ECHR rules that Ukraine authorities not liable when case files unavailable in Donbas conflict zone

2017/7/25 12:21:03

The Court came to the conclusion that the Ukrainian authorities had done all in their power, under the circumstances of the hostilities in Eastern Ukraine, to address Mr Khlebik’s situation. Notably, they had duly examined the possibility of restoring his case file.

 


July 25, 2017

 

Today, the European Court of Human Rights has published its judgment on the case of a criminal case blocked in Eastern Ukraine (Luhansk) due to the conflict.

 

Ukrainian authorities not responsible for appeal remaining unexamined due to inability to retrieve criminal case file from area beyond their control

 

The case of Khlebik v. Ukraine (application no. 2945/16) concerned the complaint by a man who had been convicted of several offences by a court in the Luhansk Region in 2013 that the domestic courts were unable to examine his appeal against his conviction, because his case file was blocked in an area that was no longer under the Ukrainian Government’s control.

 

In today’s Chamber judgment in the case, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: no violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

 

The Court came to the conclusion that the Ukrainian authorities had done all in their power, under the circumstances of the hostilities in Eastern Ukraine, to address Mr Khlebik’s situation. Notably, they had duly examined the possibility of restoring his case file.

 

See press release at https://t.co/65r3pp27Gl

 

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