European Court of Human Rights

 

 

FIFTH SECTION

CASE OF SYDORENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE

(Applications nos. 26269/13 and 4 others –

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

1 December 2022

 

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Sydorenko and Others v. Ukraine,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

          Mārtiņš Mits, President,
          Mattias Guyomar,
          Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 10 November 2022,

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

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2.  The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4.  The applicants complained of the unlawful detention. In applications nos. 26269/13, 53656/13, 1470/18 and 27194/18, the applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.

THE LAW

I.        JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS

5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

II.     ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 5 § 1 of the Convention

6.  The applicants complained principally of the unlawful detention. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 5 § 1 of the Convention, which reads as follows:

Article 5 § 1

“1.  Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:

...

(c) the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing after having done so;”

7.  The Court reiterates that Article 5 of the Convention is, together with Articles 2, 3 and 4, in the first rank of the fundamental rights that protect the physical security of the individual, and as such its importance is paramount. Its key purpose is to prevent arbitrary or unjustified deprivation of liberty (see Buzadji v. the Republic of Moldova [GC], no. 23755/07, § 84, ECHR 2016 (extracts), with further references).

8.  Where the “lawfulness” of detention is in issue, including the question whether “a procedure prescribed by law” has been followed, the Convention refers essentially to the national law and lays down the obligation to conform to the substantive and procedural rules thereof. Compliance with the national law is not, however, sufficient: Article 5 § 1 requires in addition that any deprivation of liberty should be in keeping with the purpose of protecting the individual from arbitrariness (see S., V. and A. v. Denmark [GC], nos. 35553/12, 36678/12 and 36711/12, § 74, 22 October 2018, with further references).

9.  The Court found violations in respect of issues similar to those in the present case in the leading cases set out in the appended table.

10.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the applicants’ detention was not in accordance with Article 5 § 1 of the Convention.

11.  These complaints as set out in the appended table are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention.

III.  REMAINING COMPLAINTS

12.  In applications nos. 26269/13, 53656/13, 1470/18 and 27194/18, the applicants also raised other complaints under various Articles of the Convention.

13.  As to the complaints in applications nos. 26269/13 and 53656/13 under Article 5 § 4 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the lack of effective remedies to challenge unlawful detention, the Court considers that it has examined the main legal question raised in the present applications and that there is no need to give a separate ruling on the admissibility and merits of these complaints (see Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Câmpeanu v. Romania [GC], no. 47848/08, § 156, ECHR 2014, and, for example, Pogoryelov v. Ukraine, no. 19062/15 [Committee], § 11, 13 October 2022).

14.  The Court has examined the remainder of applications nos. 53656/13, 1470/18 and 27194/18 and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention or the Protocols thereto.

It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

IV.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION

15.  Article 41 of the Convention provides:

“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”

16.  In application no. 27194/18, the applicant did not submit any claims for just satisfaction, despite being invited to do so. Accordingly, the Court considers that there is no call to award him any sum on that account.

17.  As to the remaining applications, regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Malyk v. Ukraine, no. 37198/10, 29 January 2015), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table and rejects any additional claims for just satisfaction raised by the applicants.

18.  The Court further considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

1.      Decides to join the applications;

2.      Declares the complaints concerning the unlawful detention admissible, holds that it is not necessary to examine the admissibility and merits of the complaints under Article 5 § 4 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the lack of effective remedies to challenge unlawful detention in applications nos. 26269/13 and 53656/13 and declares the remainder of applications nos. 53656/13, 1470/18 and 27194/18 inadmissible;

3.      Holds that these complaints disclose a breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention concerning the unlawful detention;

4.      Holds

(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, save for the applicant in case no. 27194/18, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;

5.      Dismisses the remainder of the applicants’ claims for just satisfaction.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 1 December 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

      Viktoriya Maradudina                                               Mārtiņš Mits
    Acting Deputy Registrar                                                President

                       

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention

(unlawful detention)