CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 15 septembre 1999

.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 } .s23A41E03 { width:36pt; display:inline-block } .sACBC61AB { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:36pt; text-align:justify } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sD35C6159 { width:1.54pt; display:inline-block } .s4598CDF { width:70.9pt; display:inline-block } .s9852CA4C { width:7.54pt; display:inline-block } .sACA9899B { width:6.86pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .s8242CF8E { width:39.05pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS       464   15.9.99   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASES OF T. v. THE UNITED KINGDOM and V. v. THE UNITED KINGDOM   Wednesday 15 September 1999 at 9.00 am   IN CAMERA   The applicants     The cases concern two applications (application nos. 24724/94 and 24888/94) brought by British nationals, both of whom were born in 1982.   Summary of the facts     On 24 November 1993 the applicants, then aged eleven, were convicted of the murder of a two-year-old boy, whom they had abducted from a shopping precinct, battered to death and left on a railway line. The murder had been committed when the applicants were aged ten and a half.     The applicants’ trial took place over three weeks in public in an adult Crown Court and attracted substantial public and media interest. Neither applicant gave evidence. Their identities were kept secret during the trial but after their conviction the trial judge ordered that their names could be disclosed.   As are all children convicted of murder in the United Kingdom, the applicants were sentenced to be detained indefinitely, at Her Majesty’s pleasure. The decision as to the period of detention to be served by them to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence (“the tariff”) was taken by the Home Secretary, following consultation with the judiciary. The trial judge recommended a tariff of eight years and the Lord Chief Justice recommended ten years. On 22 July 1994 the Home Secretary set the tariff at fifteen years, having taken into account, among other things, the public concern about the case, as evidenced by thousands of letters and signatures on petitions demanding that the applicants should never be released. The applicants applied for judicial review. On 12 June 1997 the Home Secretary’s decision was quashed by a majority of the House of Lords. No new decision as to the tariff period to be served by the applicants has yet been taken.   Complaints     The applicants complain that, in view of their young age, their trial in public in an adult Crown Court and the punitive nature of their sentence constituted violations of their rights not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as guaranteed under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. They further complain that they were denied a fair trial in breach of Article 6 of the Convention. In addition, they contend that the sentence imposed on them of detention at Her Majesty’s pleasure amounts to a breach of their rights to liberty under Article 5, and that the fact that a government minister, rather than a judge, was responsible for setting the tariff violated their rights under Article 6. Finally, they complain under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention that, to date, they have not had the opportunity to have the continuing lawfulness of their detention examined by a judicial body, such as the Parole Board.     The Government denies that there has been any breach of the applicants’ Convention rights.   Procedure     The applications were lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights in May 1994. Having declared the applications admissible, the Commission adopted reports on 4 December 1998 in which it expressed the opinions, among other things, that there had been no violation of Article 3 of the Convention (17 votes to 2) but that there had been violations of Article 6 in that the applicants had not had a fair trial and the tariff had not been set by a judicial body, and of Article 5 § 4. The Commission’s reports are available to the public.   The Commission referred the cases to the Court on 6 March 1999.     The Court has decided that, for the protection of the private lives of the applicants, who are juveniles, the hearing will take place in private (Rule 33 § 2 of the Rules of Court).   Composition of the Court     The cases will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss), President , Elisabeth Palm (Swedish), Christos Rozakis (Greek), Antonio Pastor Ridruejo (Spanish), Georg Ress (German), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Jerzy Makarczyk (Polish), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Riza Türmen (Turkish), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Viera Strážnická (Slovakian), Corneliu Bîrsan (Romanian), Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Marc Fischbach (Luxemburger), Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Judges , Lord Reed (British), ad hoc Judge András Baka (Hungarian), Rait Maruste (Estonian), Josep Casadevall (Andorran), Substitute Judges,   and also Michele de Salvia , Registrar and Paul Mahoney , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Huw Llewellyn , Agent ,   David Pannick QC,   Mark Shaw , Counsel ,   Steven Bramley , Home Office   Jonathan Lane , Home Office   Tim Morris , HM Prison Service, Advisers ;   Applicant T:   Brian Higgs QC,   Julian Nutter , Counsel ,   Dominic Lloyd , Solicitor;   Applicant V:   Edward Fitzgerald QC,   Ben Emmerson , Counsel ,   John Dickinson , Solicitor .     Denise Fergus, mother of the murdered child, will attend the hearing. Sean Sexton and Robin Makin , representatives of Mrs Fergus and Ralph Bulger, the child's father, will address the Court.     ***     After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.     Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92) or   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 1959 in Strasbourg 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.