4.  The individual applicants were born in 1934, 1967 and 1976 respectively and live in Yevpatoriya, Ukraine. 5.  In August 1998 L. instituted proceedings against the first applicant in the Yevpatoriya Town Court requesting the return of a photocopier, forty packets of paper and twelve toner cartridges. He alleged that in May 1998 the first applicant, together with the third applicant, had come to the office of L. and asked Z., the secretary of L., to lend him a photocopier. At the material time L. was in pre-trial detention in the course of criminal proceedings against him. Z., knowing that there were friendly relations between L. and the first applicant, had allowed him to take the photocopier and other materials. Later L. also claimed compensation for non-pecuniary damage. 6.  On 6 November 1998 the court found for L. and ordered the first applicant to return the photocopier and related materials to L. or to pay him 6,446.92 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) in pecuniary damages. In the text of the judgment the court also mentioned that the first applicant was to pay UAH 6,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage, but made no reference to this sum in the operative part of the judgment. On the same date the court also adopted an interim decision by which it froze the accounts of the applicant company and banned any transactions with the first applicant's property and apartment over UAH 12,446.92. 7.  On 4 January 1999 the Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (“the ARC”) quashed the judgment of 6 November 1998 and remitted the case for fresh consideration. The court however upheld the decision of 6 November 1998 concerning the interim measures. 8.  On 18 February 1999 the Yevpatoriya Town Court found for L. and ordered the first applicant to return the photocopier to L. or to pay him its value of UAH 5,480. The court also ordered the first applicant to pay UAH 274 in court fees. The remainder of L.'s claims were rejected as unsubstantiated. The court found in particular, that there was no evidence that the first applicant had taken paper and toner. The first applicant appealed against this judgment, but his appeal was not accepted for failure to comply with procedural formalities. L. did not appeal against the judgment in question. 9.  The first applicant further tried to have the judgment of 18 February 1999 reviewed under the new cassation procedure, in the light of new circumstances and under the extraordinary review procedure, but to no avail. 10.  In August 1999 L. instituted another set of proceedings in the Yevpatoriya Town Court against the first applicant, claiming additional payments, since the amount awarded to L. by the court decision of 18 February 1999 did not correspond to the current price of a photocopier, which, according to L., was UAH 8,177.40. On 17 January 2000 the court found against L. It held that in the judgment of 18 February 1999 the court had found that the photocopier cost UAH 5,480. On 20 March 2000 the Supreme Court of the ARC upheld the judgment of 17 January 2000. 11.  As the first applicant did not honour the judgment of 18 February 1999, on an unidentified date the Bailiffs' Service instituted enforcement proceedings. 12.  On 15 May 1999 the State Auto-Transport Inspection informed the President of the Yevpatoriya Town Court, following his request, that certain petrol tankers (a МАZ-5334, registration number 7561 KРТ and a MAZ 5334, registration number 1403 KPT) belonged to the first applicant. 13.  On 5 August 1999 the Yevpatoriya Town Court ordered the seizure of one of the petrol tankers (7561 KPT). The court also entitled the K. trade enterprise to sell it. The first applicant stated that his appeal against the decision of 5 August 1999 had been returned to him by a court letter of 27 August 1999. The letter stated, without mentioning any dates, that “the court returned your appeal because there was no such decision as the one against which you appealed”. 14.  On 10 August 1999 the State Bailiffs' Service allegedly gave the petrol tanker to L., who sold it to the joint-stock enterprise B. for UAH 19,250. UAH 9,161 were transferred to the Bailiffs' Service's account and L. allegedly took the rest of the amount. 15.  On 6 September 1999 the Yevpatoriya Town Court lifted the seizure of the first applicant's property and apartment and of the accounts of the applicant company. The first applicant states that the seizure of his apartment was only lifted in June 2001. 16.  The first applicant's wife, Y., a co-owner of the petrol tanker which had been sold, instituted court proceedings seeking to have it excluded from the inventory of the seized property. On 13 September 1999 the Yevpatoriya Town Court found that Y. owned half of the petrol tanker and ordered the State Bailiffs' Service to pay her half of the sum received after the sale of the tanker. By an additional decision of 10 January 2000 the court stated that that amount was equivalent to UAH 4,351.84. On 10 April 2000 the Supreme Court of the ARC quashed these decisions and remitted the case for fresh consideration. On 13 November 2000 the Yevpatoriya Town Court decided to exclude the petrol tanker 7561 KРТ from the list of seized property. 17.  The first applicant instituted several sets of proceedings in the Yevpatoriya Town Court against the Bailiffs' Service, alleging improper enforcement of the judgment of 18 February 1999. On 17 March and 22 May 2000 the court found that when enforcing this judgment the State Bailiffs' Service had not acted in compliance with the procedure prescribed by law. On 30 August 2000 the Supreme Court of the ARC upheld the judgment of 22 May 2000. On 6 June 2000 the court found that the first applicant had not been present when the value of the petrol tankers was being assessed and had not had an opportunity to make a complaint. On 30 August 2000 the Supreme Court of the ARC upheld this judgment. 18.  On 7 September 2000 the prosecutor instituted criminal proceedings against L. for unlawful sale of the petrol tanker. There is no further information about these proceedings. 19.  On an unidentified date the first applicant instituted proceedings in the Tsentralnyy District Court of Simferopol against the Yevpatoriya Bailiffs' Service and the B. and K. trading companies seeking to have invalidated the sales agreement of the petrol tanker (7561 KPT). On 1 November 2001 the Tsentralnyy District Court of Simferopol found the sales agreement invalid. On 27 March 2002 the Court of Appeal of the ARC (former Supreme Court of the ARC) quashed this judgment and found the sales agreement valid. On 10 December 2007 the Zaporizhzhya Regional Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 27 March 2002 and remitted the case for fresh consideration by the court of appeal. On 5 March 2008 the Court of Appeal of the ARC upheld the decision of 1 November 2001. 20.  On an unidentified date the first applicant instituted proceedings in the Kyivskyy District Court of Simferopol against the traffic police, complaining about the cancellation of the State registration of the petrol tanker (7561 KРТ). On 11 December 2000 the court found that the police officers had acted in compliance with the court decision of 5 August 1999. On 14 March 2001 the Supreme Court of the ARC upheld this judgment. On 10 October 2001 the Supreme Court of Ukraine returned the first applicant's appeal under the new cassation procedure for failure to pay a court fee. Between 2004 and 2006 the courts rejected the first applicant's requests for the proceedings to be reopened in the light of new circumstances. 21.  On 31 May 2001, following the first applicant's complaint, the Tsentralnyy District Court of Simferopol found that the K. enterprise had had no right to sell the petrol tanker. 22.  On 18 March 2003 the prosecutor's office, while stating that there was enough evidence of crime, refused to institute criminal proceedings for negligence against the employees of the State Bailiffs' Service “because of an act of amnesty”. 23.  On an unidentified date the first applicant instituted proceedings in the Saki Town Court, claiming compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage caused by improper enforcement of the judgment of 18 February 1999, to be paid from the State budget of Ukraine. On 4 February 2003 the court dismissed the first applicant's claim as unsubstantiated. 24.  In March 2003 the first applicant instituted proceedings in the Tsentralnyy District Court of Simferopol against the K. enterprise, the Ministry of Trade of the ARC and the State Treasury of Ukraine, claiming compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as a result of the sale of the petrol tanker. On 13 August 2003 the court found against the first applicant, since there was no evidence that the alleged damage had been inflicted by K.'s actions. On 23 July 2008 the Court of Appeal of the ARC upheld this decision. 25.  On an unidentified date the first applicant instituted proceedings in the Yevpatoriya Town Court against the State Treasury of Ukraine, the Bailiffs' Service and the Yevpatoriya Department of Justice, claiming compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage inflicted on him by improper enforcement of the judgment of 18 February 1999. On 23 March 2004 the court awarded the first applicant UAH 150,000 from the State budget of Ukraine in compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage. On 20 September 2004 the Court of Appeal of the ARC quashed this judgment and remitted the case for renewed examination. The first applicant appealed against it in cassation. While the cassation appeal was still pending, on 14 December 2004 the Yevpatoriya Town Court found against the first applicant. There is no evidence that the applicant has appealed against this judgment. On 15 October 2007 the Zaporizhzhya Regional Court of Appeal, sitting as a cassation instance, upheld the judgment of 20 September 2004. 26.  In 2009 criminal proceedings for abuse of power were instituted against the bailiff N. The first applicant lodged a civil claim for damages within these proceedings, which are currently pending. 27.  In April 1999 L. requested the Yevpatoriya Town Police Office to institute criminal proceedings against the first applicant for fraud and blackmail, as the first applicant, with the third applicant, had allegedly removed a photocopier from L.'s office and not returned it. Between April and June 1999 the police several times refused to institute such proceedings on the ground that the issue in question had been already considered by the court under the civil procedure (see paragraphs 5-9). These decisions were subsequently quashed by the prosecutor, who remitted the material for additional investigation. 28.  On 3 March 2000 the police eventually instituted a criminal case against the first applicant for fraud. Subsequently L. lodged a civil claim for UAH 10,310 in compensation for pecuniary damage and UAH 50,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage. 29.  In May 2000 the investigation officer of the Yevpatoriya Town Police Department requested that the third applicant, who had previously been questioned as a witness, be summoned, since there was enough evidence to charge him with fraud and he had failed to appear at the police station. On 24 May 2000 the police officers visited the third applicant's apartment but he was allegedly absent and his neighbour told them that the third applicant would be away for a couple of weeks. 30.  On 6 June 2000 the first and third applicants were charged with fraud. On the same day the proceedings against the third applicant were separated and stayed, as his whereabouts were allegedly unknown and he had been put on a wanted list. 31.  In September 2000 the investigation officer requested the Yevpatoriya Town Police Office to search for the third applicant. There is no evidence as to whether any searches were carried out between 2000 and 2004. 32.  On 7 October 2000 the investigating officer terminated the criminal proceedings against the first applicant for lack of proof of a crime. On 27 October 2000 the prosecutor quashed this decision and reopened the criminal proceedings. On 26 October 2001 the Yevpatoriya Town Court rejected the first applicant's complaint against the decision of 27 October 2000. 33.  On 5 April 2002 the criminal case was transferred to the court. On 29 October 2002 the court returned the case for an additional investigation. On 11 February 2003 the Court of Appeal of the ARC quashed this decision and remitted the case for renewed examination. 34.  During the consideration of the case in the first-instance court from 5 April 2002 until 12 January 2004, thirty-two court hearings were scheduled. Six of these were postponed because L., witnesses or the prosecutor failed to appear. On four more occasions both the prosecution and the defence had failed to appear and on three occasions the first applicant had failed to appear. The first applicant lodged twenty-five requests for the withdrawal of the presiding judge and some judges of higher courts from his case. All of his requests were rejected as unsubstantiated. One hearing was postponed at the first applicant's request and on one occasion he refused to participate in the hearing. On 1 August 2002 the parties started fighting and the hearing was postponed. Twice the first applicant was reprimanded for contempt of court and from 5 December 2003 he was not allowed to participate in the court hearings until the beginning of final pleadings between the parties. However, the first applicant apparently took place in the next hearing which was the last one. 35.  On 12 January 2004 the court sentenced the first applicant conditionally to two years' imprisonment for a fraud committed previously in concert with another person(s). Judge K., who considered the case, found that the first applicant together with “another person” had abused the trust of L.'s secretary and removed a photocopier worth UAH 8,350 and related materials (paper and toner) worth UAH 1,960, the overall value thus being UAH 10,310. In finding so the court stated that:
 
“On 6 May 1998 in the afternoon, [the first applicant], by a prior arrangement with another person [...] misappropriated a photocopier which belonged to L.”
 
...
“The court has doubts as to the statements by the accused, V.M. Yushchenko, and a witness, P.V. Yushchenko [the third applicant], who deny the fraud..., since their statements are contradicted by the following evidence...” 36.  The court has further referred to the statements of L. and the witnesses in the case, Z., B. and K., who maintained that the first applicant had been assisted by his son. They also recognised the third applicant at the face-to-face identification. The court further stated that:
“The court has doubts as to the statement of [the third applicant] who maintains that on 6 May 1998 he was not in the office of L. and did not steal the property of the latter. This statement is contested by the statements of the witnesses Z., K. and B. who have recognised him as the person who together with [the first applicant] was in the office and loaded the property, which belonged to the victim, into a Moskvich car”. 37.  Concerning the civil claim introduced by L., the court mentioned that by the judgment of 18 February 1999 the first applicant had already been ordered to pay L. UAH 5,480 as the value of the photocopier. The court, however, ordered the first applicant to pay L. the remaining UAH 4,830 in compensation for pecuniary damage and UAH 5,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage. On 16 March 2004 and 1 July 2004 the Court of Appeal of the ARC and the Supreme Court of Ukraine, respectively, upheld the sentence. 38.  On 1 June 2004 criminal proceedings were resumed in respect of the third applicant and on 10 June 2004 the third applicant was again charged with fraud. On 21 December 2005 Judge K., who had heard the criminal case against the first applicant, sentenced the third applicant to one year and six months' imprisonment for fraud, without actual enforcement of the sentence as it had become time-barred. On 21 March 2006 the Court of Appeal of the ARC upheld this judgment. On 12 August 2006 the Supreme Court of Ukraine rejected an appeal in cassation by the third applicant. 39.  On 21 April 1999 the Yevpatoriya Town Court instituted criminal proceedings against the first applicant as he, as a witness in a civil case brought by K. against a hospital, had allegedly said in a court hearing that “all this had been organised by the criminal group of L. and K.”. On 12 November 1999 the criminal case against the first applicant was closed. On 6 January 2000 the Yevpatoriya Town Court upheld this decision. 40.  On 16 June 2000 the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the ARC, upon the protest of its President, quashed this decision under the extraordinary review procedure and remitted the case for renewed examination. 41.  On 19 October 2000 the Yevpatoriya Town Court quashed the decision of 12 November 1999 and remitted the case for additional investigation. On 10 December 2000 the Yevpatoriya Town Police Office closed the criminal case for libel for lack of evidence of a crime. 42.  On 1 September 2001 the new Criminal Code came into force and the offence of libel was decriminalised. 43.  On 26 November 2001, following L.'s complaint, the Yevpatoriya Town Court quashed the decision of 10 December 2000 since the investigation had failed to comply with the decision of 19 October 2000. The case was then supposed to be transferred to the court to be closed in accordance with the transitional provisions of the new Criminal Code. 44.  On 17 December 2001 the Police Office closed the criminal case because the new Criminal Code did not envisage criminal responsibility for libel. On 10 October 2002, following L.'s complaint, the court quashed this decision and remitted the case to the prosecutor. In doing so the court referred to its decision of 26 November 2001. 45.  On 12 August 2003 the Court of Appeal of the ARC closed the criminal case against the first applicant. It held that the offence of libel was decriminalised and the relevant law was applied retrospectively. 46.  On 3 October 2003 the Supreme Court of Ukraine allegedly reopened the proceedings upon an appeal in cassation by the first applicant. In his letter of 24 April 2006 the first applicant stated that the Supreme Court had returned his appeal because the first-instance court had allegedly not provided it with a copy of an appealed decision. There is no further information about these proceedings. 47.  In May 1998, in the course of criminal proceedings against L., the apartments of the first and the second applicants were searched. 48.  In January 2001 (allegedly on 12 January 2001) the first and second applicant instituted two separate sets of proceedings in the Yevpatoriya Town Court against the State Treasury of Ukraine, claiming compensation for non-pecuniary damage caused by an allegedly unlawful search. 49.  On 17 June 2002 the court refused to examine the second applicant's claim as according to the Law “on the procedure for compensation of damage caused to the citizen by unlawful actions of bodies of inquiry, pre-trial investigation, prosecutors and courts” the second applicant should first address the State institution which had allegedly caused him non-pecuniary damage with a request to pay him compensation. 50.  It follows from the materials submitted by the parties that the first and second applicant's cases were mixed up and the first applicant's claim was allegedly lost. However, on 9 October 2003 the court considered the first applicant's claim and awarded him UAH 20,000. It is impossible to tell whether the court had considered the original claim or whether the first applicant had submitted a new one. 51.  On 24 December 2003 the Court of Appeal of the ARC reduced the amount of the compensation to UAH 2,000. On 23 January 2004 the first applicant appealed against this decision in cassation. On 15 March 2006 the Supreme Court of Ukraine quashed the judgment of 24 December 2003 and remitted the case for renewed examination to the second-instance court. On 3 July 2006 the Court of Appeal of the ARC awarded the first applicant UAH 3,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage. On 15 September 2006 the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed the applicant's appeal in cassation.