Criminal Archives

The conviction of a drug dealer that did not rely solely on the testimony of a co-defendant but also on other evidence does not infringe the fair trial. A higher degree of judicial scrutiny must be applied to the assessment of witnesses of co-defendants.

Article 6 - Par. 1
21/01/2020 11:34

JUDGMENT Stephens v. Malta (no. 3) 14.01.2020 (no. 35989/14) see here SUMMARY The applicant was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 25 years prison. According to the applicant, the domestic courts convicted him on the basis of the testimony of one of his relatives at the trial, according to which the drugs found on […]

Secret recording and video recording without a legal warrant for employee bribery. Violation of privacy. The fair trial was not infringed as the conviction was based on other evidence

Article 6 - Par. 1
01/01/2020 00:52

JUDGMENT Hambardzumyan v. Armenia 05.12.2019 (no. 43478/11) see here SUMMARY The case concerned the applicant’s complaint that the police had not had a valid court warrant to place her under secret surveillance during a criminal investigation. The Court found in particular that the warrant had not been specific enough about the person who was the […]

A citizen who was tried by military courts for a criminal offense because his co-defendant was then serving in the military did not receive a fair trial. Reflection on the independence and impartiality of military courts.

Article 6 - Par. 1
30/11/2019 18:38

JUDGMENT Mustafa v. Bugaria 28.11.2019(no. 1230/17) see here SUMMARY Jurisdiction of military courts and the right of a citizen to a fair trial. A non-military individual was arrested and convicted by military courts of a common criminal offense because one of the other defendants in the case served in the military at the time the […]

Unjustified continuation and duration of detention (21 months), credibility of witness with motivation for personal gain, conviction of peaceful anti-government protest organizers. The Court finds multiple ECHR violations and condemns!

1st P - Article 1
24/11/2019 12:27

JUDGMENT Razvozzhayev v. Russia and Ukraine and Udaltsov v. Russia 19.11.2019 (no. 75734/12, 2695/15, 55325/15) see here SUMMARY The case concerned the conviction of two men for organising “mass disorder” for their part in May 2012 opposition protests and resultant disturbances in central Moscow, an incident which has been at the centre of several earlier […]

Lack of fair satisfaction due to excessive length of criminal proceedings violated the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time.

Article 6 - Par. 1
21/11/2019 19:02

JUDGMENT Papargyriou v. Greece 21.11.2019 (no. 55846/15) see here SUMMARY Failure to grant just satisfaction under Greek law for the excessive length of the criminal proceedings before the investigating authorities. In particular, the Court found that the procedure, which lasted more than 10 years and nine months at the pre-trial level, was too long, in […]

The conviction of the accused based on a witness deposition who testified against him because he had a personal benefit of impunity in his own case and the lack of access to the file violated the principles of fair trial.

Article 6 - Par. 1
18/11/2019 19:23

JUDGMENT Adamčo v. Slovakia 12.11.2019 (no. 45084/14) see here SUMMARY Reliability of witnesses, access to the case file and fair trial. The applicant was first acquitted of the charge of complicity in homicide. An appeal was filed by the Prosecutor who converted the charge from a mere accomplice to a perpetrator and was convicted by a […]

The conversion of a criminal charge that had been decriminalized to another with a more severe sentence and the failure to provide sufficient time to prepare the defense violated the fair trial.

Article 6 - Par. 1
11/11/2019 12:16

JUDGMENT Gelenidze v. Georgia 07.11.2019 (no. 72916/10) see here SUMMARY Lenient law and unauthorized conversion of a charge. The applicant judge was convicted of intentionally miscalculating the sentence of imprisonment. Although convicted at first instance, her act under more lenient law was decriminalized. Before the Court of Appeal, the Prosecutor applied for the conversion of […]

Dismissal and disclosure of civil servants because of their membership in a communist party violated the right to privacy

Article 6
28/10/2019 18:56

JUDGMENT Polyakh and others v. Ukraine 17.10.2019 (no. 58812/15, 53217/16, 59099/16, 23231/18, and 47749/18). see here SUMMARY The Court first held that the first three applicants’ right to a fair trial had been violated because proceedings on their dismissal had lasted more than four and a half years and were still ongoing. As for the Article 8 […]

Withdrawal of a gun licence of a person with a criminal record does not violate the ECHR

Article 6
25/10/2019 19:30

JUDGMENT Ilinca v. Romania 24.10.2019 (no. 50882/15) see here SUMMARY Withdrawal of a permit authorising the possession of firearms. Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr Ilinca submitted that the domestic courts’ decisions had lacked sufficient reasoning and had been based on secret information to which […]

Concerns regarding a judge’s impartiality against a lawyer. Infringement of fair trial

Article 6 - Par. 1
24/10/2019 07:25

JUDGMENT Deli v. the Republic of Moldova 22.10.2019 (no. 42010/06) see here SUMMARY The case concerned, on the one hand, an alleged dispute between a lawyer and a judge during a court hearing and the lawyer’s resulting fears of bias towards him and his client and, on the other hand, the judge’s contention that he […]

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