CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 16 janvier 2003

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s5FFF0A77 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:1pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s18D96D33 { width:15.69pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s32AFAD20 { width:26.35pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3964C3A3 { width:1.36pt; display:inline-block } .s901C2590 { width:56.7pt; display:inline-block }   EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS       021   16.1.2003   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING ON THE ADMISSIBILITY AND MERITS IN THE CASE OF BRUDNICKA AND OTHERS v. POLAND   Thursday 16 January 2003 at 9.30 a.m.   The applicants   The case concerns an application (no. 54723/00) brought by Irena Brudnicka and 10 other Polish nationals, all parents and widows of sailors who perished in the shipwreck of the Jan Heweliusz .   Summary of the facts   On 14 January 1993 the Jan Heweliusz , which was owned by the Polskie Linie Oceaniczne company and operated by the Euroafrica company, sank in the Baltic Sea, causing the death of 55 people.   Judicial proceedings were instituted in order to establish the causes of this maritime disaster, and on 11 January 1994 the bench of the Szczecin Regional Court dealing with maritime disputes ( Izba Morska przy Sądzie Wojewódzkim ) held that liability lay with the ship's captain and technical crew, the Polish Shipping Registry (which had checked the condition of the ship before the accident) and the rescue services. On 18 November 1994 the bench of the Gdansk Regional Court dealing with maritime appeals ( Odwolawcza Izba Morska przy Sądzie Wojewódzkim ) exonerated the ship's captain and crew, but found the vessel's operator liable and laid emphasis on the force of the storm.   On 23 February 1996 the bench of the Gdansk Regional Court dealing with maritime disputes held that the crew members had been partly responsible, that the vessel's operator had been at fault for failing to undertake the necessary repair work, and that the elements had also played a part. That decision was overturned on 26 January 1999 by the bench of the Gdansk Regional Court dealing with maritime appeals, which exempted the vessel's operator from   liability and found the crew members liable in that they had breached their duty of care by failing to coordinate their operations.   Complaints   Relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants argue that their case was not heard by impartial and independent tribunals. In accordance with the Law of 1 December 1961 on maritime disputes, two judges of the relevant benches of the Szczecin and Gdansk Regional Courts carried out investigations and presided over the hearings, a fact that, in the applicants' submission, is incompatible with the requirement that a court should be impartial. The applicants further submit that some of the assessors on the benches were retired employees of the operator and the owner of the vessel in question. They also challenge the national courts' assessment of the evidence, complain that evidence was not heard from certain witnesses and contest the outcome of the proceedings. Lastly, they submit that they represent the deceased sailors who were held liable for the shipwreck and that the sailors themselves did not have a fair hearing.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 11 January 2000.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Georg Ress (German), President , Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese), Lucius Caflisch (Swiss), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), John Hedigan (Irish), Kristaq Traja (Albanian), Lech Garlicki (Polish), judges , Riza Türmen (Turkish), Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska (Macedonian), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), substitute judges , and also Vincent Berger , Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Krzysztof Drzewicki , Agent , Renata Kowalska , Counsel Eugeniusz Jablonski and Jerzy Mlynarczyk , Advisers ;   Applicants:   Romana Orlikowska-Wronska , Zdzislaw Brodecki , Counsel and Przemyslaw Rybinski , Adviser .   ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. A decision on admissibility - and, if appropriate, a judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex 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) Fax: +00 33 (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.