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EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS  680  5.10.2000   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING: Finland, Hungary and Italy   The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following four Chamber judgments:   Section 2   (1) APEH Üldözötteinek Szövetsége, Iványi, Róth and Szerdahelyi v. Hungary[1] (application no. 32367/96)                                                                                          Violation Article 6 § 1   APEH Üldözötteinek Szövetsége, an unregistered association, and three Hungarian nationals,  Péter Iványi, Miklós Róth and  Szabolcs Szerdahelyi, complained that proceedings concerning the registration of the applicant association were unfair. The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights was applicable in the non-contentious court registration proceedings and that there had been a violation thereof on account of the courts' failure to despatch properly the intervening prosecution authorities' submissions to the applicants. No award was made for just satisfaction. The judgment is available only in English.   (2) Giomi v. Italy  (no. 53361/99)           Violation Article 6 § 1   Giovanni Giomi, an Italian national, complained about the length of the proceedings (which lasted more than ten years and nine months) regarding a dispute over patent rights. The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded him 30,000,000 Italian lire (ITL) for non-pecuniary damage and ITL 1,000,000 for costs and expenses. (Judgment in French)   Section 4   (3) Launikari v. Finland   (no. 34120/96)         Violation Article 6 § 1   Jaakko Launikari, a Finnish national, complained about the length of the proceedings (which lasted nearly four years and eight months) concerning disputes relating to his duties and responsibilities as an employee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded him 20,000 Finnish Marks (FIM) for non-pecuniary damage and FIM 30,622 for costs and expenses. (Judgment in English)   (4) Caruso v. Italy (no. 46535/99)             Friendly settlement   Alfredo Caruso, an Italian national complained, under Article 6 § 1, about the length of civil proceedings (which lasted around seventeen years) to which he was a party, relating to a dispute over his pay. The case has been struck out following a friendly settlement in which ITL 21,000,000 is to be paid for any non-pecuniary damage and ITL 5,000,000 for costs and expenses. (Judgment in French)   ***   The Court’s judgments are accessible on its Internet site (http://www.echr.coe.int).   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contacts: Roderick Liddell (telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92)  Emma Hellyer (telephone: (0)3 90 21 42 15) Fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court. [1] Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the Court.  In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its Protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.