13789/20;33672/24;6050/25;8534/25;9785/25;10840/25;13078/25;15881/25

FIFTH SECTION CASE OF OSTROVSKYY AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE (Applications nos. 13789/20 and 7 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 8 January 2026     This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Ostrovskyy and Others v. Ukraine, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Andreas Zünd, President,  Diana Sârcu,  Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 4 December 2025, 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 excessive length of civil proceedings and of the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law. THE LAW 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. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 AND ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION 6.  The applicants complained that the length of the civil proceedings in question had been incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement and that they had no effective remedy in this connection. They relied on Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention. 7.  The Court reiterates that the reasonableness of the length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the circumstances of the case and with reference to the following criteria: the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicants and the relevant authorities and what was at stake for the applicants in the dispute (see Frydlender v. France [GC], no. 30979/96, § 43, ECHR 2000-VII). 8.  In the leading case of Karnaushenko v. Ukraine (no. 23853/02, 30 November 2006), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case. 9.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of justifying the overall length of the proceedings at the national level. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the length of the proceedings was excessive and failed to meet the “reasonable time” requirement. 10.  The Court further notes that the applicants did not have at their disposal an effective remedy in respect of these complaints. 11.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and of Article 13 of the Convention. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 12.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Karnaushenko, cited above, §§ 70 and 75), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table. FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY, Decides to join the applications; Declares the applications admissible; Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law; Holds (a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, 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. Done in English, and notified in writing on 8 January 2026, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    Viktoriya Maradudina Andreas Zünd  Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention (excessive length of civil proceedings and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth   Representative’s name and location Start of proceedings End of proceedings Total length Levels of jurisdiction Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage per applicant (in euros)[1]     13789/20 05/03/2020 Oleksandr Stanislavovych OSTROVSKYY Avramenko Gennadiy Mykolayovych Chernigiv 25/11/2014   06/07/2022   7 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 12 day(s)   2 level(s) of jurisdiction 2,100     33672/24 18/10/2024 Igor Viktorovych NECHAYEV       30/08/2017   26/05/2025   7 year(s) and 8 month(s) and 27 day(s)   3 level(s) of jurisdiction 1,200     6050/25 07/02/2025 Artur Moyseyovych STOROZHUK   Afadyeyev Vitaliy Viktorovych Khmelnytskyy 21/11/2017   02/10/2024 (decision taken in the parties’ absence and made public on 09/10/2024) 6 year(s) and 10 month(s) and 12 day(s)   3 level(s) of jurisdiction     8534/25 06/03/2025 Oleksandr Mykolayovych KOLESNYK   Kozachuk Mykhaylo Vasylyovych Kyiv 19/12/2019   07/08/2025   5 year(s) and 7 month(s) and 20 day(s),   3 level(s) of jurisdiction; of the entire period the proceedings were pending for over 5 years before 1 instance     9785/25 17/03/2025 Tetyana Sergiyivna MAKSYM   Lutkovska-Babych Anastasiya Leonidivna Kyiv 03/09/2018   pending   More than 7 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 19 day(s)   1 level(s) of jurisdiction 2,400     10840/25 26/03/2025 Aram Gegamovych STEPANYAN Kozachuk Mykhaylo Vasylyovych Kyiv 26/11/2020   26/05/2025   4 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 1 day(s)   1 level(s) of jurisdiction 1,500     13078/25 08/04/2025 Roman Mykhaylovych SERAFYN Kozachuk Mykhaylo Vasylyovych Kyiv 06/09/2021   pending   More than 4 year(s) and 2 month(s) and 16 day(s)   2 level(s) of jurisdiction     15881/25 16/05/2025 Ganna Mykhaylivna KALINICHENKO Kondratenko Svitlana Yuriyivna Sumy 28/04/2017 23/09/2021   07/07/2021 03/02/2025   7 year(s) and 6 month(s) and 22 day(s)   3 level(s) of jurisdiction 1,200     [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.