CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 18 octobre 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 } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .s83BE5C30 { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; 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 } .sD9192BE4 { width:20.37pt; display:inline-block } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   694 18.10.2007   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING TĂTAR AND TĂTAR v. ROMANIA   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today 18 October 2007 at 9 a.m. (local time), in the Human Rights building, Strasbourg, on the merits in the case of Tătar and Tătar v. Romania (application no. 67021/01).   The hearing will be broadcast from 2.30 p.m. on the Court’s Internet site http://www.echr.coe.int .     The applicants   Vasile Gheorghe Tătar and Paul Tătar, father and son, are Romanian nationals who were born in 1947 and 1979 respectively and who live in Baia Mare (Romania).   Summary of the facts   The case concerns a dispute over the impact of a particular extraction technology used at the Baia Mare gold mine.   The company S.C. “Aurul” S.A., which is run by an Australian firm (Esmeralda Exploration Limited) and a Romanian limited company (Remin), obtained a licence in 1998 to exploit the Baia Mare gold mine. In December 2001 the National Agency for Mineral Resources drew up a codicil to the licensing agreement changing the name of the licence-holder to “S.C. Transgold S.A.”.   On 30 January 2000 an environmental accident occurred at the site. A United Nations study reported that a dam had breached, releasing about 100,000 m 3 of water containing free cyanides and cyanide compounds into the environment. The report stated that S.C. “Aurul” S.A. had not halted its operations after the spill.   In a letter dated 10 December 2001, Vasile Gheorghe Tătar informed the Court that his son suffered from bronchial asthma because of the pollution generated by the company, and provided copies of medical certificates confirming the disease. He alleged that S.C. “Aurul” S.A. used sodium cyanide in the extraction process, a substance he claimed was no longer used in Europe because of the associated health risks. He maintains that since June 1999 the process has generated excessive and hazardous pollution in Baia Mare and that the number of cancer sufferers has increased yearly.   In response to these allegations the Romanian authorities referred, among other things , to certain reports stating that there were uncertainties as to the impact of sodium cyanide on the environment, or ruling out any causal link between sodium cyanide and respiratory disorders such as bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia.   Vasile Gheorghe Tătar lodged various complaints with different administrative authorities, seeking, among other things , to have the company’s operating licence withdrawn and those responsible punished. He received a number of letters in reply, including one from the Ministry of the Environment, in November 2003, informing him that the company’s activities did not constitute a public health hazard and that the same extraction technology was used in other countries.   The applicant also brought criminal proceedings against the management of the company in respect of the accident of 30 January 2000 and complained that the mining process was a health threat for the inhabitants of Baia Mare, that it posed a threat to the environment and that it was the cause of his son’s health problems. By order of 20 November 2001 the Romanian courts discontinued the proceedings concerning the accident of 30 January 2000 on the ground that the facts complained of did not constitute criminal offences. No judicial order or decision concerning the other complaints has been issued to date.   Complaints   Relying on Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants complain that the technological process used by S.C. Transgold S.A Baia Mare (formerly “S.C. Aurul S.A Baia Mare”) is a threat to their lives. They also denounce the authorities’ failure to take action in spite of the numerous complaints lodged by Vasile Gheorghe Tătar. In its admissibility decision of July 2007, the Court ruled that the applicants’ complaints should be examined under Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life).   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 17 July 2000 and declared admissible on 5 July 2007.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Boštjan M. Zupančič (Slovenian), President , Corneliu Bîrsan (Romanian), Elisabet Fura-Sandström (Swedish), Alvina Gyulumyan (Armenian), Egbert Myjer (Dutch), Ineta Ziemele (Latvian), Isabelle Berro-Lefèvre (Monegasque), judges , David Thór Björgvinsson (Icelandic), substitute judge , and also Stanley Naismith , Deputy Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Răzvan-Horaţiu Radu , Agent ,   Horia Rogoveanu , Ioana Ilie , Ileana Popescu, Iuliana Chidu , Advisers ;   Applicants :   Diana-Olivia Hatneanu , Stephen Fietta , Counsel ;   Raluca Stăncescu-Cojocaru , Emmanuel Drai , Ram Murali , Maxime de   Guillenchmidt , Advisers .   The applicant, Vasile Tătar , 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 [1] .   Press contacts Emma Hellyer (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15) Stéphanie Klein (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Paramy Chanthalangsy (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 54 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.