 January 1994 and the applicants’ memorial on 19 January. On 21 February the Secretary to the Commission informed the Registrar that the Delegate would submit his observations at the hearing. 5.    In accordance with the President’s decision, the hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 19 April 1994. The Court had held a preparatory meeting beforehand. There appeared before the Court: - for the Government     Mr P. Georgakopoulos , Senior Adviser,       Legal Council of State,   Delegate of the Agent ,     Mrs K. Grigoriou , Legal Assistant,       Legal Council of State,   Counsel ; - for the Commission     Mr C.L. Rozakis ,   Delegate ; - for the applicant     Mr M. Beloff , QC,   Counsel ,     Mr P. Martyr , solicitor,     Mrs T. Foster , solicitor,     Mr K.D. Kerameus , Professor of Law       at Athens University,   Advisers . The Court heard addresses by Mr Georgakopoulos, Mr Rozakis and Mr Beloff, and also their replies to its questions. AS TO THE FACTS I.    CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 6.    Stran Greek Refineries ("Stran") is a company currently in liquidation. Its registered address is in Athens and Mr Stratis Andreadis was its sole shareholder. A. Background to the case 7.    Under the terms of a contract concluded on 22 July 1972 with the Greek State, which at the time was governed by a military junta, Mr Andreadis undertook to construct a crude oil refinery in the Megara region, near Athens. The refinery was to be built, at an estimated cost of 76,000,000 US dollars, by a company which it was proposed to form, Stran Greek Refineries, of which the second applicant was to be the sole owner. All the latter’s rights and obligations were to be automatically transferred to the company upon its incorporation. The Government ratified the contract by Legislative Decree no. 1211/1972, published in the Official Gazette of 26 July 1972. Under Article 21 of the contract, the State undertook to purchase, not later than 31 December 1972, a plot of land in Megara suitable for the construction of the refinery. On 27 July 1972, by a Royal Decree (no. 450), issued pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 2687/1953 on "the Investment and Protection of Capital Funds from Abroad", the State authorised Mr Andreadis to import 58 million US dollars to finance the scheme. 8.    However, the project stagnated because the State failed to fulfil its obligation. On 28 November 1973 the Ministers of Industry and Agriculture announced at a press conference in Megara the Government’s decision to return to the proprietors the land which had already been expropriated in accordance with Article 21 of the contract. The following day the Megara police ordered that the work should cease. In December 1973 Stran protested to the relevant authorities and sought permission to proceed with the work. On 27 February 1974 it even issued an extra-judicial summons inviting the State to ratify the purchase of the land in question, but the State refused to revoke the police order prohibiting the continuation of the work. 9.    Once democracy had been restored, the Government took the view that the contract and Decree no. 450 were prejudicial to the national economy; they relied on Article 2 para. 5 of Law no. 141/1975 on the termination of preferential contracts (kharistikes symvasseis) concluded under the military regime (1967-74). This Law, which was enacted by special authorisation under the 1975 Constitution (Article 107 - see paragraph 24 below), possessed superior force. The applicants did not respond to a proposal addressed to them by the Minister for Co-ordination on 19 November 1975 inviting them to enter negotiations for the revision or termination of the contract. Accordingly, a ministerial committee on the economy terminated the contract on 14 October 1977. The applicants did not challenge this decision in the courts. B. The proceedings in the Athens Court of First Instance 10.    Prior to the termination of the contract, Stran had incurred expenditure in connection with the scheme. In particular, it had concluded contracts for the supply of goods and services with foreign and Greek undertakings and had taken out loans. A dispute then arose between Stran and the State. On 10 November 1978 Stran brought an action (anagnoristiki agogi) in the Athens Court of First Instance for a declaration that the State should pay it compensation in the amounts of 251,113,978 drachmas, 22,799,782 US dollars and 877,466 French francs. It argued that the State had been in breach of its obligations during the period of validity of the contract, in particular in so far as it had, since 27 November 1973, prohibited the continuation of work on the construction of the refinery at Megara and had not, since 9 February 1974, taken any steps to expropriate the land required for that construction. It also sought the return of a cheque for 240 million drachmas which it had lodged with the Ministry of the National Economy as security for the proper performance of the contract; it further claimed reimbursement of the commission and the fiscal stamp fee paid to the Commercial Bank of Greece. The State challenged the jurisdiction of the court. It contended that the dispute should be referred to arbitration in accordance with Article 27 of the contract, the relevant paragraphs of which were worded as follows: "1. Any difference, dispute or disagreement arising between the State and the Concessionaire as to the application of this Agreement and relative to the interpretation of the terms and conditions thereof and the extent of the rights and obligations deriving therefrom shall be resolved exclusively by arbitration by three arbitrators according to the following procedure, no other arbitration agreement being required. ... 9. The arbitration award shall be definite, final and irrevocable, and shall constitute an enforceable instrument requiring no further action for enforcement or any other formality. It shall be liable to no ordinary or extraordinary judicial remedies, nor shall it be subject to cancellation or suspension before ordinary courts of justice. The party failing to comply with the provisions of the arbitration award shall be obligated to make good any and all damage (damnum emergens or lucrum cessans) caused to the other party." 11.    In a preliminary decision (no. 13910/1979) of 29 September 1979, the Athens Court of First Instance rejected the State’s main submission. It held that the arbitration clause concerned solely the settlement of disputes arising from the performance of the contract and not the failure of one of the parties to perform the contract. It found further that the ministerial committee on the economy had terminated the contract in issue in its entirety (see paragraph 9 above) which had the effect of rendering the arbitration clause void as it was not an autonomous provision. In addition, the court dismissed the State’s argument that two of the conditions subsequent contained in the contract, namely the lodging of a cheque as security and the payment of the second part of the minimum capital, had not been satisfied. Finally, the court ordered additional investigative measures, including the hearing of five witnesses, in order to determine the existence and extent of the damage alleged by Stran. C. The arbitration proceedings 12.    On 12 June 1980 the State filed an arbitration petition and appointed an arbitrator. It requested the arbitration court to declare that all the claims for compensation against the Greek State lodged by Stran in the Athens Court of First Instance (see paragraph 10 above) were unfounded. In its memorial of 28 June 1980 Stran - which had appointed a professor of law at Athens University as arbitrator - maintained primarily that the arbitration court lacked jurisdiction and requested that the arbitration be stayed until the proceedings instituted on 10 November 1978 had been concluded; in the alternative and in order to rebut the State’s arguments on the merits, it referred the arbitrators to its pleadings in the Athens Court of First Instance. 13.    The arbitration court was constituted on 3 July 1980; its president was chosen jointly by the two other arbitrators (Article 27 para. 3 of the contract). It made its award on 27 February 1984. It found that it had jurisdiction in that, in its view, the disputes arising from the total failure to perform the contract were also subject to arbitration, which was not restricted to those deriving from non-performance of individual clauses as had been argued by the State. The wording of the arbitration clause in Article 27 (see paragraph 10 above) was sufficiently general and clear to rule out such distinctions. On the merits, the arbitration court relied on the evidence adduced by the parties before the Athens Court of First Instance on 10 November 1978 (see paragraph 10 above). It found that responsibility for the losses sustained by Stran was shared - 70% for the State and 30% for the company. The latter had commenced work on land which had been the subject of a contested expropriation order and without first obtaining the necessary planning permission. It therefore held Stran’s claims to be well-founded in an amount not exceeding 116,273,442 drachmas, 16,054,165 US dollars and 614,627 French francs, plus interest at 6% from 10 November 1978; however, this reference to interest did not appear in the operative part of the decision. Finally, the court declared that the State was unlawfully retaining the cheque lodged as security (see paragraph 10 above). 14.    On 24 July 1984 the applicant company sought an order from the Athens Court of First Instance requiring the State to return the security, but the court stayed the proceedings pending the conclusion of those instituted on 10 November 1978 (see paragraph 10 above). D. The appeals against the arbitration award of 27 February 1984 1. In the Athens Court of First Instance 15.    On 2 May 1984 the State had asked the Athens Court of First Instance to set aside the arbitration award of 27 February 1984. It argued that the arbitration court had lacked jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from the contract in issue and Stran’s financial claims against the State. In the alternative, it affirmed that the contracting parties had intended to limit the jurisdiction of the arbitration court to disputes concerning the performance and interpretation of the clauses of the contract and the scope of the rights and duties deriving therefrom; its jurisdiction could not therefore extend to disputes relating to the total failure to perform the contract.   It followed that the dispute in question was a matter for the ordinary civil courts, as the Athens Court of First Instance had recognised in its judgment no. 13910/1979. In the further alternative, the State argued that the arbitration court’s lack of jurisdiction was confirmed by the fact that Stran’s claims against it had become statute-barred following the termination of the contract. Finally, it stressed the declaratory nature of the action brought by Stran on 10 November 1978 (see paragraph 10 above). 16.    In a judgment (no. 5526/1985) of 21 April 1985 the Athens court dismissed the State’s application, holding that the decision terminating the contract had not rendered the arbitration clause void. That clause continued to produce its effects in relation to disputes which had arisen during the period of validity of the contract. 17.    On 19 December 1986 the applicant company withdrew its first action in the Athens Court of First Instance (see paragraph 9 above), but sought to pursue its action for the return of the cheque lodged as security (see paragraph 14 above). When this action was heard in the Athens Court of First Instance, on 6 February 1987, the State, relying on Article 294 of the Code of Civil Procedure, opposed the discontinuance of the first action. It maintained that the latter action would have resulted in a finding unfavourable to Stran and that the State thus had a legitimate interest in seeking a final decision. However, the court again stayed the proceedings (decision no. 2877/1987) on account of the appeal on points of law which was pending (see paragraph 19 below). 2. In the Athens Court of Appeal 18.    In a judgment (no. 9336/1986) of 4 November 1986, the Athens Court of Appeal, basing its decision on the same grounds, upheld the judgment of 21 April 1985. It ruled, inter alia: "In modern Greek legislation the principle of the autonomy of an arbitration clause in relation to the contract prevails. The termination of the contract, for whatever reason, does not bring an end to the power of the arbitrators designated to hear disputes which have arisen during the period of validity of the contract ... The decision of the ministerial committee on the economy did not annul the arbitration clause contained in Article 27 of the contract and, accordingly, it does not preclude the arbitrators from examining the merits of the dispute." 3. In the Court of Cassation 19.    On 15 December 1986 the State appealed to the Court of Cassation. The hearing was initially set down for 4 May 1987, but on that date it was postponed to 1 June 1987 at the State’s request, on the ground that a draft law concerning the case in question was before Parliament. In reply to a question put by the European Court at the hearing on 19 April 1994, the applicants’ lawyer maintained that the Court of Cassation’s judge-rapporteur had sent his opinion, which had been favourable to the applicants’ arguments, to the parties before 4 May and this affirmation was not disputed by the Government. 20.    On 22 May 1987 Parliament enacted Law no. 1701/1987 on "the compulsory participation of the State in private undertakings ... and the redemption of shares", which entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette of 25 May 1987. This Law dealt principally with the renegotiation of a concession for the prospecting for and extraction of oil and natural gas in an area of the Sea of Thrace. However, Article 12 of the Law was worded as follows: "1. The true and lawful meaning of the provisions of Article 2 para. 1 of Law no. 141/1975 concerning the termination of contracts entered into between 21 April 1967 and 24 July 1974 is that, upon the termination of these contracts, all their terms, conditions and clauses, including the arbitration clause, are ipso jure repealed and the arbitration tribunal no longer has jurisdiction. 2. Arbitration awards covered by paragraph 1 shall no longer be valid or enforceable. 3. Any principal or ancillary claims against the Greek State, expressed either in foreign or local currency, which arise out of the contracts entered into between 21 April 1967 and 24 July 1974, ratified by statute and terminated by virtue of Law no. 141/1975, are now proclaimed time-barred. 4. Any court proceedings at whatever level pending at the time of the enactment of this statute, in respect of claims within the meaning of the preceding paragraph, are declared void." 21.    On 10 July 1987, after hearing the opinion of the judge-rapporteur calling for the appeal to be dismissed, the First Division of the Court of Cassation delivered its judgment (no. 1387/1987). It held that Article 12 was unconstitutional on the following grounds: "... Not only does [Article 107] of the Constitution confer superior force on Law no. 141/1975, but it also prohibits subsequent amendments or additions thereto, or even authoritative interpretation thereof, in the form of ordinary legislation. The purpose of that superior force and of the provision in the Constitution requiring that a single law be enacted once and for all within three months of the entry into force of the Constitution was to ensure legislative stability and international confidence for investments in Greece. This opinion is based on the only possible meaning to be attributed to the expression ‘single law to be enacted once and for all’ and on the ease with which the said provision would be flouted if amendments, additions or authoritative interpretation of that law were allowed ... It follows that ... the provisions of Article 12 of Law no. 1701/1987 which purport to provide an authoritative interpretation of and to amend and supplement Article 2 para. 1 of Law no. 141/1975 and which were enacted after the expiry of the time-limit laid down in Article 107 para. 2 of the Constitution are contrary to that instrument. In accordance with Article 93 para. 4 of the Constitution the court is therefore precluded from applying them. The Division refuses to apply unconstitutional provisions and, pursuant to Article 563 para. 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, holds that it is bound to refer the case to the Court of Cassation sitting in plenary session ..." 22.    The hearing in the Court of Cassation sitting in plenary session opened on 19 November 1987, but as a result of the death of one of its members Stran sought a new hearing, which was held on 25 February 1988. The Court of Cassation delivered its judgment (no. 4/1989) on 16 March 1989. It observed, inter alia: "... [The Constitution] provides for the enactment of ‘a single law to be enacted once and for all’ which by definition possesses superior force inasmuch as it may be neither supplemented nor amended by ordinary legislation ... However, the prohibition on supplementing or modifying the content of [such] laws does not mean that they may never be interpreted. The fact that they are sui generis, which gives them precedence over ordinary legislation, ... does not preclude their interpretation where the circumstances so require. The purpose of such interpretation is not to amend the substance of the law interpreted, but to clarify its original meaning and to resolve disputes that have arisen in connection with its application or which may do so in the future. [The need for such interpretation] will ultimately be determined by the court which will have to ascertain whether the meaning of the law interpreted actually gave rise to doubts justifying the intervention of the legislature ... Accordingly, the interpretation of Law no. 141/1975 is not contrary to the Constitution merely because it is a law of superior rank. It must nevertheless be determined, on the one hand, whether the interpretation was necessary in the specific case and, on the other, whether the non-interpretative provisions of this Law, which have a bearing on the solution of the case in issue, are contrary to the Constitution ... The wording [of Article 2 para. 5 of Law no. 141/1975] lacks clarity and creates doubt as to whether the arbitration clause survives the termination of the contract ... and as to the jurisdiction of the arbitration court. In the instant case doubt first arose in the course of the proceedings brought by [the applicants] in the ordinary civil court and again - following the preliminary decision of the Athens Court of First Instance - when those proceedings had been discontinued and recourse was had to arbitration, where diametrically opposed arguments were put forward ... Irrespective of those doubts, the main issue is the acceptance or rejection of the principle of the autonomous character of the arbitration clause and of its scope. For a long time this matter has been the subject of significant differences of opinion in international case-law and among legal writers. In some countries the principle of the survival of the clause to resolve disputes arising prior to the termination of contracts ... prevails. In other countries the dominant view is that termination of the contract entails the annulment of the clause and therefore the referral of all the disputes to the ordinary courts. In other countries again, the accepted view is that the autonomous character of the arbitration clause operates only in respect of certain types of dispute. It was therefore necessary to provide an interpretation of Law no. 141/1975 and that interpretation resolved the problem for the purposes of Greek law by opting for the annulment of arbitration clauses ... and the removal of jurisdiction from the arbitration court. The fact that the intervention of the legislature occurred ... five days before the hearing in the First Division of this Court and following a previous adjournment does not mean that it was not necessary and does not render it contrary to Article 26 paras. 1 and 3 and Articles 77 and 87 of the Constitution. The dispute in question provided the opportunity to resolve a problem which had already arisen. Consequently, it cannot be concluded that, in giving such an interpretation in this case, the legislature interfered with the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and usurped that jurisdiction. It follows that, contrary to the finding of the First Division, Article 12 para. 1 of Law no. 1701/1987 is not in breach of the Constitution ..." The Court of Cassation took the view that paragraph 2 of Article 12 was not unconstitutional as it essentially supplemented paragraph 1 and sought to deprive of effect any arbitration awards that were made after the termination of contracts and that would not have been made if the meaning of Law no. 141/1975 had been clarified in time. In addition, the court refused to examine the constitutionality of paragraph 3, finding that it had no bearing on the case before it. Finally, it held that the adoption of paragraph 4 shortly before the hearing purported to remove from the courts the possibility of determining the validity of the contested award. That provision therefore violated the principle of the separation of powers. 23.    The Court of Cassation remitted the case to the First Division which, on 11 April 1990, quashed the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 4 November 1986 (see paragraph 18 above) and declared void the arbitration award of 27 February 1984 (see paragraph 13 above). II.    RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A. The Constitution 24.    The following provisions of the 1975 Constitution are relevant here: Article 77 "1. The authentic interpretation of the laws shall rest with the legislative power. 2. A law which is not truly interpretative shall enter into force only as of its publication." Article 93 para. 4 "The courts shall be bound not to apply laws, the contents of which are contrary to the Constitution." Article 107 "1. Legislation of higher formal rank enacted before 21 April 1967 pertaining to the protection of foreign capital shall continue to possess such rank and shall be applicable to capital imported henceforth. 2. A single law to be enacted once and for all within three months of the date of the entry into force of this Constitution shall specify the terms and the procedure for the termination or revision of preferential administrative agreements or measures concluded or promulgated between 21 April 1967 and 23 July 1974 pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 2687/1953, in so far as such agreements or measures concern the investment of foreign capital ..." According to legal writers, the reference in Article 107 of the Constitution to Legislative Decree no. 2687/1953 - which provides, inter alia, that arbitration is to constitute the sole means of resolving disputes concerning foreign investment - confers constitutional status on such arbitration (Introduction to Greek Law, edited by K.D. Kerameus and P.J. Kozyris, Deventer/Athens, Kluwer/Sakkoulas, 1988, p. 263). B. The Code of Civil Procedure 25.    The Code of Civil Procedure provides, inter alia, as follows: Article 294 "The plaintiff may withdraw the action without the consent of the defendant before the latter has filed pleadings on the merits of the case. He may not so withdraw at a later stage if the defendant objects to the withdrawal on the ground that he has a legitimate interest in the proceedings being concluded by a final decision." Article 295 para. 1 "The effect of the withdrawal of the action is that it shall be deemed never to have been brought ..." The VIIth section of the Code of Civil Procedure (Articles 867-903) deals with arbitration. The relevant provisions are as follows: Article 893 para. 2 "The arbitrator ... shall, unless stipulated otherwise in the arbitration clause, file the original of the arbitration award with the registry of the Court of First Instance within whose jurisdiction the decision was given ..." Article 895 "1. The ordinary remedies do not lie against arbitration awards. 2. The arbitration agreement may specify an appeal against the arbitration award before different arbitrators ..., but it must at the same time define the conditions, the time-limit and the procedure to be followed for the exercise of such a remedy and for the decision thereon." Article 896 "If the arbitration agreement does not specify the appeal provided for in Article 895 para. 2 or if the time-limit for filing such an appeal has expired, the arbitration award shall become final ..." Article 897 "The arbitration award may be annulled, in whole or in part, only by judicial decision and on the following grounds: (1) where the arbitration agreement is void; (2) where it was made after the arbitration agreement had    ceased to be valid; (3) where the arbitrators were designated in breach of the    terms of the arbitration agreement or of the statutory    provisions ...; (4) where the arbitrators exceeded the powers attributed    to them under the arbitration agreement or by statute; (5) where the provisions of Articles 886 para. 2, 891 and    892 have been infringed; (6) where it is contrary to public policy and morality; (7) where it is incomprehensible or where it contains    contradictory provisions; ..." Article 904 "1. Enforcement may be effected solely pursuant to an enforceable decision. 2. The following decisions shall be enforceable: ... (b) arbitration awards; ..." Article 918 "1. Enforcement may be effected solely on the basis of the copy of the enforceable decision bearing the stamp conferring authority to execute ... 2. Endorsement with the stamp conferring authority to execute shall be effected: ... (d) in respect of arbitration awards by the judge of the    First Instance Court ...; ..." C. Law no. 141/1975 "on ... the revision or revocation of agreements ... concluded during the dictatorship period" 26.    Law no. 141/1975, which was enacted pursuant to Article 107 para. 2 of the Constitution, made possible the revision or revocation of any administrative measure of ratification, issued between 21 April 1967 and 23 July 1974, and any contract concluded by the State during that period with a legal or a natural person and concerning the investments governed by Legislative Decree no. 2687/1953. Such measures or contracts were to be revised or terminated where they were incompatible with the Constitution or other laws or contrary to morality, and prejudicial to the interests of the State, consumers and the national economy. The contracts were to be terminated where it proved impossible to revise them in their entirety. Termination could be effected at the written request of the person concerned or unilaterally by the ministerial committee on the economy. Article 2 para. 5 of the Law described the consequences of termination in the following terms: "Following the termination of a contract ... the special privileges and agreements shall cease to have effect and the undertaking or investment shall be subject to the ordinary laws governing ordinary undertakings and investments ..." PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 27.    Stran Greek Refineries and Mr Stratis Andreadis applied to the Commission on 20 November 1987. They maintained that there had been a breach of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) of the Convention inasmuch as they had not had a fair trial within a reasonable time. They claimed further that as a result of the length and the dilatory nature of the proceedings and of the provisions of Article 12 of Law no. 1701/1987 their right of property guaranteed under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (P1-1) had been infringed. 28.    The Commission declared the application (no. 13427/87) admissible on 4 July 1991. In its report of 12 May 1993 (Article 31) (art. 31), it expressed the following opinion: (a) that there had been a violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) of the Convention as regards the right to a fair trial (unanimously), but not as regards the length of the proceedings (twelve votes to two); (b) that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (P1-1) (unanimously). The full text of the Commission’s opinion and of the two separate opinions contained in the report is reproduced as an annex to this judgment [] . FINAL SUBMISSIONS TO THE COURT 29.    In their memorial the Government asked the Court: "[to declare] the application by Stran Greek Refineries ... inadmissible, on the one hand, and [in addition that there had been] no violation of the rights of the applicants as protected by Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) of the Convention ... and Article 1 of the First Protocol (P1-1)". 30.    The applicants requested the Court to hold: "(1) that there has been a violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) as regards the applicants’ right to a fair hearing by a tribunal; (2) that there has been a violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) as regards observance of the reasonable time requirement; (3) that there has been and continues to be a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (P1-1); (4) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants ... the amount claimed as just satisfaction". AS TO THE LAW I.    THE GOVERNMENT’S PRELIMINARY OBJECTION 31.    The Government maintained that the applicants had failed to exhaust domestic remedies. If the Athens Court of First Instance were to dismiss the application to withdraw filed by the applicants on 19 December 1986 (see paragraph 17 above), the examination of the action that they had brought on 10 November 1978 would proceed and they would then be in a position to plead the incompatibility with the Constitution and the Convention of Article 12 para. 3 of Law no. 1701/1987, the constitutionality of which had not been determined by the plenary Court of Cassation (see paragraph 22 above). If, on the other hand, the Court of First Instance allowed that application, there was nothing to prevent the applicants from bringing a new action based on the same complaints; domestic law, in particular Articles 4, 5, 20 para. 2, 28 and 93 para. 4 of the Constitution afforded them sufficient legal protection. 32.    The Court reiterates that it takes cognisance of preliminary objections in so far as the State in question has already raised them, at least in substance and with sufficient clarity, before the Commission, in principle at the stage of the initial examination of admissibility. 33.    Before the Commission, the Government contended essentially that the applicants ought to have instituted administrative proceedings in 1977 against the decision of the ministerial committee on the economy of 14 October 1977 terminating the contract. The Commission dismissed this objection on the ground that the Government had not shown that such proceedings would have afforded redress in any way whatsoever for the entry into force of Law no. 1701/1987, its application to the applicants or for the length of the proceedings before the national courts. 34.    In their memorial to the Court, the Government referred to the following extract from their additional observations of 6 May 1991 on the admissibility of the application: the applicants "chose to pursue their claims under a procedure ... which is not provided for in the Greek legal system - arbitration - and the application is accordingly inadmissible because they have failed to exhaust the statutory remedies available to them in cases of this nature". 35.    Such an assertion cannot suffice, in the Court’s view, to sustain the objection raised by the Government at this stage of the proceedings. When a State relies on the exhaustion rule, it must indicate with sufficient clarity the effective remedies to which the applicants have not had recourse; in this area it is not for the Convention bodies to cure of their own motion any shortcomings or lack of precision in respondent States’ arguments (see, among many other authorities, the Barberà, Messegué and Jabardo v. Spain judgment of 6 December 1988, Series A no. 146, p. 27, para. 56). Moreover, the Court notes that it was the Government that initially contested the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and opted for arbitration as a means of resolving the dispute (see paragraphs 10 and 12 above). 36.    There is therefore estoppel in respect of the preliminary objection. II.    ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 6 PARA. 1 (art. 6-1) OF THE CONVENTION 37.    The applicants alleged two violations of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) of the Convention, which provides as follows: "In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ..., everyone is entitled to a fair ... hearing within a reasonable time by [a] ... tribunal ..." In the first place the adoption of Article 12 of Law no. 1701/1987 and its application in their case by the Court of Cassation had, they maintained, deprived them of a fair trial. Secondly, the length of the proceedings to determine the validity of the arbitration award of 27 February 1984 had exceeded a "reasonable time". A. Applicability of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) 38.    At the hearing the Government denied that Article 6 (art. 6) was applicable in the instant case. In their opinion, the subject of the "contestation" (dispute) before the national courts had been the validity of the arbitration clause and consequently that of the arbitration award itself. It had not therefore concerned a "civil right" within the meaning of Article 6 (art. 6). The clause in question had been a privilege accorded within a very specific legislative context and had dealt exclusively with the contractual relations between the military regime and the applicants. In order for such relations to produce legal effects they had to be ratified by an ad hoc law, in this case Legislative Decree no. 1211/1972 (see paragraph 7 above). In addition, all the legislation on foreign investments in Greece (see paragraph 7 above) pursued a public interest aim, namely the economic development of the country. 39.    According to the Court’s case-law, the concept of "civil rights and obligations" is not to be interpreted solely by reference to the respondent State’s domestic law. Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) applies irrespective of the status of the parties, of the nature of the legislation which governs the manner in which the dispute is to be determined and of the character of the authority which has jurisdiction in the matter; it is enough that the outcome of the proceedings should be decisive for private rights and obligations (see, among many other authorities, the Allan Jacobsson v. Sweden judgment of 25 October 1989, Series A no. 163, p. 20, para. 72). 40.    The Court observes that following the termination of the contract concluded between them and the Greek State, the applicants brought an action in the Athens Court of First Instance for a declaration that the State should reimburse them in respect of the expenditure which they had incurred up to that point in connection with the performance of the contract (see paragraph 10 above). Their claim, which was essentially one for damages, was based mainly on the allegation that the State had already been in breach of its obligations under the contract before its termination. Their claim in the arbitration proceedings had a similar basis. The arbitration court allowed the applicants’ claims in part (see paragraph 13 above) by a decision which was final, irrevocable and enforceable both under the terms of the contract itself (Article 27 para. 9 of the contract - see paragraph 10 above) and by virtue of Greek law (Article 904 of the Code of Civil Procedure - see paragraph 25 above). The Court notes that the applicants’ right under the arbitration award was "pecuniary" in nature, as had been their claim for damages allowed by the arbitration court. Their right to recover the sums awarded by the arbitration court was therefore a "civil right" within the meaning of Article 6 (art. 6), whatever the nature, under Greek law, of the contract between the applicants and the Greek State (see, mutatis mutandis, the Editions Périscope v. France judgment of 26 March 1992, Series A no. 234-B, p. 66, para. 40). It follows that the outcome of the proceedings brought in the ordinary courts by the State to have the arbitration award set aside was decisive for a "civil right". 41.    Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) is accordingly applicable. B. Compliance with Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) 1. Fair trial 42.    The applicants claimed that they had been deprived of a fair trial and even of their right of access to a court. They relied in particular on the Golder v. the United Kingdom judgment of 21 February 1975 (Series A no. 18). By enacting and applying in respect of the applicants Article 12 of Law no. 1701/1987, the State had effectively removed jurisdiction from the courts called upon to determine the validity of the arbitration award and prevented any proper judicial investigation of the subject of the dispute. Such an interference was, in the words of the Golder judgment, "indissociable from a danger of arbitrary power" and repugnant to the general principles of international law and the notion of the rule of law inherent in the Convention. The State had determined by legislative action a case in which it was a party. "Legislative legerdemain" had resulted in wholesale inequality of arms in the proceedings in issue. 43.    The Government contested this view. Parliament, the source of all power, was fully justified in interpreting authoritatively the laws which it enacted where they were ambiguous. Moreover, the power to do this was expressly conferred on it by Article 77 of the Constitution. Clearly such an interpretation applied to all existing cases, irrespective of whether they were pending before the courts, because it did not introduce new rules and did not amend the provision in question, but merely clarified its true meaning. Such intervention by the legislature could not be regarded as unlawful interference with the power of the judiciary especially where the latter had at its disposal the means necessary to ensure that there was no arbitrariness. That was the position in the Greek legal sy