Criminal Archives - ECHRCaseLaw

The amendment of a decision with a change in the date of commencement of the merging sentence in absentia of the accused violated the right to a fair trial.

Article 5
May 13, 2019 6:33 pm

JUDGMENT Kereselidze v. Geogia 28.03.2019 (no. 39718/09) see here SUMMARY Amendment of the starting of a period for calculating a prison sentence in absentia of the accused. Extending the applicant’s detention, since, as a result of an amendment, the date of commencement of the sentence was calculated as the date of the imposition of the […]

Temporary detention without a judicial decision violated Article 5 of the ECHR. No State liability for violating the presumption of innocence of an accused coming from a newspaper

Article 5
May 9, 2019 6:00 pm

JUDGMENT Mityanin and Leonov v. Russia 07.05.2019 (no. 11436/06 and 22912/06) see here SUMMARY Arrest of the applicants for armed robbery as members of a criminal organization and temporary detention without a judicial decision. Article in a newspaper with a photograph of the accused in wich he was described as guilty. The European Court of […]

Two-judge panels, the impartiality of judges, high court costs and the Court of Strasbourg

Article 6
May 7, 2019 7:19 pm

JUDGMENT Pasquini v. San Marino 02.05.2019 (no. 50956/16) see here SUMMARY Composition of a court of two judges. Impartiality of judges. High court costs. Procedures for settlement of the debts of a financial company to a third party. Complaints about the unlawfulness of court formation, lack of impartiality of a judge and inability to gain […]

The non-examination of a key witness in the audience trial violates the fairness of the trial and equality of arms

Article 6 - Par. 1
May 1, 2019 7:16 pm

JUDGMENT Bondar v. Ukraine 16.04.2019 (no. 18895/08) see here SUMMARY Equality of arms. Failure to recall an important witness to an intentional homicide trial. National courts have condemned the accused from his confession, that was optained through pressure, and did not call the key witness whose examination was crucial to the conviction or not. Unfair […]

Conflicting case-law of the Supreme Court of Cassation. Legal security and the decision of the Court

Article 6 - Par. 1
April 25, 2019 7:52 pm

JUDGMENT Mariyka Popova and Asen Popov v. Bulgaria 11.04.2019 (no. 11260/10) see here SUMMARY Conflicting case law in the interpretation of a provision made by different compositions of the Supreme Court. Rejection of the applicants’ appeal by the Supreme Court of Cassation due to discrepancies in the case law of that court regarding the liability […]

The contact of the lawyer with his detained client is privilegedly protected by the ECHR and must be unobstructed.

Article 6 - Par. 1
April 24, 2019 8:54 pm

JUDGMENT Altay v. Turkey 09.04.2019 (no. 2) (n. 11236/09) see here SUMMARY Lawyer and prisoner. Confidentiality of meetings. The meetings and communications of the lawyer with his client are dealt with privilege by the ECHR and must be free of obstructions. Request of the prison authorities to attend the meetings between the lawyer and his […]

Judicial and private expert report. Taking into account by the courts of the expert report of the psychiatrist appointed by the authorities and the rejection of the report of the private psychiatrist violated the principle of equality of arms by creating an unfair disadvantage against the accused

Article 6 - Par. 1
April 7, 2019 6:05 pm

JUDGMENT Hodžić v. Croatia 04.04.2019 (no. 28932/14) see here SUMMARY The case concerned the proceedings for the applicant’s confinement in a psychiatric hospital. The Court found in particular that, without obtaining another expert report addressing Mr Hodžić’s objections or giving him an opportunity to examine an “expert” on his behalf, his possibility to challenge the […]

The incorrect assessment of evidence of a drug convicted violated the fair trial

Article 6 - Par. 1
March 19, 2019 10:34 am

JUDGMENT Kobiashvili v. Georgia 14.03.2019 (no. 36416/06) see here SUMMARY Drug conviction. The manner in which the basic evidence against the applicant was gathered calls into question the credibility and accuracy of the evidence. Procedural irregularities in the applicant’s personal investigation, inconsistent and contradictory evidence of the actual circumstances of the investigation, inadequate judicial control […]

The refusal of the courts to display the recorded video of the fight between the parties, violated the right of the accused to a fair trial

Article 6
March 9, 2019 5:20 pm

JUDGMENT Abdullayev v. Azerbaijan 07-03-2019 (no. 6005/08) see here SUMMARY The refusal of the courts to examine the video evidence. Prosecution and conviction of a former Parliament Member due to his fight with another Member during the parliamentary assembly. The Court found that the refusal of the national courts to examine the video evidence without […]

The press release of the Ministry of Interior and the violation of the presumption of innocence

Article 13
February 26, 2019 3:49 pm

JUDGMENT Lolov and others v. Bulgaria 21.02.2019 (no. 6123/11) see here SUMMARY Presumption of innocence and family criminal organization. A family is accused of creating a criminal organization that favors tax evasion and extortion. They complaint that their presumption of innocence had been violated because of a press release issued by the Ministry of Interior, […]

Criminal