CEDH · CASELAW;DECISIONS;ADMISSIBILITYCOM;ENG — 12 janvier 2021

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She was represented before the Court by Mr   C.L. Popescu, a lawyer practising in Bucharest. The circumstances of the case 2.     The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows. Criminal proceedings against the applicant 3.     On 4 June 2014 L.D.S. – a judge and the President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (“the Court of Cassation”) – brought criminal proceedings against the applicant for blackmail. L.D.S. never joined the proceedings as a civil party. 4 .     On 10 June 2014 the Bucharest County Court (“the County Court”), sitting as single-member bench composed of a liberties and detentions judge, allowed an application lodged by the National Anti-Corruption Department ( Direcția Națională Anticorupție – “the DNA”) for the applicant to be detained pending trial on the grounds that the available evidence indicated that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had blackmailed Judge L.D.S. After an appeal by the applicant, the Bucharest Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”), sitting as a single-member bench composed of a liberties and detentions judge (namely, A.P.M.), upheld the County Court’s decision on 17 June 2014. 5.     On 30 June 2014 the DNA indicted the applicant for blackmail and sent her case to trial. The lawfulness of the DNA’s indictment and of the evidence available in the case-file were confirmed by a final interlocutory judgment delivered by a pre-trial judge on 4 August 2014. 6 .     On 26 August 2014 the County Court, sitting as a single-member bench composed of a pre-trial judge, reviewed the lawfulness of the applicant’s detention and maintained the measure. On 5 September 2014, after an appeal by the applicant, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a single-member bench composed of a pre-trial judge (namely, C.C.D.), upheld the County Court’s decision on the grounds that the available evidence indicated that there was a reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence. First-instance court’s judgment 7 .     On 18 December 2014 the County Court convicted the applicant of blackmailing Judge L.D.S. and imposed on her a suspended prison sentence of three years. 8 .     Citing documentary and testimonial evidence, the court held that from August 2013 until June 2014 the applicant had threatened Judge L.D.S. that she would leak to the press compromising (but fabricated) information concerning her and her husband unless Judge L.D.S. paid the applicant 20,000   euros (EUR). The parties’ appeal against the first-instance judgment 9.     The applicant and the DNA appealed against the judgment. 10 .     The applicant argued, inter alia , that she had expressly stated in a text message that she had sent to an undercover agent brought in to work on the case by the DNA that she had never asked Judge L.D.S. for EUR 20,000. Her messages had been aimed only at persuading Judge L.D.S. to pay back money that she owed her. The DNA had been biased against her and had not been interested in establishing the truth. The second-instance court’s judgment 11.     By a judgment delivered on 20 May 2015, which was not amenable to an appeal in ordinary proceedings, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench composed of two judges (namely, R.G. and D.M.), allowed the applicant’s appeal, quashed the judgment of 18 December 2014, and acquitted the applicant. 12.     The court held that Judge L.D.S. had never disclosed to the authorities the compromising acts that the applicant had threatened to disclose. Moreover, given Judge L.D.S.’s statements and the testimony given by the applicant’s partner, the text messages sent by the applicant in which she had asked Judge L.D.S. to repay the above-mentioned debt could not have alarmed Judge L.D.S. or affected her psychological well-being. Those elements had been essential for the offence of blackmail to exist. The messages sent by the applicant to the undercover agent had not constituted a material element of the offence, as they had simply been sent in reply to messages sent by the agent. 13.     The court furthermore held that the investigation against the applicant had breached Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention and that the DNA’s acts and measures had been unlawful. Even though a pre ‑ trial judge had confirmed the lawfulness of the evidence obtained by the undercover agent, the judges currently examining the case, as defenders of individual freedoms recognised across Europe, had to penalise the DNA’s breach of Article 6 of the Convention. In addition, some of the steps taken by the DNA in the bill of indictment had been unlawful; it had investigated the case too speedily and without collecting evidence either supporting or against the applicant; and it had relied without any reason on the existence of imaginary compromising acts involving Judge L.D.S., in spite of the applicant’s assertions that she had not tried to blackmail L.D.S. 14.     The first-instance court had failed in its duty to examine the evidence and the applicant’s defence. The evidence had suggested that the applicant and Judge L.D.S. had had an agreement that the applicant would perform various services for her. Therefore, the applicant’s messages to Judge L.D.S. had been aimed at recovering money that belonged to her. The DNA’s appeal for annulment The DNA’s arguments 15.     On 29 May 2015, the DNA lodged an application for leave to lodge an extraordinary appeal for annulment by which it sought to have the judgment of 20 May 2015 quashed on the grounds of the lack of impartiality of one of the members of the bench (R.G.). The DNA argued that Judge R.G.’s conduct and decisions during the proceedings, viewed within the context of her opinion regarding what constituted a judicial error – which she had expressed during a job interview that she had had on 16 May 2013 (“the 2013 conversation”) with Judge L.D.S. (then serving as a member of an examination committee assessing judges’ applications for promotion to the Court of Cassation) – had proved her lack of impartiality in respect of the case and the fact that she had already formed her opinion regarding what the outcome of the case should be. 16.     On 17 August 2015 the DNA submitted an additional argument for quashing the judgment of 20 May 2015 which concerned the reasoning of that judgment. 17.     They contended that the reasoning given for the judgment, which had been drafted by Judge R.G., had amounted to a reassessment of the lawfulness of the available evidence, even though that question had already been examined and decided by a final pre ‑ trial judge interlocutory judgment. The judgment had amounted to the indictment of the investigating prosecutors and of Judge L.D.S. and had referred exclusively to Judge L.D.S.’s statements, even though the court had had the obligation to take into account all the available evidence. Even though Judge   R.G. could have clarified any doubts that she might have had in respect of the case by asking for further evidence to be added to the case file, she had failed to do so. 18.     The Court’s case-law referred to by the DNA in its application for leave to lodge an appeal for annulment had been cited in order to illustrate the Court’s definition of an impartial tribunal and the relevant tests that had to be applied in that regard. The applicant’s arguments 19.     The applicant lodged a challenge against the appeal for annulment. She argued that an appeal for annulment could not be used to convict an acquitted person. The DNA or Judge L.D.S. could – during the proceedings that ended in the judgment of 20 May 2015 (see paragraph 15 above) – have contested the manner in which Judge R.G. had conducted the proceedings and could have challenged that judge because of the opinions that she had expressed during the 2013 conversation. Therefore, the DNA and L.D.S. could no longer cite R.G.’s alleged lack of impartiality when lodging an extraordinary appeal for annulment. Moreover, Article 6 of the Convention had been inapplicable in respect of the case, given that Judge L.D.S. had not joined the proceedings as a civil party. 20.     The applicant furthermore argued that the decision and interlocutory judgment of 23 July 2015 (see paragraphs 23-25 below) had been unlawful; accordingly she requested that they be declared null and void. Preliminary steps taken by the court 21.     On 24 and 26 June 2015 the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench composed of two judges (namely, M.N. and C.C.C.), held the first two hearings in the case concerning the DNA’s application to lodge an appeal for annulment. It held that the case could not be examined because the case file had been transferred to the Judicial Investigation Unit ( Inspecția Judiciară ) attached to the Superior Council of the Judiciary ( Consiliul Superior al Magistraturii ). It requested the Judicial Investigation Unit to return the case file urgently to the court and adjourned the proceedings until, respectively, 26   June and 2 September 2015. 22.     On 1 July 2015 the Judicial Investigation Unit returned the case file to the Court of Appeal. 23 .     On 23 July 2015 the DNA lodged an application with the Court of Appeal for the date of the hearing of the case to be changed from 2   September 2015 to an earlier date. It argued that an adjournment of two months was excessive, given the object of the case. The DNA justified its application by referring to the intense media scrutiny of the case and argued that such a case needed to be examined expeditiously. Citing a need to keep proceedings as short as possible, the DNA also invoked a Constitutional Court (“the CC”) judgment of 14   July 2015 declaring unconstitutional the rules allowing the examination of the admissibility of an appeal for annulment without all the parties being summoned. 24 .     On the same date, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a single-member bench composed of Judge G.D.M., allowed the DNA’s application and ruled that the admissibility of the appeal for annulment had to be examined immediately. 25 .     By an interlocutory judgment delivered on the same date, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges (namely, G.D.M. and B.C.T.I.), declared – without the applicant and Judge L.D.S. having been summoned – the appeal for annulment admissible and scheduled the examination of the merits of the appeal for annulment for 17 August 2015. It held that the appeal for annulment had met all the formal admissibility conditions. 26 .     On 4 and 8 August 2015 Judge R.G. lodged applications with the Court of Appeal, seeking to be allowed to intervene in the proceedings on her own behalf; she also asked Judge G.D.M. to withdraw from the case. In her submissions she stated that in early July G.D.M. had told her that he would allow the appeal for annulment because Article 6 of the Convention was applicable to the case. 27.     On 13 August 2015 Judge G.D.M., as president of the bench, called to examine the merits of the appeal for annulment, determined the nominal composition of that bench. According to the report on his decision-making process in that regard he decided that the bench scheduled to examine the merits of the appeal for annulment on 17 August 2015 would include Judge A.T. He furthermore stated that he had been the only member of the Court of Appeal bench that had delivered the interlocutory judgment of 23 July 2015 (see paragraph 25 above) still to be working on 17 August 2015, as Judge B.C.T.I. (one of the judges on duty on 23 July 2015) had been on leave. According to a decision dated 27 May 2015 taken by the Court of Appeal’s Management Board (“the CAMB”) concerning the duty roster of judges for the summer holiday period, Judge A.T. had been the judge on duty on 17   August 2015. The applicant’s challenge against the members of the bench examining the merits of the DNA’s appeal for annulment 28.     On 17 August 2015 the applicant lodged a challenge against Judges G.D.M. and A.T. on the grounds of their alleged bias and requested their removal. She cited the allegedly unlawful manner in which Judge G.D.M. had taken over the case file on 23 July 2015 and the fact that he had ignored the effects of the unpublished CC judgment of 14 July 2015. In addition, he had scheduled the examination of the merits of the appeal for annulment for a day on which (as he had known full well) A.T. would be the second judge on the bench. Moreover, there had been hostility between the applicant and the judges of the bench because of Judge G.D.M.’s aforementioned actions and the complaints that the applicant had lodged with the relevant authorities in that regard. 29.     On the same date the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two   judges (namely, G.D.M. and A.T.), decided that the challenge against Judge G.D.M. was admissible and had to be examined on the merits. As to the applicant’s challenge concerning Judge A.T., the court decided, with the parties’ agreement, that it should be examined after her challenge against Judge G.D.M. had been decided. 30.     By an interlocutory judgment not amenable to appeal delivered on the same date, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges (namely, A.T. and A.B.R.), dismissed the challenge against Judge G.D.M. It held that the applicant’s arguments had concerned exclusively the administrative measures that that judge had taken in respect of the case file and the manner in which he had met some of the parties’ requests. Those measures, and the manner in which those requests had been met, had fallen within the exclusive authority of the bench examining the case. The national judicial practice was unanimous that arguments concerning such aspects did not constitute grounds for a judge’s removal. To hold otherwise would mean that the parties could choose the judges examining their case by removing those they disliked on grounds that lacked substance. 31.     Likewise, the applicant could not rely on hostility as grounds for her challenge. National judicial practice had consistently dismissed as non-legitimate challenges that were based on criminal or administrative complaints lodged by parties against judges because they were viewed to be foul attempts to remove judges disliked by parties from examining a case. A judge was a legal professional and was capable of preserving his or her impartiality, even when parties to proceedings had adverse opinions of him or her. 32.     On the same date, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two   judges (namely, G.D.M. and A.T.), dismissed as inadmissible the applicant’s challenge against A.T. It held that she had not provided reasons for her challenge, as her submissions had only concerned the actions of another judge. The judgment on the merits of the appeal for annulment 33 .     By a judgment of 17 August 2015 not amenable to any form of appeal the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges (namely G.D.M. and A.T.), allowed the appeal for annulment, quashed the judgment of 20 May 2015, and scheduled for 21 August 2015 the re-examination of the parties’ appeal against the judgment of 18 December 2014. In addition, the court dismissed as inadmissible Judge R.G.’s applications to be allowed to intervene in the proceedings and removed her submissions from the case file. Also, it dismissed the applicant’s application for the decision and interlocutory judgment of 23 July 2015 (see paragraphs 23-25 above) to be declared unlawful. 34 .     The court held that the date of the hearing in the case had been lawfully changed by a member of the bench who had been on duty on the day when the request had been made (when Judges M.N. and C.C.C. had been on leave and therefore not able to exercise their professional duties). The decision in question had concerned the administration of the case file; accordingly, it had been permissible for only one member of the bench to take that decision, without the signatures of all the bench members being required. The interlocutory judgment of 23 July 2015 on the admissibility of the appeal for annulment was final. 35.     The court furthermore held that it had to dismiss the applicant’s argument that the DNA and Judge L.D.S. could have raised the matter of Judge R.G.’s alleged bias during the ordinary proceedings. R.G.’s lack of impartiality had to be assessed by taking into account both the views that she had expressed during the 2013 conversation (see paragraph 15 above) and the manner in which she had presented the reasons for the judgment of 20   May 2015, which had gone beyond the acceptable limits of the personal touch that a judge could apply when giving the reasoning for a judgment. 36.     The court held that the manner in which Judge R.G. had presented the reasons for the judgment of 20 May 2015 had been peculiar and somewhat out of the ordinary, given the general judicial practice. The judgment had relied mainly on the argument that the evidence gathered by the investigators had been unlawful. That conclusion had breached the principle that judicial functions should be separated, given the fact that neither of the parties had contested the pre-trial judge’s interlocutory judgment establishing the lawfulness of the evidence gathered by the investigators and of their acts and measures. 37.     Judges R.G. and D.M. had realised that they were ignoring the res   judicata effect of the pre-trial judge’s interlocutory judgment. However, R.G. and D.M., using a completely new judicial approach, had nevertheless deemed unlawful that part of the evidence gathered by the investigators that was unfavourable to the applicant. Referring to themselves as defenders of individual rights that were recognised across Europe, and relying abundantly on Article 6 of the Convention, they had deemed (i) some of the accusations made by the investigators against the applicant to be abusive, (ii) the text message sent by the applicant to the undercover agent to constitute evidence obtained by provocation, and (iii) the promptness of the proceedings to be unlawful. 38.     Even assuming that in the interest of maintaining the fairness of the proceedings, the pre-trial judge’s decision could have been considered not to have had a res judicata effect, judges nevertheless had a duty to grant parties to proceedings an opportunity to comment on any alleged unlawfulness of the evidence presented and to ask for new evidence to be adduced to the case file. However, in the case at hand, both the applicant and Judge L.D.S. had been convinced that the pre-trial judge’s decision could no longer be contested; they had therefore failed to ask for new evidence to be added to the case file that could possibly have replaced the evidence removed by the court on the grounds of unlawfulness. 39.     The court acknowledged that neither a breach of the principle that judicial functions should be separated nor a failure to grant parties to proceedings an opportunity to comment on the lawfulness of the available evidence would have amounted – viewed on their own – to grounds for allowing an appeal for annulment. However, the court had also been under an obligation to examine the parties’ submissions regarding the 2013 conversation. 40.     Judge R.G. had failed that job interview under circumstances whereby Judge L.D.S., as a member of the examination committee, had asked her very few questions; however, those questions had elicited answers reflecting the serious confusion that R.G. felt regarding the respective roles of fundamental legal institutions. When viewed together with the above-mentioned manner in which the reasons for the judgment of 20 May 2015 had been presented, they cast serious doubt on judge R.G.’s impartiality. The applicant’s appeal for annulment in respect of the judgment of 17   August 2015 41 .     The applicant lodged an appeal for annulment in respect of the judgment of 17 August 2015. 42.     On 27 August 2015 the Court of Appeal allowed an application lodged by Judge A.P.M. to withdraw from the case. As one of the members of the bench called upon to examine the case, she argued that on 17 June 2014 (see paragraph 4 above) she had upheld the decision on the applicant’s pre-trial detention and was therefore prevented by law from participating in the further examination of the case. 43 .     By a judgment of 2 September 2015 the Court of Appeal rejected as inadmissible the applicant’s appeal for annulment on the grounds that the judgment of 17 August 2015 was not amenable to any form of appeal. The re-examination of the parties’ appeals against the judgment of 18   December 2014 Preliminary decisions of the court 44.     On 21 August 2015 the Court of Appeal (namely, Judges G.D.M. and A.T.) adjourned the re-examination of the parties’ appeals until 10   September 2015 in order that the applicant could prepare her defence. 45.     On 10 September 2015 the applicant challenged the above ‑ mentioned judges for bias because they had refused a request lodged by her to have an unconstitutionality objection concerning certain Articles of the Criminal Code of Procedure referred to the CC and because she had lodged a criminal complaint against them. 46.     On the same date, the Court of Appeal (namely Judges G.D.M. and A.T.) dismissed the applicant’s challenge as inadmissible on the grounds that the applicant had not provided factual or legal arguments justifying her challenge. A challenge relying on criminal complaints lodged against a bench amounted to misuse of the removal procedure; moreover, the court’s decision to reject the above-mentioned application for certain Articles of the Criminal Code of Procedure to be referred to the CC had not featured among the grounds concerning the removal of judges. 47.     On the same date, the court allowed in part a request lodged by the applicant for additional evidence to be added to the case file and refused in part that request on the grounds that the evidence in question had not been relevant to the case. The court’s judgment 48.     By a judgment of 11 September 2015 not amenable to an ordinary appeal the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges, (namely G.D.M. and A.T.), dismissed the parties’ appeals against the judgment of 18   December 2014. 49.     Referring to (i) the content of the conversations between the applicant, Judge L.D.S. and the undercover agent, and (ii) the available testimonial evidence, the court held that the applicant had tried to take advantage of Judge L.D.S.’s vulnerable situation in the autumn of 2013. At that time, Judge L.D.S. had been the target of an intense media campaign organised by certain media groups trying to discredit her and to diminish her chances of being re-appointed as President of the Court of Cassation. 50.     As a result, in September 2013 the applicant had contacted R.S. and had told him that Judge L.D.S. had to refund her the EUR 20,000 that she had allegedly paid to unidentified former clients of Judge L.D.S.’s late husband. She had also informed R.S. that she had been contacted by television companies that had been interested in learning “spicy details”, that she had signed an agreement with one of them, and that she was going to disclose to that television company information about Judge L.D.S.’s late husband’s law practice. 51.     The witness R.S. had not conveyed the applicant’s message to Judge L.D.S. immediately; rather, in December 2013 the applicant had sent the witness a few text messages concerning the same matter, and the witness had then decided to inform Judge L.D.S. The latter had then asked the applicant for clarifications regarding the alleged debts and, according to her own statement, she had been told by the applicant that the latter would disclose to the press compromising information about her family if she refused to pay the money. 52.     Even though the applicant and Judge L.D.S. had remained in contact after December 2013, the applicant had refrained from asking Judge L.D.S. to repay the alleged debt until June 2014, when she had again begun putting pressure on Judge L.D.S. She had sent Judge L.D.S. several text messages informing her that, unless Judge L.D.S. paid her debt, she intended to send to the press information that she had been withholding. When the undercover agent brought in to work on the case had contacted the applicant via text messages, she had told the undercover agent that she would respond to her at a later date. 53.     The court furthermore held that the applicant had contacted a television company using the same telephone which had been used to send the above-mentioned text messages to Judge L.D.S. and which had been found in her possession during a search of her house – and which, given the applicant’s statements, undoubtedly belonged to her. However, she had refused to explain to the court why she had called that television company. 54.     None of the evidence, apart from the statements given by the applicant and her partner, suggested that Judge L.D.S. had owed her money. In any event, whether or not Judge L.D.S. had owed the applicant money was irrelevant, as long as the applicant had attempted to recover that money unlawfully. The court took the view that the content of the applicant’s messages had been threatening and that her allegations, given the relevant rules concerning judges, had been capable of triggering disciplinary proceedings against Judge L.D.S. or at the very least significantly diminishing her chances of being re-appointed President of the Court of Cassation. 55.     As to the undercover agent’s actions, the court held that the agent had not provoked the applicant into committing the offence. In making contact with R.S. and Judge L.D.S., the applicant had been acting exclusively on her own initiative. The undercover agent had been used by the authorities only after Judge L.D.S. had lodged a complaint against the applicant. Given the content of the agent’s messages it was clear to any well-intentioned, reasonable observer that the agent had never attempted to compel the applicant to commit an offence, but that she had only sought to clarify the identity of the person sending the messages and the exact demands made. 56.     Lastly, the court held that in her final words to the court the applicant had admitted that she had made a mistake in texting Judge L.D.S., rather than initiating court proceedings against her. Moreover, she had not known whether sending those messages had been lawful or not. The applicant’s appeal for annulment against the judgment of 11   September 2015 The applicant’s submissions 57.     The applicant lodged an appeal for annulment by which she sought to have the judgment of 11 September 2015 quashed. She argued that the bench that had delivered the judgment had not been composed lawfully and that the judges who examined her case had lacked impartiality. After having lodged the appeal for annulment she submitted further arguments on different dates. 58.     Under the relevant rules, where the bench initially assigned to a case could not decide on an application concerning changes to the date of a hearing, that decision had to be taken by another randomly-assigned bench and not by the duty judge. A previous CAMB decision granting duty judges the authority to decide on such applications had been inapplicable to criminal cases; moreover, it had in any event been unlawful because – given the fact that the composition of the benches on duty had been known beforehand – it had made it possible for certain cases to be directed to a specific bench. 59.     Judges M.N. and C.C.C. had been prevented from examining the case in June 2015 because of alleged administrative transfers of the case file that had either (i) not actually been requested or (ii) had taken place without having been requested in a lawful manner (that is to say without the approval of the president of the bench assigned to examine the case). Moreover, the bench that had taken the decision to bring the hearing of the case forward had been made up of only one judge, not two; furthermore that judge had been neither M.N. nor C.C.C., he had not provided any reasons for his decision, he had ignored the fact that the appeal for annulment proceedings lacked urgency, and he had tried to avoid the publishing of the CC judgment of 14   July 2015 (see paragraph 23 above), thus breaching the applicant’s right to equality of arms. 60.     The applicant furthermore argued that on 23 July 2015 Judge G.D.M. had in practice chosen the composition of the bench that would examine the admissibility of the DNA’s appeal for annulment by setting the date of the hearing for the same day as that on which he was to serve as president of the bench of judges on duty. Moreover, Judge G.D.M.’s only reason for choosing 17   August 2015 as the date for the examination of the merits of the DNA’s appeal for annulment had been the names of the judges on the duty roster for that day and the possibility for him, as president, to choose the judge who would join him on the bench. 61 .     Judge G.D.M. had expressed his opinion on the outcome of the case even before delivering the judgment of 17 August. By allowing the DNA’s appeal for annulment, he had breached the principles of res judicata guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention and of non bis in idem guaranteed by Article 4 of Protocol No.   7 to the Convention. The appeal for annulment had been inadmissible because it had been in fact an ordinary appeal “in disguise”. The DNA and Judge L.D.S. had been aware of Judge R.G.’s alleged lack of impartiality during the ordinary proceedings, but had failed to challenge that judge. 62.     In addition, Judge G.D.M. had misinterpreted the discussion that Judge R.G. had had with Judge L.D.S. during the 2013 conversation because he had declined to view the full video recording of that conversation; moreover, the transcripts of the 2013 conversation submitted by the DNA had not contained key sentences of that discussion, which had taken place almost two years before R.G. had been placed in charge of examining the case and had concerned legal theory and the self-assessment that Judge R.G. had given in respect of her own strengths and weaknesses (after being asked to do so by the panel interviewing her). Judge G.D.M. had used R.G.’s bias towards L.D.S. as an argument to allow the DNA’s appeal for annulment, even though Article 6 of the Convention had not been applicable in the case. Moreover, the grounds relied on by him for allowing the appeal for annulment had been raised outside the lawfully allowed time ‑ limit; furthermore, one of those grounds had not even been raised by the DNA, but by Judge L.D.S. 63.     When examining the applicant’s appeal against the judgment of 18   December 2014, the bench presided over by Judge G.D.M. had ignored some of her written submissions and had not given her the opportunity to present them orally. In addition, on 10 September 2015 G.D.M. had wrongly dismissed her requests for additional essential evidence to be added to the case file. 64.     The applicant also argued that Judges A.T. and B.C.T.I. had been biased. They had been selected by Judge G.D.M. to be members of his bench and had supported all his decisions against the applicant. Moreover, on 17   August 2015 Judge A.T. had dismissed the applicant’s above-mentioned request to have Judge   G.D.M. removed. 65.     Reiterating the same arguments, the applicant requested the court to declare null and void the measures taken by Judge G.D.M. on 23 July 2015, the interlocutory judgment of 17 August 2015 dismissing her application to have G.D.M. removed, and the judgment of 17 August 2015. Moreover, she asked the court to remedy all the breaches of her Convention rights, as guaranteed by Articles 6, 14, 17, and 4 of Protocol No. 7. 66.     The applicant furthermore argued that the bench assigned to examine her appeal for annulment had also been composed unlawfully and that Judges C.C.D. (see paragraph 68 below) and A.P.M. had lacked impartiality. 67.     On 17 June 2014 Judge A.P.M. (like Judge C.C.D. on a later date) had confirmed the applicant’s detention pending trial on the grounds that the injured party had been “a model of morality, professionalism, correctness, and dignity”. Therefore, the interlocutory judgment of 20 October 2015 (see paragraph 70 below) had been null and void. In addition, the CAMB’s decision of 29 September 2015 (see paragraph 68 below) had been unlawful and had to be declared null and void. Preliminary steps concerning the applicant’s appeal for annulment 68 .     On 29 September 2015 the CAMB – following a request lodged by the criminal section of the Court of Appeal – decided to change the composition of some of the benches of the court in order to cover the absences of some judges who had been on study visits or on leave. It decided that in October the bench called upon to examine the applicant’s appeal for annulment was to be composed of Judges E.V.A.I. and C.C.D. 69.     On 19 October 2015 the applicant initiated a challenge for bias against Judge C.C.D. She argued that on 5 September 2014 that judge had confirmed the lawfulness of her pre-trial detention. Therefore, C.C.D. had had an interest in seeing the applicant convicted because an acquittal would raise doubts about the lawfulness of the pre-trial detention. The composition of the bench had been determined by the CAMB after the applicant had lodged the appeal for annulment. Therefore, the applicant had been suspicious that Judge C.C.D. had been appointed in order to ensure that the appeal for annulment would be dismissed. 70 .     By an interlocutory judgment not amenable to appeal dated 20   October 2015, the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges (namely, E.V.A.I. and A.P.M.) dismissed the applicant’s challenge. It held that according to the Court’s case-law the mere fact that a judge had examined preventive measures imposed in respect of a case before that case had been examined on the merits did not in itself raise doubts about that judge’s impartiality. The relevant rules prohibited judges from examining an appeal in respect of a case only in circumstances where they had delivered judgments on the merits of that case. The type of grounds cited to justify a preventive measure were different from those cited to justify a decision on the merits of a case; the mere fact that Judge C.C.D. had examined the applicant’s pre-trial detention had not been sufficient to raise objective doubts about her impartiality in respect of the case. 71.     The court furthermore held that C.C.D. had not become a member of the bench of her own volition, but had been appointed by the CAMB. According to the relevant rules on judges’ duties, she had been obliged to take part in the examination of the case and could not have refused to do so. The court’s judgment 72 .     By a final judgment of 22 October 2015 the Court of Appeal, sitting as a bench of two judges (namely, E.V.A.I. and C.C.D.) rejected as inadmissible the applicant’s appeal for annulment. In addition, the court rejected as inadmissible the applicant’s objection concerning the lawfulness of the CAMB’s decision of 29 September 2015, her application seeking to have the interlocutory judgments of 20 October 2015 declared null and void, and her request for a copy of the audio recording of a hearing of 21   October 2015. 73.     The court held that the CAMB’s impugned 29 September 2015 decision had concerned the nominal composition of the benches of judges in individual cases. The applicant’s objection to the aforementioned decision had sought to bypass the rules concerning the removal of judges, which she had already used in respect of Judge C.C.D. 74.     The court also held that the interlocutory judgment of 20   October 2015 was not amenable to appeal. Moreover, the decisions taken on 23   July 2015 (see paragraphs 23-33 above) and the judgment of 17 August 2015 (see paragraph 33 above) were not amenable to an appeal for annulment. In addition, there had been no connection between the applicant’s arguments and some of the grounds for the appeal for annulment relied upon by her. Furthermore, some of the issues raised had already been settled on 10   September 2015 by an interlocutory judgment not amenable to an appeal for annulment. Also, the judgment of 20 May 2015 had not been final because the proceedings in the case had been reopened following an appeal for annulment concerning serious procedural flaws in the proceedings in question. 75.     The applicant’s allegations – namely that (i) during the proceedings finalised on 11 September 2015, the court had ignored her submissions and arguments, and (ii) it had dismissed all the evidence requested by her – had not been supported by the available evidence. The applicant’s chosen lawyer had refused to present to the court all the written arguments and conclusions that had been deposited in the case file, and the court had examined and allowed in part the requests for evidence lodged by the applicant. 76 .     Lastly, the court held that under the relevant procedure rule, no copy of the record of the court hearing of 21 October 2015 could be given to the applicant. Other pertinent information 77.     By final judgments of 30 September, 8 October, 9 and 25   November 2015 the Court of Cassation dismissed as ill-founded appeals lodged by the applicant against the Court of Appeal’s decisions of 2, 10 and 4   September and 22 October 2015 rejecting as inadmissible the objections of unconstitutionality and the objection of non-compliance with the Convention raised by the applicant with regard to several articles of the Criminal Code of Procedure and the rules concerning changes to hearing dates. It reiterated the findings of the lower court that the applicant’s unconstitutionality objections had not met the lawful conditions for a referral to the CC. 78 .     By final judgments of 5 October and 2 November 2015 the Court of Cassation dismissed as ill-founded, respectively, requests lodged by the applicant on 10 September and 20 October 2015 for the case to be transferred and examined by a different court of appeal on the grounds of the alleged bias (owing to Judge L.D.S.’s position as President of the Court of Cassation) of all the Court of Appeal’s judges against her. 79 .     The court held that none of the acts and measures taken by the Court of Appeal judges in respect of the applicant’s case had been unlawful and that her complaints and requests concerning their actions and possible removal had been examined and dismissed lawfully. In addition, the applicant’s allegations of foul play had not been supported by the available evidence. Furthermore, accepting the argument that Judge L.D.S.’s position as President of the Court of Cassation would render all the judges of the Court of Appeal ineligible to examine her case would mean that all the judges of all the courts of appeal in the country would be rendered similarly ineligible. None of the available evidence suggested that the judges called upon to examine the applicant’s case had lacked impartiality. 80 .     On 30 October 2015 the applicant lodged an administrative challenge against the CAMB’s decision of 29 September 2015 (see paragraph 68 above) on the grounds that it had been unlawful. The CAMB dismissed her challenge on 3 November 2015 as ill-founded. It held that the bench’s nominal composition had been changed lawfully. Relevant domestic law 81.     Articles 64 § 4, 426, 427, 428, 429, 431, and 432 of the Criminal Code of Procedure, as in force at the relevant time, provided that a liberties and detentions judge could not participate in the same proceedings as a pre ‑ trial judge or a judge examining the same case at first instance or at the appeal stage of the proceedings in question. 82.     An appeal for annulment could be lodged against a final judgment when the composition of the court that had delivered that judgment had been composed unlawfully or had been unsuitable for the task in hand. An appeal for annulment could be lodged by any of the parties to the proceedings in question, by the injured party, or by the prosecutor. The application had to include the grounds for the appeal and the arguments supporting those grounds. It had to be lodged within ten days of the moment at which the person affected by the enforcement of the final judgment had been notified of that judgment. 83.     An appeal for annulment had to be lodged with the court that had delivered the contested judgment. The court was to determine the admissibility of the appeal for annulment in chambers and without the parties being present. The court was to declare the appeal for annulment admissible and summon the interested parties in the event that it established that the appeal for annulment had been lodged within the allowed time-limit, the grounds relied on were among those provided for by Article 426, and the evidence available in the case file had been cited. 84.     At the hearing scheduled for the examination of an appeal for annulment, if it was held that that appeal for annulment was well-founded (the parties and the prosecutor having been heard), the court was to quash the final judgment and proceed (either immediately or by setting a new hearing in respect of the case) to re-examine the ordinary appeal. COMPLAINTS 85 .     Relying on Article 6 of the Convention, the applicant complained of the unfairness of the criminal proceedings that she had been involved in, given that: (i)     the bench that had delivered the decision and the interlocutory judgment of 23 July 2015, as well as the judgments of 17 August and 11   September 2015: α) had not been composed lawfully because the judges randomly assigned to her case had been prevented from examining it on the false ground that the case file had been temporarily removed from the court’s registry and because the case had been unlawfully retained and examined by judges who had been chosen arbitrarily by the DNA and by Judge G.D.M.; and β) had lacked impartiality because Judge G.D.M. had informed Judge R.G. – even before he had taken over the case – that the applicant’s acquittal had been unfair and that he would allow the DNA’s appeal for annulment; (ii)     the examination of the admissibility of the DNA’s appeal for annulment had been brought forward and had taken place in her absence on the ground that the CC decision declaring that practice unconstitutional had been about to be published, and even though it had been clear (even before the publishing of the CC decision) that that practice had been unconstitutional; (iii)     the bench that had delivered the judgment of 22 October 2015: α)   had not been composed lawfully, given the fact that the CAMB had arbitrarily changed the composition of the bench to which her case had been assigned only for the month in which her case was to be examined by that bench; and β) had lacked impartiality because Judge C.C.D. had confirmed the lawfulness of the applicant’s pre-trial detention on the grounds that Judge L.D.S. had been a model of morality and the applicant’s challenge against Judge C.C.D. had been examined by Judge A.P.M., who had been in a similar situation to that of C.C.D. (that is to say A.P.M. had also confirmed the applicant’s pre-trial detention) and had abstained from examining the case at an earlier stage of the proceedings; (iv)     the applicant’s requests for the case to be transferred to another court of appeal had been dismissed on the sole ground that Judge L.D.S. had been the President of the Court of Cassation and had therefore had authority over all courts of appeal, and after the court had refused to order evidence to be added to the case file and had reverted the burden of proof to the applicant, even though the domestic authorities had refused to provide the applicant with the requested evidence; (v)     on 11 September 2015 the court had ignored written requests lodged by the applicant for her Convention rights to be protected and had failed to exercise its full jurisdiction by refusing to examine the lawfulness of the available evidence; (vi)     her objections of unco