6.  The applicant association was registered in 1994 by the Sverdlovsk Regional Department of Justice (“the Department”) at the following address: 10, Revolution Place, Verkh-Neyvinskiy, Sverdlovsk Region. However, the applicant association has since moved to 11-1, Turgenev Street, Yekaterinburg. As appears from the materials of the case, in particular, from the letter of 11 May 1999, the Department was aware of the applicant association’s actual address. 7.  In 1995 a new Law on non-governmental organisations was enacted. The Law required that all NGOs established before 1995 be re-registered before 1 July 1999. The applicant association applied twice to the Department seeking re-registration. However, its applications were refused. 8.  The applicant association brought an action against the Department seeking re-registration of the association. On 17 June 1999 the Commercial Court of the Sverdlovsk Region allowed the applicant association’s claim and ordered the Department to register the applicant association. The Court also ordered the reimbursement by the Department of the court fees paid by the applicant association. That decision was upheld by the Federal Commercial Court of the Ural Circuit on 18 October 1999. 9.  On 22 August 2000 the Vice-President of the Supreme Commercial Court brought an extraordinary appeal (надзорная жалоба) against the decisions of 17 June and 18 October 1999. As appears from the letter of the registry of the Supreme Commercial Court of 19 November 2001, on 29 August 2000 a copy of the appeal was sent to the applicant association’s previous address, which appeared in the association’s official registration documents. On 7 September 2000 the letter from the registry reached its destination, but it was returned to the sender marked by the postman as follows: “no [such] public organisation is registered [at this address]”. 10.  On 26 September 2000 the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation quashed the lower courts’ decisions by way of a supervisory review. The reasoning of the Presidium reads as follows:
“Pursuant to Article 22 of the Code of Commercial Procedure commercial courts could determine economic disputes arising from civil, administrative and other legal relationships.
Under Articles 50 and 117 of the Civil Code, as well as Article 5 of the Law On Public Associations a public association is a non-profit organisation.
Disputes concerning [State] registration or re-registration of non-profit organisations are not economical by their nature and [hence] do not fall within the competence of the commercial courts.”
As a result, the proceedings were discontinued. The hearing took place in the absence of the parties. 11.  On 10 October 2000 a copy of the decision of the Supreme Commercial Court was sent to the applicant association’s previous address. This document was delivered on 17 October 2000; however it was also returned to the registry marked as follows: “[this is] the address of the village council, the receptionist refused to take delivery [of this letter]”. 12.  According to the applicant association, on several occasions it applied to the Commercial Court of the Sverdlovsk Region with a view to urging the Department of Justice to enforce the judgment of 17 June 1999, as upheld on 18 October 1999, and register the association, but to no avail. In October 2001 a law clerk of the Commercial Court of the Sverdlovsk Region informed the applicant association of the annulment of the decision of 17 June 1999, as upheld on 18 October 1999. On 22 October 2001 the applicant association wrote a letter to the President of the Supreme Commercial Court asking for a copy of the decision of that court. The applicant association received it on 28 November 2001. 13.  Shortly thereafter the applicant association challenged the refusal of the Department of Justice before the courts of general jurisdiction. By a final decision of 1 August 2002 the Sverdlovsk Regional Court allowed the applicant association’s claim, ordering the Department of Justice to register the applicant association. 14.  In 2003 the applicant association challenged the relevant provisions of the Code of Commercial Proceedings before the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. On 18 December 2003 the Constitutional Court declared this complaint inadmissible. The Court found that, although the provisions challenged did not establish any time-limits for bringing an extraordinary appeal, the time within which the appeal was brought in the applicant’s case had not exceeded the “reasonable time”, and, therefore, the applicant’s rights had not been breached by it.