CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 29 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 } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sD35C6159 { width:1.54pt; 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 } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     485   29.6.2000   Press release issued by the Registrar   HEARING IN THE CASE OF ZOON v. THE NETHERLANDS   Thursday, 29 June 2000 at 9.30 a.m.     The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by a   Netherlands   national, Herman Olivier Zoon, who was born in 1950 and lives in Calpe (Spain). He is a physician.   Summary of the facts   The applicant was a general practitioner in Dirksland, the Netherlands.   During preliminary judicial investigations concerning allegations of forgery and fraud against him, Mr Zoon, on his own initiative, stated that in March 1993 he had performed euthanasia on and at the request of one of his patients. He had issued a death certificate stating that the patient had died of natural causes. On 11 May 1995 the Regional Court of Rotterdam found him guilty of taking another person’s life at that person’s express and urgent request and of falsifying official records and prescriptions.   It is the practice of Netherlands first-instance criminal courts to deliver judgments in abridged form, which do not set out in detail the items of evidence relied on to ground a conviction. A completed version of the judgment is normally supplied only if an appeal is lodged.     Complaints   The applicant complains that in criminal proceedings against him he was not provided with a complete version of the judgment of the Regional Court before he had to decide whether or not to lodge an appeal.   He invokes Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights.     Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 16 June 1995. Having declared the application partly admissible, the Commission adopted a report on 4 December 1998 in which it expressed the opinion that there had been a violation of Article   6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) of the Convention (by seventeen votes to seven) and referred the case to the Court on 23 March 1999. The Netherlands Government also brought the case before the Court on 6 April 1999.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Georg Ress (German), President , Volodymyr Butkevych ( Ukrainian), Nina Vajić (Croatian), John Hedigan (Irish), Wilhelmina Thomassen (Dutch), Matti Pellonpää (Finnish), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), judges , Antonio Pastor Ridruejo (Spanish), Lucius Caflisch (Swiss), Jerzy Makarczyk (Polish), substitute judges ,   and also Vincent Berger , Section Registrar .     Representatives of the parties   Government:   Jolien Schukking , Agent , Jacob Struyker Boudier ,   Lucia Ling Ket On , Advisers .   Applicant:   Geert-Jan Dolk , Counsel .   The applicant, Herman Zoon , will also attend the hearing.   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.