CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 22 mai 1998

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s92848351 { width:23.22pt; display:inline-block } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. May 1998 Hozee v. the Netherlands - 21961/93 Judgment 22.5.1998 Article 6 Criminal proceedings Article 6-1 Reasonable time Length of criminal proceedings: no violation   [This summary is extracted from the Court’s official reports (Series A or Reports of Judgments and Decisions). Its formatting and structure may therefore differ from the Case-Law Information Note summaries.] A.   Period to be taken into consideration Starting-point: reasonable time requirement begins when person “charged” (substantially affected). In instant case fiscal penalties imposed on applicant’s companies and not on applicant personally – no reason for him to suppose he was under investigation in his personal capacity – applicant became substantially affected when questioned for first time as a suspect. End: when appeal on points of law rejected by Supreme Court. Total: eight years, five months and eighteen days. B.   Reasonableness of the length of proceedings Reiteration of Court’s case-law on criteria for determining reasonableness of length of proceedings. Preliminary judicial investigation: appears to have lasted a disturbingly long period of time – length of four years and seven months must be convincingly justified – investigating authorities had to unravel network of interconnecting companies and accounts, interview substantial number of witnesses, collect and examine significant volume of material – complexity compounded by involvement of co-suspects – no period of inertia on part of the authorities – length of this phase of the proceedings cannot be considered unreasonable. Post investigation proceedings: three instances involved – period not excessive. Conclusion : no violation (seven votes to two).   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes