CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 14 mars 2006

.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 } .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 } .s3C4DB099 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:10pt } .sFF596A0C { width:10.57pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   137 14.3.2006   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING PEDOVIČ v. THE CZECH REPUBLIC   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today 14 March 2006 at 9 a.m., on the merits in the case of Pedovič v. the Czech Republic (application no. 27145/03).   The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by a Croatian national, Nenad Pedovič who was born in 1946 and lives in Prague. He and his wife, R.P., had a son in 1992. The couple are now involved in divorce proceedings.   Summary of the facts   In January 1996 R.P. left the applicant. In May 1996 the applicant took his son to Croatia, where the child remained until October 1998, when his mother found him at the home of strangers and took him back with her to the Czech Republic. Since then, the child has been living with his mother in the Czech Republic.   When his wife left him, the applicant brought proceedings to gain parental responsibility for the child. In a judgment of 27 February 2001 Prague District Court awarded custody of the child to the mother and granted the applicant access. On 23 November 2001 Prague Municipal Court confirmed on appeal that R.P. had custody of the child and allowed the applicant to see his son every other Saturday afternoon during the first three months and subsequently every other weekend, on 26 December and for two weeks during the summer holidays. That judgment became final. The court also referred the question of maintenance back to the first-instance court.   The applicant attempted to see his son on many occasions but the child’s mother systematically refused. He contacted the Czech authorities, seeking to enforce his right of access. The authorities issued formal warnings to R.P. and imposed three fines on her, amounting to EUR 1,211, for preventing the applicant from seeing his son.   The applicant lodged two criminal complaints against R.P. on account of her refusal to comply with the court decision granting him access. The first gave rise to a decision in September 2002 that there was no case to answer, and the second, lodged in September 2004, is currently being investigated.   Complaints   The applicant complains under Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights of the length of the proceedings for the assessment of maintenance. He also complains that his right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 has been infringed both by the length of the proceedings and by the failure to enforce his right of access. Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 27 August 2003 and declared partly admissible on 6 December 2005.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Jean-Paul Costa (French), President , Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Antonella Mularoni (San Marinese), Elisabet Fura-Sandström (Swedish), judges , András Baka (Hungarian), Riza Türmen (Turkish), Danute Jočienė (Lithuanian), Dragoljub Popović (citizen of Serbia and Montenegro), substitute judges , and also Stanley Naismith , Deputy Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Vít Alexander Schorm , Agent ,   Eva Petrová , Roman Barinka , Ivana Švehlová , Michaela Marksová-Tominová , Counsel ;   Applicant :   Klára Veselá-Samková , Counsel.     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.