CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 19 octobre 2005

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s9A223E1B { width:11.03pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s595A57E4 { width:85.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3CED24E9 { width:27.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   550 19.10.2005   Press release issued by the Registrar   GRAND CHAMBER HEARING ACHOUR v. FRANCE   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Grand Chamber hearing today Wednesday 19 October 2005 at 9 a.m., in the case of Achour v. France (application no. 67335/01).     The applicant   Couider Achour is an Algerian national, aged 42 who lives in Lyons (France).   Summary of the facts   The case concerns the sentence passed against the applicant, who was classified in law as a recidivist under a criminal statute enacted after the commission of his initial offence.   On 14 April 1997 the Lyons Criminal Court found the applicant guilty of a drug offence following the discovery in his garage of two bags containing some 57 kilograms of cannabis. It sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment and ordered his exclusion from French territory for ten years.   On 25 November 1997 the Lyons Court of Appeal increased the sentence to 12 years on the ground that the applicant had committed the offence while covered by the statutory provisions on recidivism, having been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for drug trafficking in 1984. He appealed to the Court of Cassation but was unsuccessful.   Complaint   The applicant complained that the French courts had deemed him to be covered by the provisions of the new Criminal Code on recidivism, in breach of Article 7 (no punishment without law) of the European Convention on Human Rights.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 26 April 2000. It was declared partly admissible after a chamber hearing on 11 March 2004.   In a judgment of 10 November 2004 (see press release no. 558 from 2004) the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 7 of the Convention. The case was referred to the Grand Chamber at the Government’s request under Article 43 (referral to the Grand Chamber) and on 30 March 2005 the panel of the Grand Chamber accepted that request.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss), President , Christos Rozakis (Greek), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Nicolas Bratza (British), Boštjan M. Zupančič (Slovenian), Loukis Loucaides (Cypriot), Josep Casadevall (Andorran) András Baka (Hungarian), Rait Maruste (Estonian), Kristaq Traja (Albanian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Stanislav Pavlovschi (Moldovan), Renate Jaeger (German), Egbert Myjer (Netherlands), Sverre Erik Jebens (Norwegian), David Thór Björgvinsson (Icelandic), Dragoljub Popović (citizen of Serbia and Montenegro), judges , Javier Borrego Borrego (Spanish), Corneliu Bîrsan (Romanian), Lech Garlicki (Polish), substitute judges , and also Lawrence Early , Grand Chamber Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Jean-Luc Florent , Agent ,   Anne-Françoise Tissier , Counsel ,   Sandrine Gil , Jean-Baptiste Bladier , Advisers ;   Applicant :   Françoise Thouin-Palat , Counsel ,   Katia Guermonprez-Tanner , Pauline Tawil , Advisers .     ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54)   Beverley Jacobs (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 54 21) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.