CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 7 juin 2000

.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 } .s4F530F05 { width:21.25pt; display:inline-block } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sF9C0A319 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .sBE975F9 { width:33.32pt; display:inline-block } .s4598CDF { width:70.9pt; display:inline-block } .s38DD6A04 { width:18.2pt; display:inline-block } .sCB27B9E { width:16.66pt; display:inline-block } .sC5412BEF { width:51.05pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS       408 7.6.2000   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF KUDŁA v. POLAND   Wednesday, 7 June 2000 at 9 a.m.     The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by a Polish national, Andrzej Kudła, who was born in 1962 and lives in Kraków, Poland.   He is a technician.   Summary of the facts   On 8 August 1991 Mr Kudła was charged with fraud and forgery and detained on remand. During his detention, he suffered from chronic depression and twice tried to commit suicide. He also went on hunger strike.   On more than 70 occasions, he requested his release or appealed against decisions to maintain his detention.   On 1 June 1995 the Kraków Regional Court convicted him of fraud and forgery and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 Polish zlotys (PLN). On 22   February 1996 the Kraków Court of Appeal quashed this judgment on the ground that the court had been incorrectly composed and that there had been serious breaches of procedure.   The case was remitted to the regional court on 11 April.   On 29 October 1996 the applicant was released as his family had paid bail of PLN 10,000.   On 4 December 1998 the Kraków Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him as before. On 27 October 1999, on his appeal, the Kraków Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to five years’ imprisonment. The proceedings are pending before the Supreme Court following his cassation appeal.   Complaints   Mr Kudła complains that given his state of health, the repeated refusals to release him from detention amounted to treatment contrary to Article 3 (prohibition of degrading or inhuman treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.   He further submits that his right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial, guaranteed by Article 5 § 3, was not respected and that the criminal proceedings against him lasted an unreasonably long time, contrary to Article 6 § 1.   Lastly, the applicant complains that he had no effective remedy available to challenge the length of the proceedings against him, in breach of Article 13 of the Convention.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 12 April 1995 and registered on 15 February 1996. Having declared the application partly admissible, the Commission adopted a report on 26 October 1999 in which it expressed the opinion that there had been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention (by 14 votes to 13), a violation of Article 5 § 3 (unanimously) and a violation of Article 6 § 1 (unanimously).   Furthermore, the Commission expressed the opinion that it was not necessary to examine whether there had been a violation of Article 13 (by 18 votes to 9). It referred the case to the Court on 30   October 1999. The applicant also brought the case before the Court on 2 December 1999.   Composition of the Court   On 6 December 1999 the panel of the Grand Chamber decided that the case would be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss), President , Elisabeth Palm (Swedish), Jean-Paul Costa (French), Antonio Pastor Ridruejo (Spanish), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Jerzy Makarczyk (Polish), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Riza Türmen (Turkish), Françoise Tulkens (Belgian), Viera Strážnická (Slovakian), Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Marc Fischbach (Luxemburger), Josep Casadevall (Andorran), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), András Baka (Hungarian), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), Mindia Ugrekhelidze (Georgian), judges , Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Nina Vajić (Croatian), substitute judges   and also Paul Mahoney , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Krzysztof Drzewicki , Agent ,   Małgorzata Wąsek-Wiaderek and Andrzej Kaliński , Counsel ,   Wojciech Dziuban , Adviser .   Applicant:   Krzysztof Tor and Piotr Sołhaj , Counsel .   ***   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)   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.