Mellors v The United Kingdom: ECHR 17 Jul 2003

Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-1 ; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award ; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedings
The complainant sought to pursue an appeal against his conviction for rape, but the delay of over three years in hearing the appeal led to this complaint.
Held: The failure to determine an appeal within a reasonable time could be a breach of the applicant’s Art 6 rights. Reasonableness was to be determined in the context of each case, looking at the complexity of the case and its importance to the parties. Here the case was clearly important to the applicant, and there had been complexities with forensic and other evidence, but none were exceptional. The case had not been dealt with within a reasonable time.

Citations:

57836/00, Times 04-Aug-2003, [2003] ECHR 373

Links:

Worldlii, Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 6

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Human Rights

Updated: 26 July 2022; Ref: scu.185148