CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 28 mars 2007

.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 } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .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 } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   193 28.3.2007   Press release issued by the Registrar   GRAND CHAMBER HEARING RAMANAUSKAS v. LITHUANIA   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Grand Chamber hearing today 28 March 2007 at 9 a.m., in the case of Ramanauskas v. Lithuania (application no. 74420/01).   The applicant   Kęstas Ramanauskas is a Lithuanian national who was born in 1966 and lives in Kaišiadorys (Lithuania). He worked as a prosecutor in the Kaišiadorys region.   Summary of the facts   The applicant submitted that in late 1998 and early 1999 he had been approached by AZ, a person previously unknown to him, through VS, a private acquaintance. AZ – who was, in fact, an officer of a special anti-corruption police unit of the Ministry of Interior (STT) – offered the applicant a bribe of 3,000 US dollars (USD) in return for a promise to obtain the acquittal of a third person. The applicant having initially refused, AZ thereafter reiterated the offer a number of times before the applicant agreed.   The Government submitted that VS and AZ had approached the applicant and negotiated the conditions for the bribe on their own initiative, before the authorities were informed.   On an unspecified date AZ informed the STT that the applicant had agreed to accept a bribe and, on 27 January 1999, the Deputy Prosecutor General authorised VS and AZ to simulate criminal acts of bribery.   On 28 January 1999 the applicant accepted USD 1,500 from AZ. On 11   February 1999 AZ paid the applicant a further USD 1,000.   The same day, the Prosecutor General brought a criminal case against the applicant for accepting a bribe, under the then Article 282 of the Criminal Code.   On 29 August 2000 the applicant was convicted of accepting a bribe of USD 2,500 from AZ and sentenced to 19 months and six days’ imprisonment. VS was not examined during the trial.   The judgment was upheld on appeal and the applicant’s cassation appeal was unsuccessful.   On 31 January 2002 the applicant was released on licence.   Complaints   The applicant complains that he was incited to commit an offence by the State authorities and that, as a result, he was unfairly convicted of bribery. He further alleges that the principle of equality of arms and his defence rights were violated in that one of the two undercover agents in the case was not examined during the trial by the courts or the parties and that the domestic courts did not provide him with an adequate review of his entrapment allegations. He relies on Article   6 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 17 August 2001 and declared admissible on 26 April 2005. On 19 September 2006 the Chamber to which the case had originally been assigned relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber under Article 30 [1] of the Convention.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Nicolas Bratza (British), President , Jean-Paul Costa (French), Christos Rozakis (Greek), Boštjan M. Zupančič (Slovenian), Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese) Riza Türmen (Turkish), Corneliu Bîrsan (Romanian), András Baka (Hungarian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), Antonella Mularoni (San Marinese), Stanislav Pavlovschi (Moldovan), Elisabet Fura-Sandström (Swedish), Khanlar Hajiyev (Azerbaijani), Dean Spielmann (Luxemburger), Renate Jaeger (German), judges , Dragoljub Popović (Serbian), Karel Jungwiert (Czech), David Thór Björgvinsson (Icelandic), substitute judges , and also Michael O’Boyle , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Elvyra Baltutytė , Agent ,   Silvija Balčiūnienė , Adviser ;   Applicant :   Alina Vosyliūtė , Counsel .   Kęstas Ramanauskas will also attend the hearing.   ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date. [2]   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) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30)   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] Where a case pending before a Chamber raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention or the protocols thereto, or where the resolution of a question before the Chamber might have a result inconsistent with a judgment previously delivered by the Court, the Chamber may, at any time before it has rendered its judgment, relinquish jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber, unless one of the parties to the case objects.   [2] This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.