5.  The applicant was born in 1959 and lives in Moscow. He has no fixed place of residence or residence registration. 6.  On 24 May 2002 the applicant asked to hire cutlery and a folding bed from the “Morion” hire agency. Having studied his passport, the manager replied that the company could not hire out anything to him because he had no residence registration[1]. 7.  On 12 August 2002 the applicant lodged a civil action against the “Morion” company, alleging unlawful denial of services. The statement of claim indicated that the applicant had no fixed place of residence and provided an address in Moscow for correspondence. 8.  On 9 October 2002 the Khoroshevskiy District Court stayed the applicant's claim because his place of residence had not been specified. He was invited to specify it by 11 November 2002, failing which his action would be declared inadmissible. 9.  The applicant appealed against the decision of 9 October 2002, alleging an unlawful restriction on his right of access to a court guaranteed by Article 46 of the Russian Constitution on account of his inability to show that he had permanent residence at a specific place. 10.  On 20 December 2002 the Moscow City Court upheld the decision. 11.  On 5 April 2003 the applicant unsuccessfully attempted to subscribe to the services of the MTS telecommunications company. He was refused because he had no residence registration. 12.  On 22 August 2003 he sued the MTS company and the cell phone vendor for subscription to a contract and compensation for non-pecuniary damage. He indicated the city of Moscow as his place of residence and provided a poste restante address for correspondence. 13.  On 8 September 2002 the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow stayed the applicant's claim due to his omission to indicate his address. He was instructed to rectify the omission within ten days, failing which his claim would be declared inadmissible. 14.  The applicant received a copy of the decision by mail at the address indicated in his statement of claim. 15.  The applicant appealed, submitting that he had indicated his address in the statement of claim. 16.  On 18 November 2003 the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of 8 September 2003.