5.  The applicants are all Russian nationals. They were charged with different criminal offences and placed in detention. The applicants complain in particular that after their cases had been submitted to the trial court they were detained for approximately six months without a court order. The applicants’ individual circumstances are detailed below. 6.  The applicant was born in 1964 and lives in Vsevolozhsk. 7.  In 1998 criminal proceedings were instituted against him on suspicion of being a member of a large criminal group which had committed extortions by threats and other serious crimes. 8.  On 7 December 1999 he was arrested by Czech police in Prague and on 18 February 2002 extradited to Russia where he was placed in detention. 9.  On 1 March 2002 the Prosecutor of St Petersburg extended his detention up to four months, until 18 June 2002. The applicant did not appeal against this order. 10.  On 10 June 2002 the Deputy Prosecutor General extended the applicant’s detention until 18 September 2002. 11.  On 15 July 2002 the applicant’s counsel lodged an application for release with the Oktyabrskiy Federal Court claiming that the applicant should be released on the ground that the new Code of Criminal Procedure had entered into force on 1 July 2002, and that a person could now be detained only on the basis of a court order. 12.  On 9 August 2002 the Oktyabrskiy Federal Court dismissed the application for release. This decision was quashed on 11 September 2002 by the St Petersburg City Court on the applicant’s appeal and the matter was sent back for reconsideration. On 4 October 2002 the Oktyabrskiy Federal Court referred the matter back to the City Court because the case had already been referred to it for trial. 13.  On 19 September 2002 the applicant was served with a bill of indictment and on the same date the case was referred for trial to the St Petersburg City Court. 14.  On 20 September and on 23 December 2002 the applicant applied to the St Petersburg City Court asking to be released on the grounds that his detention had ceased to be lawful after the expiration on 18 September 2002 of the last detention order. 15.  On 13 March 2003 the applicant complained to the Supreme Court (“the Supreme Court”) about the St Petersburg City Court’s failure to examine his application for release of 23 December 2002. On 10 April 2003 the Supreme Court forwarded his complaint to the City Court. 16.  The applicant’s detention was further extended by the St Petersburg City Court on 18 March, 18 June and 18 September 2003. Each time the City Court relied on the gravity of charges. All detention orders were appealed by the applicant. The detention orders of 18 March and 18 June 2003 were upheld by the Supreme Court on 18 September and on 8 October, respectively, whereas the detention order of 18 September 2003 was quashed on 3 December 2003. 17.  On 8 December 2003 the applicant lodged an application for release with the St Petersburg City Court on the ground that since the extension order of 18 September 2003 had been quashed on appeal, he should be immediately released from detention. This application was never examined by the City Court. 18.  On 16 December 2003 the St Petersburg City Court relying on the gravity of the charges extended the applicant’s detention for further three months, until 18 March 2004. 19.  On 30 December 2003 the applicant appealed on the ground that the order had been unlawful since it was only based on the gravity of charges against him. Moreover, his detention had been extended despite the fact that the previous detention order had been quashed on appeal. 20.  It appears that the applicant’s detention was further extended on 16 March 2004 and that the applicant appealed against that decision. On 29 March 2004 the St Petersburg City Court referred the case for additional investigation and confirmed that the applicant should remain in detention. 21.  On 5 May 2004 the St Petersburg City Court referred the case for additional investigation. On the same date an investigator with the Prosecutor’s Office of St Petersburg ordered the applicant’s release on an undertaking not to leave his place of residence. 22.  On 6 December 2007 the St Petersburg City Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him conditionally to five years’ imprisonment. 23.  The applicants, Mr Ilya Aleksandrovich Stepanov (“the first applicant”), Mr Roman Sergeyevich Ponomarev (“the second applicant”) and Mr Aleksandr Anatolyevich Leontyev (“the third applicant”) were born in 1978, 1975 and 1964 respectively and live in Syasstroy, in the Leningrad region. 24.  On 11 November 2004 the applicants were arrested on suspicion of theft. 25.  On 13 November 2004 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court of the Leningrad Region extended the applicants’ custody up to seventy-two hours. The applicants did not appeal this decision. 26.  On 16 November 2004 the same court ordered the applicants’ pre-trial detention. No appeal was lodged against this order. 27.  On 11 January 2005 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court by three separate decisions extended the applicants’ detention until 12 February 2005. The Town Court held, in respect of the first and second applicants, that they “had committed the crime” while they had been under a written undertaking not to abscond. In respect of the third applicant, the Town Court held that he “had committed the crime” while he had been under a suspended sentence. The applicants appealed, notably on account of the wording used in these orders. 28.  On 4 February 2005 the prosecuting authorities referred the criminal case against the applicants to the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court for trial. 29.  On 9 February 2005 the Leningrad Regional Court upheld the detention orders of 11 January 2005. 30.  On 14 February 2005 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court remitted the criminal case against the applicants to the prosecuting authorities. The Town Court also held that the measure of restraint should remain unchanged without other details. 31.  On 11 and 12 April 2005 the applicants’ detention was upheld by the Town Court with the same summary formula. Both decisions were appealed by the applicants and on 18 May 2005 both were upheld by the Leningrad Regional Court. 32.  On 25 July 2005 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court extended the applicants’ detention, indicating that this extension was necessary given that the six-month period of the applicants’ detention pending trial would expire on 4 August 2005. 33.  On 21 October 2005 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court acquitted the applicants of all charges and they were immediately released. On 14 December 2005 the Regional Court quashed this judgment. 34.  On 28 April 2007 the Lodeynopolskiy Town Court found the applicants guilty of theft and sentenced them to different terms of imprisonment. On 6 June 2007 the Leningrad Regional Court upheld that judgment. 35.  The applicant, Mr German Leonidovich Oynas was born in 1966 and lives in St Peterburg. 36.  On 27 November 2003 the applicant was charged with causing grave bodily injury, an offence under Article 111 § 1 of the Criminal Code. 37.  On 28 November 2003 the Vyborgskiy District Court of St Petersburg ordered the applicant’s placement in detention. On 25 December 2003 this order was upheld by the St Petersburg City Court. 38.  On 22 January 2004 the Vyborgskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 26 February 2004. The applicant appealed. On 26 February 2004 the St Petersburg City Court, in the applicant’s absence, upheld the extension order of 22 January 2004. 39.  On 26 February 2004 the case was referred to the Vyborgskiy District Court for trial. 40.  On 2 March 2004 the District Court, in the absence of the applicant, decided to set the case for trial without holding a preliminary hearing and held that the measure of restraint applied to the applicant should remain unchanged. The prosecutor and the applicant appealed. 41.  On 29 April 2004 the St Petersburg City Court, in the applicant’s absence, quashed the decision of 2 March 2004 in so far as it had set the examination of the case without holding of a preliminary hearing and remitted the matter for fresh examination to the Vyborgskiy District Court. It also held that the review of the lawfulness of the applicant’s detention was not within its competence. It further decided that the measure of restraint applied to the applicant should remain unchanged. 42.  On 20 May 2004 the applicant lodged an application for release with the Vyborgskiy District Court. He complained that after 26 February 2004 he had been detained without any court order, that on 29 April 2004 the St Petersburg City Court quashed the decision of 2 March 2004 in his absence and, without giving any reasons, ordered not to change the measure of restraint. On 25 June 2004 this application was rejected by the District Court. 43.  On 27 May 2004 the Vyborgskiy District Court opened the preliminary hearing. The applicant applied for release. On the same date the court rejected the applicant’s motion for release having found that the applicant was charged with a serious offence, had been previously convicted and might interfere with the proceedings if released. The hearing was adjourned until 18 June 2004 and subsequently until 25 June 2004. 44.  On 5 June 2004 the applicant appealed against the decision of 27 May 2004. 45.  On 18 June 2004 the applicant’s counsel lodged an application for release with the Vyborgskiy District Court. On 25 June 2004 the Vyborgskiy District Court dismissed it having found that the applicant was charged with a serious offence, had been previously convicted, and might interfere with proceedings if released 46.  On 25 June 2004, after having held the preliminary hearing, the Vyborgskiy District Court, set the case for trial on 9 July 2004 and held that the measure of restraint should remain unchanged. 47.  On 4 and 5 July 2004 the applicant appealed against the decisions of 25 June 2004. 48.  On 9 July 2004 the Vyborgskiy District Court extended the applicant’s detention until 26 November 2004, having found that the applicant was charged with a serious offence, he had been previously convicted and might interfere with proceedings if released. The applicant appealed. On 14 October 2004 the St Petersburg City Court upheld the detention order of 9 July 2004. 49.  On the same date the St Petersburg City Court held that it was impossible to examine the applicant’s appeals against the decisions of 27 May and 25 June 2004 by which his requests for release had been dismissed. 50.  The applicant’s detention was further extended by the Vyborgskiy District Court on 23 November 2004, 25 February 2005, 23 May 2005 and on 15 July 2005. All these extension orders were based on the same grounds. Each time the applicant appealed. All these extension orders were upheld by the City Court. 51.  On 4 October 2005 the applicant was found guilty and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. His conviction was upheld by the St Petersburg City Court on appeal on 31 January 2006. On 12 March 2007 the applicant was released for good behaviour. 52.  On 4 August 2003 Mr Biryuchenko and on 16 September 2004 Mr Oynas complained to the Russian Constitutional Court about the de facto extension of their detention after their case files had been sent by the prosecution authorities to the respective trial courts. The Constitutional Court examined their complaints together with similar complaints lodged by other individuals. In a Ruling adopted on 22 March 2005 the Constitutional Court found that the challenged provisions of the new CCrP complied with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. However, their practical interpretation by the courts may have contradicted their constitutional meaning. In part 3.2 of the Ruling the Constitutional Court held:
“The second part of Article 22 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides that ... the detention is permitted only on the basis of a court order ... . Consequently, if the term of detention, as defined in the court order, expires, the court shall decide on the extension of the detention, otherwise the accused person should be released ...
These rules are common for all stages of criminal proceedings, and also cover the transition from one stage to another. ... The transition of the case to another stage does not automatically put an end to the preventive measure applied at previous stages.
Therefore, when the case is transmitted by the prosecution to the trial court, the preventive measure applied at the pre-trial stage ... may continue to apply until the expiry of the term, for which it has been set in the respective court decision [imposing it] ...
[Under Articles 227 and 228 of the Code of Criminal Procedure] a judge, after having received the criminal case concerning a detained defendant, should, within fourteen days, set a hearing and establish ‘whether the preventive measure applied should be lifted or changed’. This wording implies that the decision to detain the accused or extend his detention, taken at the pre-trial stage, may stand after the completion of the pre-trial investigation and transmittal of the case to the court, only until the end of the term, for which the preventive measure has been set.
The prosecution, in its turn, while approving the bill of indictment and transferring the case file to the court, should check whether the term of detention has expired and whether it is sufficient to allow the judge to take a decision [on further detention of the accused pending trial]. If by the moment of transferal of the case-file to the court this term has expired, or if it appears to be insufficient to allow the judge to take a decision [on detention], the prosecutor, pursuant to Articles 108 and 109 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings, [should] request the court to extend the period of detention.” 53.  On 1 August 2005 Mr Biryuchenko lodged a complaint with the General Prosecutor’s office. He submitted that between 19 September 2002, which was after his case had been referred for trial to the City Court, and 18 March 2003, he had been detained unlawfully (see paragraphs 10-16 above). Subsequently, his detention had been extended six times: on 18 March, 18 June, 18 September and 16 December 2003, on 16 March and 29 March 2004. He pointed out that he had appealed against all the extension orders, but the appeal court had failed to take his arguments into account. Relying on the ruling of the Constitutional Court of 22 March 2005, the applicant argued that in his case the courts had wrongly interpreted Article 255 of the new CCrP and had taken an unlawful decision on 18 March 2003. All the subsequent detention orders had also been unlawful. He requested the Prosecutor to lodge a request for supervisory review with the Supreme Court and apply for quashing of the extension orders. 54.  On 21 September 2005 the General Prosecutor’s Office replied that the ambiguity of Article 255 allowed the courts to detain the defendants during six months without taking any decision in this respect. Therefore, when extending the applicant’s detention and dismissing his applications for release, the courts of first and second instances had not found any violation of law. Furthermore, the applicant had been released on 5 May 2004. Therefore, his right to liberty had been reinstated long before the adoption of the ruling of 22 March 2005 by the Constitutional Court. For these reasons, there had been no grounds to apply for a supervisory review of detention orders.