The applicants complained under Article 6-1 of the Convention that a decision refusing to reimburse the costs they had borne in respect of a civil claim that the Public Prosecutor unsuccessfully lodged against them was in breach of these provisions. The claim against them had alleged unjust enrichment in the purchase of public land under a public tender.
Held: There had been a breach of article 6-1. The treatment of the privileged position of the prosecuting authority on costs resulted in putting the opposing party at an ‘undue disadvantage’ vis-a-vis the prosecuting authorities. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, as interpreted by the Polish Supreme Court, had not been correctly applied by the Krakow Court of Appeal when refusing costs to the successful party.
Judges:
Rozakis P
Citations:
46917/99, [2006] ECHR 360, (2007) 44 EHRR 47
Links:
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 6
Jurisdiction:
Human Rights
Cited by:
Cited – Eastenders Cash And Carry Plc And Others v The United Kingdom ECHR 27-Nov-2013
Statement of Facts – The company’s goods had been detained by Customs and Excise. A court later ordered their return, but found the detention to have been with reasonable cause. The Revenue had successfully argued that costs could not be awarded . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Human Rights
Updated: 07 July 2022; Ref: scu.243651