CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 20 décembre 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 } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   808 20.12.2006   Press release issued by the Registrar   INADMISSIBILITY DECISION MURILLO SALDIAS AND OTHERS v. SPAIN   A Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has declared inadmissible the application lodged in the case of Murillo Saldías and Others v. Spain (application no. 76973/01). (The decision is available only in French.)   The applicants   The case concerns three Spanish nationals and two British nationals: Sergio Murillo Saldías, who is 26 years old and lives in Orcoyen (Spain), Salvador Sanchis Pérez and María Isabel Verdú Peydro, who both live in Ibi (Spain), and Barry and Andrée Copestake, who live in Keelby (United Kingdom).   Summary of the facts   The applicants are survivors of the disaster which struck the Biescas campsite (Spanish Pyrenees) on 7 August 1996 when 87 people were killed in severe flooding following torrential rain. The first applicant’s parents and brother and sister died in the catastrophe. The other applicants were injured during the flooding and their mental health was also affected by their tragic experience on the campsite.   The Virgen de las Nieves campsite was situated at the confluence of the Arás, Betés and Asó Rivers on land belonging to the municipality of Biescas (Huesca Province). Considering the project of benefit to the village, the municipal authority had approved the plans for the campsite in 1985, and sent the file to the Provincial Development Department. The Head of the Botany Department of the Aragon Regional Government issued a report in January 1986 in which he expressed reservations about corrective works that had been carried out to prevent flooding on the River Arás, and about the location of the site (near the road to France via Le Portalet) and the nature of the terrain. He recommended that an alternative location be sought for the campsite.   The provincial department decided not to change the location of the campsite. The Head of the Botany Department issued a second report on 4 August 1986 in which he advised against granting planning permission for the campsite, as the area concerned was an alluvial cone of a watercourse with a powerful torrential regime and, despite the fact that corrective works had been carried out, it constituted a danger for users on account of its location.   Referring only to the recommendation of the Head of the Botany Department’s report of January 1986, the Head of the Regional Development Department sent a draft decision granting permission for use of the land as a campsite to the Department of Agriculture of the Aragon Regional Government. In a decision of April 1987, the Head of the Department of Agriculture granted permission for the use of the land. The decision contained references to various expert reports, but not to the report of 4 August 1986.   Following the catastrophe on 7 August 1996 a criminal investigation was started, which the applicants joined as civil parties. It ended with an order of 4 October 1999 by the Jaca investigating judge, who found that there was no case to answer, as the constitutive elements of the offences of criminal negligence and malfeasance had not been made out. An appeal by the applicants against that decision was dismissed and an application for amparo relief in the Constitutional Court was declared inadmissible as being unfounded. In addition, Mr Murillo Saldías brought administrative proceedings against the authorities to establish their strict liability. The Audiencia Nacional upheld his claim and, on 21 December 2005, awarded him 210,354.24 euros (EUR) in respect of each of his relatives who were killed in the flood, together with EUR 9,200 for their funeral expenses. Mr Murillo Saldías lodged an appeal on points of law which is still pending before the Supreme Court.   Complaints   The applicants complained under Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights that Spain had not taken all the preventive measures that were necessary to protect users of the Biescas campsite. They alleged that the authorities had granted permission to use the land as a campsite despite being aware of the potential dangers. They also complained under Article 6   §   1 (right to a fair hearing) of procedural unfairness, in the form of bias on the part of the investigating judges and the Spanish courts. Lastly, they complained under Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) that the authorities had not conducted a proper, in-depth judicial investigation with a view to identifying those responsible for the catastrophe.   Procedure   The application was lodged on 13 November 2001. A public hearing took place on 8 November 2005 at the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg.   Decision of the Court [1]   The Court noted that, on 21 December 2005, the Audiencia Nacional had awarded Mr Murillo Saldías compensation in an amount that could not be regarded as unreasonable and would probably be confirmed or even increased by the Supreme Court when it examined the applicant’s appeal on points of law. The Court considered that, after the decision of the Audiencia Nacional , he could no longer claim to be a victim of a violation of rights set forth in the Convention within the meaning of Article 34. It accordingly declared the application inadmissible in respect of Mr Murillo Saldías.   The Court also declared the application inadmissible in respect of the other applicants on the grounds of a failure to exhaust domestic remedies, finding that they should have brought administrative proceedings against the authorities before lodging their application with the Court.   ***   The decision is available today on the Court’s Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Press contacts:   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.   [1] This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.