CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 18 mars 1999

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FRANCE   Thursday, 18 March 1999 at 9 a.m.     The applicant     The case Selmouni v. France (application no.   25803/94), concerns an application brought by a Netherlands and Moroccan national, Ahmed Selmouni, who was born in 1942 and who is currently in prison in Montmédy (France).   Summary of the facts     The applicant was held in police custody at Bobigny from 25 to 29 November 1991 and questioned by police officers from the Seine-Saint-Denis Criminal Investigation Department. Following a complaint by the applicant that the police officers had ill-treated him while he was in their custody, a judicial investigation was started on 22 February 1993 at the Bobigny tribunal de grande instance . On 15 March 1993 the applicant filed a criminal complaint and application to join the proceedings as a civil party. In a judgment of 27 April 1994 the Court of Cassation decided, in the interests of the proper administration of justice, to remove the case from the investigating judge in charge of it and transfer it to an investigating judge at the Versailles tribunal de grande instance . On 21 October 1998 four police officers were committed for trial at the Versailles Criminal Court for assault occasioning actual bodily harm resulting in total unfitness for work for less than one week, and indecent assault committed jointly and with violence and duress. The trial took place at the Versailles Criminal Court on 5 February 1999 and judgment was reserved until 25 March 1999.   Complaints     The applicant complains that, on account of the ill-treatment he alleges he suffered during police custody and the length of the proceedings relating to his criminal complaint and application to join the proceedings as a civil party, there has been a violation of Article   3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which guarantees the right to a decision on civil rights and obligations within a “reasonable time”.   Procedure     The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 28   December 1992. Having found the application admissible, the Commission adopted a report on 11 December 1997 in which it established the facts and expressed the unanimous opinion that there had been a violation of Articles 3 and 6 § 1. It referred the case to the Court on 16 March 1998. The Netherlands Government also brought the case before the Court.     Composition of the Court     Under the transitional provisions of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, the case was transmitted to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on the entry into force of the Protocol, on 1 November 1998. It will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber   (Swiss), President , Elisabeth Palm   (Swedish), Luigi Ferrari Bravo   (Italian), [1] Lucius Caflisch   (Swiss), [2] Pranas Kūris   (Lithuanian), Jean-Paul Costa   (French), Willi Fuhrmann   (Austrian), Karel Jungwiert   (Czech), Marc Fischbach   (Luxemburger), Boštjan Zupančič   (Slovenian), Nina Vajić   (Croatian), John Hedigan   (Irish), Wilhelmina Thomassen   (Dutch), Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska   (FYROMacedonia), Tudor Pantiru   (Moldovan), Egils Levits   (Latvian), Kristaq Traja   (Albanian), Judges Rait Maruste   (Estonian), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Viera Strážnická   (Slovakian), Substitute Judges   and also Michele de Salvia , Registrar , Paul Mahoney , Deputy Registrar , and Maud de   Boer-Buquicchio , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Jean-François Dobelle , Agent , Michèle Dubrocard, Frédérique Doublet and   Jean-Christophe Muller, advisers ;   Applicant:   Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard , counsel .     The Commission will be represented by Daniel Šváby .     After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.     Subject to his duty of discretion, the Registrar is responsible under the Rules of Court for replying to requests for information concerning the work of the Court, and in particular to enquiries from the press.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contact: Roderick Liddell Telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92; fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91 [1]   Judge in respect of San Marino [2]   Judge in respect of Liechtenstein