CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 15 septembre 2014

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA6BC7FA7 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:right } .s9793A85B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s8229ABDD { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center } .s68C46B95 { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center } .s2D57E2E { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline; text-transform:uppercase } .s6B505E72 { margin:0pt; padding-left:0pt } .s416B6923 { text-indent:14.2pt; font-family:Arial; list-style-position:inside } .sACBB7403 { width:6.79pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sA8776625 { margin-top:18pt; margin-left:29.2pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-indent:-17.6pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sCEF8BF74 { text-indent:14.2pt; font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; font-weight:bold; list-style-position:inside } .s250CA8AC { font-size:12pt; font-weight:normal } .sBA59B8E7 { width:0.12pt; font:7pt 'Times New Roman'; display:inline-block } .sFBC99493 { font-style:italic } .sD3B63DAD { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sDD7CB8CD { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; font-size:7pt } .s3F59B822 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-transform:uppercase }     Communicated on 15 September 2014   FOURTH SECTION Application no. 51247/10 Zaza JAKELI against Georgia lodged on 5 August 2010 STATEMENT OF FACTS      The applicant, Mr Zaza Jakeli, is a Georgian national, who was born in 1983 and lives in Tskaltubo. He is represented before the Court by Ms   N.   Katsitadze and Ms T. Abazadze, lawyers practising in Tbilisi. A.     The circumstances of the case      The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.      On 18 September 2001, after undergoing a complex examination by a panel of psychiatrists, the applicant was diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder. On 21 July 2008 this diagnosis was re ‑ confirmed and it was also concluded that in addition the applicant suffered from a paranoid syndrome (he was having hallucinations).      On 12 August 2008 the applicant was arrested by the police while he was trying to escape the crime scene after he had inflicted multiple wounds on a person with a knife. Upon the arrest, the police conducted the personal search of the applicant and found the knife, with blood stains, in his pocket. On the same day, the applicant, without being assisted with a lawyer, gave a statement to the police confessing that he had indeed committed the criminal offence. Next day the wounded person died. The applicant was remanded in pre-trial detention.      On 26 August 2008 the applicant’s sister E.J. addressed the respective prosecutor with a letter accompanied by the applicant’s medical reports, informing him that the applicant suffered from a mental disorder and required medical treatment. In her letter she also requested for the applicant to undergo a psychiatric expertise in order to assess his mental state at the time of commission of the offence. On 2 September 2008, in his response, the prosecutor wrote to the applicant’s sister that there were no sufficient grounds for conducting the psychiatric expertise.      The applicant was indicted for murder and illicit possession of the knife. On 2 October 2008, during his testimony as an accused, the applicant, waiving his right to a lawyer, once again stated to the investigator that he had indeed committed the offences he was being charged with.      While the applicant was not assisted by a lawyer throughout the investigation stage of the proceedings, according to the applicant, as of 16   October 2008, after the remittal of the case to the trial court, he was assisted by a lawyer assigned by the State.      According to the psychiatric expert report, compiled on 2 December 2008 at the request of the Tbilisi City Court, while the applicant was sane at the time of the commission of the offence, he suffered from emotionally unstable personality disorder. On 5 March 2009, in his testimony before the court, one of the psychiatrists who conducted the expertise stated that the applicant had a mental disorder which prevented him to effectively defend himself in the court.      On 5 March 2009, the applicant’s lawyer motioned before the court to abolish the indictment report and lift all charges against the applicant since the investigation had been conducted with substantial procedural violations, namely – the applicant had not been assigned the mandatory defence in spite of his mental disorder. During the trial the applicant also testified that he could not remember what had happened on the day of the commission of the offence. On 23 March 2009, amongst other evidence, relying extensively on the applicant’s confession made during the investigation, the Tbilisi City Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to twelve years and eleven months in prison. In the appellate complaint the applicant’s lawyer again raised the issue of the lack of mandatory assignment of a lawyer to the applicant at the investigation stage. On 7 October 2009, ignoring the argument about the mandatory defence, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the applicant’s conviction, and on 5 February 2010 the Supreme Court of Georgia found the applicant’s cassation claim inadmissible for being manifestly ill-founded. On 8 February 2013 a panel of psychiatrists concluded in the expert report that the applicant suffered from a non-organic form of psychosis requiring mandatory in-patient psychiatric treatment. On 26 March 2013, following the recommendation of the panel, the Tbilisi City Court ordered the applicant’s placement in a mental institution for the mandatory psychiatrist treatment pending his sentence.   B. Relevant domestic law   Under Article 81 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in force at the material time, an accused and/or defendant, his/her refusal notwithstanding, shall be subject to the mandatory assignment of a lawyer, including during the investigation stage of the proceedings, if, inter alia , s/he has a mental disorder. COMPLAINTS The applicant complains under Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention that in breach of the national law he was not provided with the mandatory defence at the investigation stage of the criminal proceedings instituted against him, which in consequence rendered the entire proceedings unfair.   QUESTION TO THE PARTIES Did the applicant have a fair hearing in the determination of the criminal charges against him, in accordance with Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention? - In particular, did the absence of the mandatory legal assistance at the investigation stage of the criminal proceedings instituted against the applicant hinder the applicant’s ability to effectively defend himself?