CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 9 octobre 2001

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .sA1D3DA2E { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s75A32C27 { border-collapse:collapse } .s938C1CCA { padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top } .s85646119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s1C4A3043 { width:126.78pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .s37CDBE05 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s85226119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:10pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     718   9.10.2001   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING Austria and France     The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following two Chamber judgments neither of which is final [1] :   SECTION 3   (1)     Schweighofer and others v. Austria (application nos. 35673/97, 35674/97, 36082/97 and 37579/97) Violation Article 6 § 1 Walter Schweighofer, Hans-Dieter Rauch, Peter Heinemann and Josef Mach, all Austrian nationals, were convicted, among other things, of tax evasion and smuggling offences on 22 December 1994 by the Vienna Regional Court. Between 1980 and 1986, they were found to have run a sophisticated network exporting gold coins, involving tax evasion and fraudulent claims for tax refunds. Each applicant evaded paying between 205 million and 916 million Austrian Schillings (ATS) in taxes.   They complain, relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights, about the length of criminal proceedings against them, which lasted between eight years and one month and 11 years and one month.   The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights and awarded the applicants the following for non-pecuniary damage, costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in English.)     Non-pecuniary damage costs and expenses Walter Schweighofer ATS 60,000 ATS 52,650 Hans-Dieter Rauch ATS 90,000 ATS 42,650 Peter Heinemann ATS 1 ATS 42,650 Josef Mach ATS 85,000 ATS 52,650       (2)     Parege v. France (no. 40868/98)   Violation Article 6 § 1 On 25 September 1992 Jean Parege, a French national born in 1921, instituted civil proceedings, on behalf of all the residents of the retirement home in Caen where he lived, concerning a decision to increase the fees by 22%. He complains, relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to determination of civil rights within a reasonable time), about the length of the proceedings, which lasted more than eight years and seven months for three levels of jurisdiction.   The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded the applicant 40,000 French francs for non-pecuniary damage (The judgment is available only in French.)   ***   The Court’s judgments are accessible on its Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court. [1] Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the Court.   In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its Protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.