40045/20;51575/20;17624/21;22237/21

THIRD SECTION CASE OF FEDAS AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (Applications nos. 40045/20 and 3 others – see appended list)             JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG 27 October 2022   This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Fedas and Others v. Russia, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:  Darian Pavli, President,  Andreas Zünd,  Frédéric Krenc, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 6 October 2022, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.  The case originated in applications against Russia 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 Russian 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 deficiencies in proceedings for review of the lawfulness of detention under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention. 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 5 § 4 of the Convention 6.  The applicants complained of the deficiencies in proceedings for review of the lawfulness of detention. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 5 § 4 of the Convention, which reads as follows: Article 5 § 4 “Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention is not lawful.” 7.  The Court reiterates that Article 5 § 4 of the Convention, in guaranteeing to detained persons a right to institute proceedings to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, also proclaims their right, following the institution of such proceedings, to a speedy judicial decision concerning the lawfulness of detention and the ordering of its termination if it proves unlawful (see Baranowski v. Poland, no. 28358/95, § 68, ECHR 2000-III). Where an individual’s personal liberty is at stake, the Court has very strict standards concerning the State’s compliance with the requirement of speedy review of the lawfulness of detention (see, for example, Mamedova v. Russia, no. 7064/05, § 96, 1 June 2006, where the length of appeal proceedings lasting, inter alia, twenty-six days, was found to be in breach of the “speediness” requirement of Article 5 § 4). 8.  In the leading case of Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 154‑58, 22 May 2012, 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 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 appeal proceedings for the review of the lawfulness of the applicants’ detention, as set out in the table appended below, cannot be considered compatible with the requirements set out in Article 5 § 4 of the Convention. 10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention. REMAINING COMPLAINTS 11.  In application no. 40045/20 the applicant also raised another complaint under Article 5 of the Convention. 12.  The Court has examined the application and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matter complained of is within its competence, this complaint does not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention. It follows that this part of the application must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION 13.  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.” 14.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Oravec v. Croatia, no. 51249/11, §§ 78‑80, 11 July 2017), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table. 15.  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, Decides to join the applications; Declares the complaints concerning the deficiencies in proceedings for review of the lawfulness of detention, as set out in the appended table, admissible, and the remainder of application no. 40045/20 inadmissible; Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention concerning the deficiencies in proceedings for review of the lawfulness of detention; 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 27 October 2022, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.    Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli  Acting Deputy Registrar President APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention (deficiencies in proceedings for review of the lawfulness of detention) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth Representative’s name and location First-instance court and date of detention order Appeal instance court and date of decision Procedural deficiencies Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]     40045/20 13/08/2020 Elvira Makhmudovna FEDAS Yuliya Vladimirovna Strelkova Moscow Moscow City Court, 17/02/2020 First Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction, 19/03/2020 lack of speediness of review of detention (Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 154‑58, 22 May 2012)     51575/20 09/11/2020 Oleg Leonidovich VLASOV Valeriy Vladimirovich Shukhardin Moscow Tverskoy District Court of Moscow, 07/05/2020 Moscow City Court, 22/06/2020 lack of speediness of review of detention (Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 154‑58, 22 May 2012)     17624/21 13/03/2021 Sergey Andreyevich GOLEV     Kargasokskiy District Court of the Tomsk Region, 23/07/2020   Kargasokskiy District Court of the Tomsk Region, 15/10/2020   Kargasokskiy District Court of the Tomsk Region, 26/01/2021 Tomsk Regional Court, 29/09/2020     Tomsk Regional Court, 28/01/2021     Tomsk Regional Court, 13/05/2021 lack of speediness of review of detention (Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 154‑58, 22 May 2012)     22237/21 03/04/2021 Stanislav Alekseyevich DZEBOYEV Golub Olga Viktorovna Suzemka, Bryansk Region Mytishchy Town Court of Moscow Region, 12/10/2020   Mytishchy Town Court of Moscow Region, 30/10/2020 Moscow Regional Court, 10/11/2020   Moscow Regional Court, 22/12/2020 lack of speediness of review of detention (Idalov v. Russia [GC], no. 5826/03, §§ 154‑58, 22 May 2012)   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.