AFFAIRE SANTOS SILVA c. PORTUGAL
Violation de l'article 6 - Droit à un procès équitable (Article 6 - Procédure civile;Article 6-1 - Délai raisonnable);Violation de l'article 13 - Droit à un recours effectif (Article 13 - Recours effectif)
Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos;Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque
4. The applicant was born in 1957 and lives in Louredo, Santa Maria da Feira. 5. On 19 December 2005 the applicant lodged an action with the Santa Maria da Feira Court (domestic proceedings no. 9835/05.7TBVFR) against different defendants regarding the right to use a water channel. 6. On 3 January 2006 applicant rectified the initial application upon request. 7. On 19 February 2006 the defendant I. lodged her submissions in reply (contestação) and informed the court that defendant A., her husband, had died in May 2005. 8. On 15 February 2006 defendant J. informed the Santa Maria da Feira Court that defendant A. J. had died in 1973 and that his heirs were living in Brazil. 9. On 5 May 2006 the Santa Maria da Feira Court stayed the proceedings, pending the outcome of the inheritance proceedings in relation to the deceased defendants, after having given the applicant a deadline to submit to the case-file the death certificates of the deceased. 10. On 27 November 2006 the applicant applied to the Santa Maria da Feira Court for leave to continue the proceedings against the heirs of the deceased defendants (incidente de habilitação de herdeiros). He submitted the relevant documents supporting his request on 9 January 2007, after being notified by the Santa Maria da Feira Court. 11. On 2 July 2007 the Santa Maria da Feira Court admitted the heirs of the concerned defendants as parties to the proceedings. 12. On an unknown date the court, taking into account its decision of 2 July 2007, resumed the main proceedings. 13. On 23 April 2008 the applicant was notified of the failure of the Santa Maria da Feira Court to summon defendant A. G. 14. On 27 January 2010 the Santa Maria da Feira Court interrupted the proceedings for lack of action from the parties. 15. On 26 January 2011 the applicant informed the court about the new address of defendant A.’s heir. 16. On an unknown date the proceedings were resumed. 17. On 24 November 2011 the Santa Maria da Feira Court adopted a decision dismissing the applicant’s claim for being time-barred. 18. On 6 December 2011 the applicant appealed against the decision to the Porto Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação do Porto). 19. On 4 June 2013 the Porto Court of Appeal quashed the first instance decision and ordered a new trial. 20. The proceedings are still pending at first instance.