5.  The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Mírov. 6.  On 6 March 2001 the applicant was arrested. On this occasion he received a written notice of accusation that there was a strong suspicion that on 13 October 2000 at around 3.45 a.m., he, acting with a certain J.F., murdered M.H. in order to acquire property, which constituted an offence under Article 219 §§ 1 and 2 h) of the Criminal Code committed in complicity under Article 9 § 2 of the Criminal Code. The applicant was escorted to Prague Ruzyně remand prison. 7.  On 8 March 2001 the applicant was heard by a judge at the Prague 3 District Court (obvodní soud). His lawyer could not attend the hearing and the applicant refused to testify in the latter's absence. The lawyer arrived a little later and the hearing resumed. At the end of the hearing, the judge remanded the applicant in custody, under Articles 67 § 1 a) and c) and 67 § 2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (“the CCP”), referring to a danger that he would abscond and influence witnesses, with backdated effect from 6 a.m. on 6 March 2001 8.  According to the applicant, the detention order was notified to him on 14 March 2001, but according to the Government, he had already made a complaint against it on 12 March 2001. 9.  The applicant's wife and a certain Ž. were also charged with complicity in murder. The applicant's wife was not remanded in custody. 10.  On 2 April 2001 the Prague Investigation Office (Úřad vyšetřování hl.m. Prahy) discontinued a criminal prosecution against the applicant's co‑defendant, a certain F., which had been pending since 6 December 2000. The applicant allegedly learned this fact on 18 September 2001, when he was allowed to study his case file. 11.  On 18 April 2001 the applicant was questioned. At the end of the interview, he asked to be allowed to study the case file; this was refused by the investigator. No specific reason was given for the refusal. On the next day, the applicant was transferred to Prague Pankrác remand prison where, according to him, the conditions of detention were much more rigorous. 12.  On 24 April 2001 the Prague Municipal Court (městský soud), sitting in private, dismissed the applicant's complaint against the District Court's detention order of 8 March 2001, upholding the grounds for his detention pursuant to Article 67 a) and c) of the CCP, referring, inter alia, to the applicant's earlier prosecution on suspicion of murder. The court made it clear that from the material evidence gathered so far, including records of telephone tapping and from the statements of the applicant's wife, the criminal prosecution against the applicant was justified. According to the applicant, this decision was notified to him on 11 May 2001. 13.  On 16 May 2001 the applicant complained that he had been denied the opportunity to consult his investigation case file. On the same day, he also complained that the investigator was not impartial. 14.  On 28 May and 7 August 2001 the Prague Municipal Prosecutor (městská státní zastupkyně) informed the applicant that submissions which he had earlier addressed to the Municipal Prosecutor and the Prague High Prosecutor's Office (vrchní státní zastupitelství) respectively had been included in his case file as part of his defence, and dismissed his complaints about the course of the investigation. In respect of the applicant's complaint that he had been refused access to the case file by the investigator, the prosecutor stated on 28 May 2001 that his denial was based on Article 65 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and was substantiated by the current state of evidence. 15.  On 28 May 2001 the police investigator dismissed the applicant's complaint of partiality. The applicant's complaint against this dismissal was rejected by the head of the Prague Investigation Office on 10 July 2001. 16.  On 27 June 2001 the applicant was informed that his complaint of 16 May 2001 had been transferred to the Municipal Prosecutor's Office. On 26 July 2001 his lawyer was allowed to study the case file. 17.  On 15 August 2001 the judge at the District Court extended the applicant's detention until 6 December 2001. The applicant's complaint against this extension, submitted according to the Government on 23 August 2001, was dismissed by the Municipal Court on 16 October 2001, which decision was allegedly notified to the applicant on 9 November 2001. 18.  On 18 September 2001 the applicant studied his case file. 19.  On 20 November 2001 the judge at the District Court, at the Municipal Prosecutor's request of 15 November 2001, extended the applicant's detention under Article 67 a) and c) of the CCP, until 31 December 2001. He held in particular that the applicant was likely to be sentenced to a lengthy prison term, which created the risk that he would abscond abroad if released, and that he might conspire with his two co‑defendants in order to procure an alibi. According to the judge, it appeared from the case file that the applicant would fabricate a strategy to set up an alibi for him and his co-defendant for the time of the murder. The judge agreed with the Municipal Prosecutor that the case was complex, that the accused would need to study the file and, if necessary, to suggest that further evidence be assessed, and that the Municipal Prosecutor needed time to prepare a bill of indictment. 20.  On 27 November 2001 the applicant submitted a complaint against the last extension of his detention. 21.  On 1 January 2002 an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure entered into force. Article II(4) provided that in cases where a term of detention had commenced before the entry into force of the amendment, time-limits within which a decision had to be taken as to a continuation of the detention started running on 1 January 2002. 22.  In a letter of 8 January 2002 the Municipal Prosecutor informed the applicant that, pursuant to the CCP as amended, his continued detention would be decided under Article 71 § 3 of the CCP within three months and five days, this time-limit starting to run on 1 January 2002. The applicant was also told that the maximum detention period as provided for in Article 71 §§ 8 and 9 of the CCP as amended would expire on 6 July 2002. 23.  On the same day, the Municipal Prosecutor held that pursuant to Article 71 § 2 of the CCP as amended the applicant had already been detained for three months and that there was no reason justifying his remand in custody for fear of collusion or intimidation, under Article 67 b) of the CCP as amended. The applicant allegedly submitted a complaint against this decision, which has, however, never been dealt with by the competent authority. 24.  On 17 January 2002 the Municipal Court rejected the applicant's complaint against the District Court's decision of 20 November 2001 by which his detention had been extended to 31 December 2001. The decision was served on the applicant allegedly on 1 February 2002. 25.  On 24 January 2002 the judge at the District Court rejected the applicant's requests for release dated 29 December 2001 and 2 January 2002 respectively, which, according to the Government, had been submitted to him on 8 January 2002. He stated, inter alia, that there was still a risk that the applicant would abscond if released and that, consequently, his detention was necessary under Article 67 a) of the CCP as amended. 26.  On 30 January 2002 the Municipal Prosecutor filed a bill of indictment against the applicant. 27.  On 11 February 2002 the Municipal Court decided to keep the applicant in detention, the reason for his detention as provided for in Article 67 a) of the CCP as amended still applying. According to the applicant, he has never received a written copy of this decision. Apparently, he learnt the existence of this decision from the Municipal Court's decision of 28 May 2002. 28.  On 14 February 2002 the Municipal Court quashed the judge's decision of 24 January 2002, holding that the applicant had been indicted in the meantime and that consequently the Municipal Court no longer had jurisdiction to deal with the applicant's complaints against the lower court's refusals to release him from custody. The applicant argues that this document was backdated, having regard to the date on the last page, namely 22 January 2002. The Government regret to acknowledge that this was a typographical error. 29.  On 28 February 2002 the Prague High Court (vrchní soud) quashed the Municipal Court's decision of 11 February 2002. While upholding the material and procedural accuracy of the decision concerned, it ordered the lower court to decide on the two requests for release the applicant had submitted before he was indicted. 30.  On 12 March 2002 the Municipal Court dismissed the applicant's request for release of 4 February 2002, finding that the reason for his detention under Article 67 a) of the CCP as amended continued to apply. 31.  In a judgment of 25 March 2002 the Municipal Court convicted the applicant of murder and sentenced him to sixteen years' imprisonment. The applicant appealed. 32.  On 9 May 2002 the Municipal Court decided, under Article 71 § 6 of the CCP as amended, to keep the applicant in custody as there was still a risk of his absconding if released as provided for in Article 67 a) of the CCP as amended. The court referred to the lengthy prison sentence imposed on the applicant by its judgment of 25 March 2002. 33.  On 28 May 2002 the Municipal Court rejected the applicant's request for release submitted on 21 May 2002, not accepting his written pledge. On 9 July 2002 the High Court rejected the applicant's complaint against this decision. The applicant received this decision apparently on 12 July 2002. 34.  On 15 July 2002 the applicant submitted a further request for release. He was told, on 18 July 2002, that the High Court would not deal with it, as it had been introduced less than fourteen days after the dismissal of his previous request for release had become final, namely on 9 July 2002. 35.  On 2 August 2002 the High Court rejected the applicant's request for release dated 24 July 2002. 36.  In a judgment delivered on the same day, the higher jurisdiction upheld the meritorious judgment adopted by the Municipal Court on 25 March 2002. The judgment became legally effective from its delivery. 37.  On 24 October 2002 the Supreme Court (Nejvyšší soud) rejected the applicant's complaint against the High Court decision of 2 August 2002, holding in particular that the final judgment in the applicant's criminal case had been adopted on 2 August 2002 and that a further examination of justification of his detention was therefore superfluous. According to the applicant, the Supreme Court's decision was notified to him on 4 December 2002. 38.  On 30 January 2003 the applicant introduced a constitutional appeal (ústavní stížnost) invoking Articles 2 § 2, 8 §§ 2, 3 and 5, 12 §§ 1 and 2, 36 § 1, 38 § 2, 40 § 3 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Listina základních práv a svobod), and Article 5 §§ 2 and 3 and Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 of the Convention, challenging the decision of the Supreme Court of 24 October 2002, together with the decision of the High Court of 2 August 2002 and all previous decisions rendered in his case. He claimed, in particular that his detention after 31 December 2001 had been unlawful, that he had had no opportunity to study his case file for a couple of months, and that his complaints against the extensions of his detention and his requests for release had not been dealt with promptly. In respect of his claim relating to denial of access to the case file, the applicant did not refer to any relevant case-law adopted by the Constitutional Court on the matter. 39.  On 22 May 2003 the Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) dismissed the applicant's constitutional appeal, holding in particular:
“In the constitutional appeal lodged in time ... and in conformity with other formal statutory requirements (sections 30(1), 34, 72(1)(a) and 72(4) of the Constitutional Court Act), the applicant challenged the decision of the Supreme Court of 24 October 2002 and all previous decisions concerning his detention ...
By its decision ..., the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant's complaint ... against the Prague High Court, referring to the reasons expressed in all the previous detention decisions. [It] underlined that it was superfluous to examine the reasons justifying the applicant's detention because his criminal case had been finally settled by the judgment of the High Court of 2 August 2002 and the applicant had started serving his prison sentence. The Constitutional Court shares the Supreme Court's opinion.
In the present circumstances, when the applicant is serving his prison sentence, a possible annulment of the challenged decisions ... would lack any effect. Actually, the litigation became purely academic when the theory and practice of other constitutional courts tend to the opinion not to deal with such a case as no measure can be adopted which would have an imminent ... impact on the situation of the applicant.”