AFFAIRE MAKRYLAKIS c. GRÈCE

• Judgment Date: 17 November 2022
• ECLI: ECLI:CE:ECHR:2022:1117JUD003481215
• Counsel: MAKRYLAKIS C.
• Date: 17 November 2022
• Application Number: 34812/15
• Court: First Section (European Court of Human Rights)
• Respondent State: Grecia
• Applied Rules: 6;6-1;35;35-3-a;41

FIRST SECTION

CASE OF MAKRYLAKIS v. GREECE

(Application no. 34812/15)

JUDGMENT

Art 6 § 1 (civil) • Dismissal of compensation applications for two-year detention following acquittal judgment given on appeal • Application procedure not regulated in a coherent and foreseeable manner • Applicant made to bear adverse consequences of errors imputable to domestic courts • Excessively formalistic application of relevant procedural requirements • Disproportionate burden impairing very essence of right of access to court

Art 6 § 1 (criminal) • Unreasonable length of first instance criminal proceedings

STRASBOURG

17 November 2022

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Makrylakis v. Greece,

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:

Marko Bošnjak, President,
Péter Paczolay,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek,
Alena Poláčková,
Lorraine Schembri Orland,
Ioannis Ktistakis,
Davor Derenčinović, judges,
and Renata Degener, Section Registrar,

Having regard to:

the application (no. 34812/15) against the Hellenic Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 10 July 2015 by a Greek national, Mr Charalambos Makrylakis (“the applicant”);

the decision to give notice of the complaints concerning Article 5 § 5 and Article 6 § 1 of the Convention to the Greek Government (“the Government”) and to declare the remainder of the application inadmissible;

the parties’ observations;

Having deliberated in private on 18 October 2022,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

INTRODUCTION

1. The case concerns the alleged lack of access to a court on account of dismissal of the applicant’s applications for compensation in respect of his two-year detention in prison, which he lodged following his acquittal by the Criminal Court of Appeal, as well as the length of the criminal proceedings. Relying on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, the applicant complained of the unfairness of the proceedings relating to his applications for compensation and alleged that the length of the criminal proceedings before the domestic courts at first instance had been incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement.

THE FACTS

2. The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Rethymno. He represented himself before the Court.

3. The Government were represented by their Agent, Mr K. Georgiadis, Senior Adviser at the State Legal Council.

4. The facts of the case may be summarised as follows.

1. CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

5. On 4 August 2004 a cannabis plantation was found in the municipality of Nikiforou Foka in the prefecture of Rethymno. For a period of time, the applicant had been renting the plot of land where the plantation was found. A preliminary investigation was conducted by the police during which the applicant was examined as a witness. On 22 December 2004 a criminal file against persons unknown was submitted to the prosecutor. On 7 January 2005 the prosecutor of the Rethymno Criminal Court of First Instance instituted criminal proceedings and requested the investigating judge to conduct the main investigation into the offence of cultivating cannabis plants.

6. On 20 January 2006, during the main investigation, the applicant was examined as an accused before the investigating judge and a prohibition on his leaving the country was imposed.

7. When the main investigation was completed, the prosecutor at the Rethymno Criminal Court of First Instance submitted the criminal case file to the prosecutor at the Crete Criminal Court of Appeal (Τριμελές Εφετείο Κακουργημάτων – “the Court of Appeal”) on 7 March 2006. On 17 March 2006, following a proposal by the prosecutor, the President of the Crete Criminal...