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EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS[Note1]    567  31.7.2001   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER JUDGMENTS CONCERNING FRANCE   The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing the following three Chamber judgments, none of which are final[1]:   SECTION 3   (1)  Mortier v. France (application no. 42195/98) Violation Article 6 § 1 Jean-Claude Mortier, a French national, complained, relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights, that he had been denied access to the Court of Cassation following a decision by the first President of the Court of Cassation, under Article 1009-1 of the new Code of Civil Procedure, to strike out the proceedings instituted by his appeal on points of law.   The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded the applicant 100,000 French francs (FRF) for non-pecuniary damage and FRF 20,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French)   (2) Zannouti v. France (no. 42211/98) Violation Article 5 § 3  Violation Article 6 § 1 Driss Zannouti, a French national, complained, relying on Article 5 § 3 (right to be brought promptly before a judge) of the Convention, about the length of his detention on remand, which had lasted five years, five months and 23 days. He further complained, relying on Article 6 § 1, about the length of the criminal proceedings against him, which had lasted five years, ten months and ten days.   The Court held unanimously that there had been violations of Article 5 § 3 and Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and awarded the applicant FRF 50,000 for non-pecuniary damage and FRF 30,000 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only in French)     (3)  Malve v. France (no. 46051/99) Violation Article 6 § 1 Catherine Malve, a French national, complained, relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to determination of civil rights within a reasonable time) of the Convention, about the length of civil proceedings before the commercial courts which had started on 4 January 1995 and were still pending on 31 July 2001.   The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 and awarded the applicant FRF 30,000 for non-pecuniary damage and FRF 19,296 for costs and expenses. (The judgment is available only 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.   [Note1] Press release for grouped judgments. To be save in t:\gen\press\Court\eng\Judgments\Grand Chamber or Chamber\ and named by month[s], [day] and language, with case names in brackets if specification necessary (e.g. Jan 13 Eng (Scozzari, Giunta, Rotaru) or Feb 4+11 Eng or Mar Eng).