9.  The applicant was born in 1940 and lives in Wels. 10.  On 10 April 1984 preliminary investigations were instituted against the applicant on suspicion of aggravated fraud (schwerer Betrug). 11.  During the preliminary investigations in 1984 and 1985 many witnesses were heard, some of them under letters rogatory. On 14 February 1986 an accountancy expert submitted a comprehensive opinion, as a result of which further witnesses were heard. 12.  On 22 April 1987 the preliminary investigations were closed and the file was transferred to the Wels Public Proscutor’s Office (Staatsanwaltschaft). 13.  On 29 July 1987 the Wels Public Prosecutor’s Office issued the indictment against the applicant, her husband and three other co-accused. It charged the applicant, her husband and two co-accused with continued aggravated fraud and with negligent and fraudulent bankruptcy (fahrlässige und betrügerische Krida). The applicant’s objection against the indictment filed with the Linz Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) was of no avail. 14.  On 30 May 1988 the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) that jurisdiction over the case be transferred to the Vienna Regional Criminal Court (Landesgericht für Strafsachen) on the ground that the applicant and her husband would move to Vienna and that numerous witnesses were residing there. On 9 August 1988 the Supreme Court allowed the transfer. The file arrived at the Vienna Regional Court on 16 September 1988, which set trial hearings for the period between September and November 1989. 15.  On 25 September 1989 the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a request for transfer of jurisdiction to the Linz Regional Court since it had turned out that the applicant and her husband had not moved to Vienna. The Linz Regional Court was proposed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on the ground that all the judges of the Wels Regional Court could recuse themselves as the applicant’s husband was one of their former colleagues. On 18 December 1989 the Supreme Court allowed the transfer. On 27 December 1989 the Linz Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that a trial hearing be fixed. 16.  Subsequently the Linz Regional Court suggested ex officio the re-transfer of the case to the Wels Regional Court. This was refused by the Linz Court of Appeal on 13 June 1990. On 22 June 1990 a first trial hearing was set by the Linz Regional Court for 18 December 1990. 17.  Between 18 December 1990 and 5 September 1991, the Linz Regional Court, sitting with two professional and two lay judges, held further trial hearings against the applicant and the co-accused. Numerous witnesses as well as an expert on bookkeeping were heard. 18.  On 11 July 1991, i.e. the fifteenth trial day, the Linz Regional Court decided to disjoin the proceedings against the applicant from those against the co-accused due to her poor state of health. The proceedings against the co-accused were continued. The judge competent to deal with the applicant’s case decided to wait for the outcome of these proceedings due to the close factual links with the applicant’s case. 19.  On 5 September 1991 the Linz Regional Court convicted the applicant’s husband of continued aggravated fraud (gewerbsmässiger schwerer Betrug), fraudulent bankruptcy (betrügerische Krida), fraudulent conversion (Veruntreuung) and false testimony (falsche Beweisaussage vor Gericht). 20.  On 26 November 1992 the Supreme Court quashed the Linz Regional Court’s decision regarding the conviction of the applicant’s husband relating to the counts on aggravated fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy, but confirmed his conviction as regards the other charges, quashed the sentence and referred the case to the Linz Regional Court for further proceedings. 21.  On 14 April 1993 the Linz Court of Appeal allowed the request of the applicant’s husband for transfer of jurisdiction back to the Wels Regional Court as there were no longer any concerns about possible bias. 22.  On 16 September 1993, the Regional Court remitted the file to the investigating judge for the preparation of a new report by a bookkeeping expert and for the conduct of further investigations, including the seizure of further accounting documents. On 14 December 1994 the expert requested the submission of these documents, which he inspected on 6 March 1995. 23.  Meanwhile, on 17 October 1994 the proceedings against the applicant were again joined with those against her husband. 24.  On 7 November 1996 the first part of the expert report arrived at the court. The remainder arrived on 16 April 1997. 25.  On 9 August 1997 the file was transferred to the trial court, which, on 1 December 1997, fixed a hearing for 20 January 1998. 26.  On 20 January 1998, namely the first trial day in the second round of proceedings, the Wels Regional Court again decided to disjoin the proceedings against the applicant from those against her husband on account of her poor health. 27.  On 19 March 1998 the proceedings against the applicant were again joined with the proceedings against her husband. 28.  Between 20 January 1998 and 18 December 1998, the Wels Regional Court held ten hearings and, on the latter date, convicted the applicant of fraudulent bankruptcy and sentenced her to six months imprisonment suspended on probation. 29.  On 28 May 1999 the written version of the judgment was served on the applicant’s counsel. Thereupon, the applicant filed a plea of nullity and an appeal against sentence (Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde). 30.  On 2 December 1999 the Supreme Court rejected the applicant’s plea of nullity and appeal against sentence. 31.  The judgment was served on 13 January 2000.