6.  The applicant, Krzysztof Pieniążek, is a Polish national, who was born in 1960 and lives in Gdynia, Poland. 7.  On 3 July 1989 the applicant and his wife obtained a divorce decree. On 14 July 1989 the applicant filed with the Ełk District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) a petition for division of the matrimonial property. On 8 September 1989 the case was transferred to the Gdynia District Court. 8.  On 14 April 1992 the court gave a preliminary decision (postanowienie wstępne). Before 1 May 1993 the court held nine hearings and heard evidence from several witnesses. The court also obtained evidence from two experts. 9.  On 14 June and 28 June 1993 the court held hearings. On 5 July 1993 the Gdynia District Court delivered another preliminary decision. It was upheld on 6 October 1993 by the Gdańsk Regional Court. 10.  On 21 July 1993, in reply to the applicant's complaint about the excessive length of the proceedings, the President of the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Wojewódzki), informed him that the delay was caused by the process of obtaining evidence. The trial court held further hearings on 29 April, 20 May, 10 and 28 June 1994. 11.  On 8 July 1994 the court ordered that expert evidence be obtained. Between 6 February and 15 December 1997 the court held eight hearings. In 1998 the trial court held six hearings. 12.  On 12 October 1998 the Gdynia District Court gave a decision. It was served on the applicant on 19 March 1999. The applicant lodged an appeal against that decision on 1 April 1999. On 28 October 1999 the Gdańsk Regional Court granted the applicant a total exemption from the court fees due for lodging an appeal. 13.  On 12 December 2000, 23 February and 29 March 2001 the Regional Court held hearings. On 12 April 2001 the Gdańsk Regional Court delivered a final decision. The applicant's subsequent cassation appeal against that decision was rejected as being inadmissible in law.