5.  The applicant is a former police officer who was born in 1970 and is currently serving a prison sentence in the Niš Penitentiary (Kazneno-popravni zavod u Nišu). 6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 7.  On 26 May 2005 the District Court in Leskovac found the applicant guilty of murdering his former wife, and sentenced him to eleven years’ imprisonment. 8.  On 18 October 2005 the Supreme Court quashed this judgment and ordered a retrial. 9.  On 16 December 2005 the District Court in Leskovac again convicted the applicant and sentenced him to eleven years’ imprisonment. In so doing, it provided extensive reasoning. 10.  On 20 March 2006 the Supreme Court upheld this judgment. The appeal bench included judge M.C. and the applicant received the judgment on 26 May 2006. 11.  On 26 June 2006, through the prison authorities and as evidenced by their certificate, the applicant filed an appeal on points of law (zahtev za ispitivanje zakonitosti pravosnažne presude). The Supreme Court received this appeal on 5 July 2006, as certified by its stamp of even date. 12.  On 31 May 2007 the Supreme Court noted that the appeal had been lodged on 5 July 2006 and consequently had to be rejected as out of time (neblagovremen; see paragraph 20 below). The Supreme Court’s bench again included judge M.C. and the applicant received this decision on 21 September 2007.