Violations of a fair trial in sentencing cases in the context of the financial crisis. Friendly arrangements and repetition of procedures
JUDGMENT
Sigurjón Þorvaldur Árnason v. Iceland (no. 42655/16 and 27495/18), Ívar Guðjónsson v. Iceland (no. 46015/16), Sigurþór Charles Guðmundsson v. Iceland (no. 60672/16), Margrét Guðjónsdóttir v. Iceland (no. 60704/16) and Karl Emil Wernersson v. Iceland (no. 61464/16) 04.03.2020
SUMMARY
Violations of a fair trial. Recognition of violations by the defendant state. Friendly settlement. Payment of non-pecuniary damage and repetition of procedures.
The respondent State acknowledged violations of the applicants’ right to a fair trial and undertook to pay each of the applicants EUR 12,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and costs.
The applicants in turn agreed to waive any further claims against Iceland. At the same time, they were granted the right to request a retrial in the national courts.
The European Court of Human Rights has unanimously dismissed the actions as a result of the amicable settlement reached between the parties.
PROVISION
Article 6
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicants, Sigurjón Þorvaldur Árnason, Ívar Guðjónsson, Sigurþór Charles Guðmundsson,
Margrét Guðjónsdóttir and Karl Emil Wernersson, are Icelandic nationals who were born in 1966,
1968, 1958, 1958 and 1962 respectively. They live in Reykjavik (Mr Árnason, Mr Guðmundsson and
Ms Guðjónsdóttir) and Garðabær (Iceland) (the other two applicants).
The applications concerned the applicants’ criminal convictions in cases related to the 2008 financial
crisis and its aftermath in Iceland.
On various dates in 2020 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties. In
these declarations the respondent State acknowledged violations of the applicants’ right to a fair
trial and undertook to pay the applicants 12,000 euros each in respect of non-pecuniary damage and
to cover any costs incurred. The applicants in turn agreed to waive any further claims against
Iceland.
In the declarations concerning Mr Árnason, reference was made to the Court’s judgment in the case
of Sigríður Elín Sigfúsdóttir v. Iceland (no. 41382/17), where the Court had found a violation of the
applicant’s right to a fair trial on account of a lack of impartiality of one of the Supreme Court judges
who had sat on the bench at the applicant’s trial. In the declarations concerning the other
applicants, reference was made to the Court’s judgment in the case of Styrmir Þór Bragason v.
Iceland (n° 36292/14), where the Court had found a violation of the applicant’s right to a fair trial
due to the manner in which the Supreme Court of Iceland had overturned the applicant’s acquittal
without hearing evidence from the applicant and relevant witnesses directly.
All declarations noted the possibility for the applicants to apply for the reopening of their cases.
Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicants
complained of the manner in which the Supreme Court of Iceland had overturned or partially
overturned their acquittals, or, in Mr Árnason’s and Mr Guðjónsson’s cases, various aspects of the
criminal proceedings against them.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT…
The Court took note of the friendly settlements reached between the parties. It was satisfied that
the settlements were based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its
Protocols and found no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications. It thus struck
the applications out of its list of cases.
