CASE OF PALACHEVA v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 6 - Right to a fair trial (Article 6 - Civil proceedings;Article 6-1 - Reasonable time)
Dmitry Dedov;Erik Møse;Khanlar Hajiyev
4. The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Kaspiysk, the Dagestan Republic. She worked as chief accountant in the finance department of Kaspiysk Town Council (“the Kaspiysk finance department”) from 29 September 1980 until her dismissal on 25 January 1993. 5. On 13 May 1993 the applicant challenged the lawfulness of her dismissal. She also requested her reinstatement and salary arrears for the period of her enforced absence from work (вынужденного прогула). 6. By a final judgment of 21 September 1993 the Sovetskiy District Court of Makhachkala (“the Sovetskiy District Court”) ordered the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Dagestan to reinstate the applicant in the position she had held in the Kaspiysk finance department on 25 January 1993, and to pay her salary arrears in the amount of 364,708 Russian roubles (RUB), corresponding to the period of her enforced absence from work, that is from 25 January to 21 September 1993. As regards the applicant’s reinstatement, the judgment was subject to immediate enforcement. 7. On 20 October 1993 the Ministry of Finance issued an order to reinstate the applicant in her previous position. On 1 November 1993 the Kaspiysk finance department issued the relevant order and the applicant returned to work. The salary arrears awarded by the judgment of 21 September 1993 were paid to the applicant in December 1993 or February 1994. 8. On 7 February 1994 the applicant resigned. She subsequently alleged that she had written her resignation letter under pressure. 9. On 13 May 1994 the applicant brought a court action against the Kaspiysk finance department complaining of the delay in the execution of the judgment of 21 September 1993. On 10 December 1996 the applicant lodged additional claims. 10. On 27 December 1996 the Kaspiysk Town Court of the Republic of Dagestan (“the Town Court”) rejected all the claims lodged by the applicant. The Town Court found it established that the judgment of 21 September 1993 had been executed, the applicant had been reinstated to her position and the sum due under that judgment had been paid to her in December 1993. 11. On 26 February 1997 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan quashed the judgment of 27 December 1996 and remitted the case for fresh examination. The Supreme Court indicated that the lower court had failed to establish whether the applicant had received the full amount of money due under the judgment of 21 September 1993 and whether she had the right to indexation. 12. The applicant amended her claims on 21 May, 25 June, 14 November and 17 November 1997. She indicated that she had received the sum of RUB 317,734 under the judgment of 21 September 1993, but complained that the Sovetskiy District Court had miscalculated her salary arrears because it had not taken the indexation into account. She also asked for salary arrears from 21 September 1993 to 7 February 1994 and for the period in which delivery of her work record had been delayed. 13. On 28 November 1997 the Town Court allowed the applicant’s claim in part. In particular, it stated as follows: “[T]he court has established that in accordance with the judgment of the Sovetskiy District Court of Machachkala, Palacheva P.G. received in December 1993, together with her salary and holiday pay, RUB 364,708 minus RUB 43,327 of income tax and 1% deduction for pension fund in the amount of RUB 3,647 = RUB 317,734. This is confirmed by the payment record for December 1993 and Mrs. Palacheva’s signature on this payment record certifying that this amount was paid to her. The claimant herself did not deny this fact before the court.” 14. As regards the alleged miscalculation of the sum awarded by the Sovetskiy District Court, the Town Court noted that the judgment had become final and that the calculation made by the District Court had been based on the calculations submitted by the applicant herself. As regards the delay in her reinstatement, the Town Court awarded the applicant salary arrears for the delay, together with indexation. The applicant appealed. 15. On 18 February 1998 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan upheld the Town Court’s judgment in substance, but reduced the global amount due to the applicant. It was explained to the applicant that the claim concerning indexation of the sum awarded by the judgment of 21 September 1993 should have been lodged with the Sovetskiy District Court which had delivered that judgment. 16. On 20 August 1998 the judge of the Sovetskiy District Court rejected the applicant’s claim concerning the payment of salary arrears and indexation, and invited her to lodge the claim with the Kaspiysk Town Court, which had jurisdiction in view of the defendant’s address. 17. On 1 December 1998 the Sovetskiy District Court extended the timelimit for lodging an appeal against the decision of 20 August 1998 with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan. 18. On 17 February 1999 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan quashed the decision of 20 August 1998. 19. On 4 August 1999 the Sovetskiy District Court rejected the applicant’s claim concerning the payment of salary arrears for her enforced absence from work on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction, given that the defendant had moved and was now located within the jurisdiction of the Leninskiy District Court of Makhachkala (“the Leninskiy District Court”). 20. On 11 May 1999 the Vice-President of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation lodged a supervisory-review appeal with the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan asking for the quashing of the judgments of 28 November 1997 and 18 February 1998. The VicePresident pointed out that the same shortcomings had already been identified by the Supreme Court of Dagestan in its decision of 26 February 1997. However, the Town Court, when considering the case for the second time, had failed to remedy them. 21. On 24 June 1999 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan, by way of supervisory review, quashed the judicial decisions of 28 November 1997 and 18 February 1998 and remitted the case to the Town Court for fresh consideration. The Supreme Court also noted that its previous instructions had been ignored by the Town Court. 22. On 10 August 1999 the Town Court forwarded the case to the Leninskiy District Court, which had jurisdiction to examine the applicant’s case in view of the defendant’s new address. 23. On 1 September 1999 the Leninskiy District Court rejected the applicant’s claim for salary arrears corresponding to the period of her enforced absence on the ground that this dispute had already been decided by a final judgment. The District Court also noted that there was another case pending concerning similar claims after the quashing on 24 June 1999 by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan of the Town Court’s judgment of 28 November 1997. 24. On 6 October 1999 the Supreme Court quashed the Leninskiy District Court’s judgment of 1 September 1999. The Supreme Court indicated that if the applicant disagreed with the judgment of 21 September 1993, she could only lodge an application for a supervisory review of that judgment; her other claims, including that in respect of the non-enforcement of the aforementioned judgment, were to be considered in the course of the proceedings pending before the Town Court. Consequently, the Supreme Court discontinued the proceedings pending before the Leninskiy District Court. 25. On 4 November 1999, following the request of its President, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan quashed the Town Court’s order of 10 August 1999 by way of supervisory review (see paragraph 22 above) on the ground that a domestic court which had accepted its jurisdiction in accordance with the rules of jurisdiction existing at the material time should decide the case on the merits, even if those rules had subsequently changed. The case was thus remitted to the Town Court for consideration on the merits. 26. On 17 January 2000 the applicant amended her requests for the indexation of all the amounts claimed. On 12 May 2000 she again amended her claim. Further amendments were submitted by the applicant on 14, 22, 29 and 30 June 2000. As regards the judgment of 21 September 1993, the applicant claimed that the salary arrears due under that judgment had not been paid to her until 3 February 1994, and had been paid without indexation, and that not all the sums had been taken into account in the calculation of the amount due to her. 27. On 30 June 2000 the Town Court found for the applicant and awarded her different sums together with indexation, compensation for nonpecuniary damage, costs and expenses. As regards the judgment of 21 September 1993, the court noted that the payment of salary arrears had been executed with a delay of five months. 28. As the defendant had missed the deadline for appealing, it was extended on 23 October 2000 and the defendant appealed. 29. On 1 December 2000 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan rejected a number of the applicant’s claims, reduced the amount awarded in respect of non-pecuniary damage, quashed the Town Court’s judgment and sent the case back for re-consideration. 30. On 19 April 2002 the applicant again amended her claims. She appears to have submitted the same claims as those rejected by the Supreme Court on 1 December 2000. The applicant notably claimed that the judgment of 21 September 1993 had still not been enforced as regards the payment of salary arrears for her enforced absence from work from 21 September to 1 November 1993. 31. On 16 May 2002 the Town Court decided to discontinue the proceedings in respect of the claims previously rejected by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan. 32. In a second decision adopted on the same day, the Town Court allowed the applicant’s claim in part. It refused her claim for salary arrears corresponding to the delay in execution of the judgment of 21 September 1993 on the ground that that sum had been sent to her in February 1994 but she had refused to collect it. The applicant appealed. 33. On 10 July 2002 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan allowed the applicant’s appeal. It quashed the Town Court’s judgment on the basis of the same shortcomings as those previously indicated by it. Noting that the proceedings had been pending since 1993, the Supreme Court decided, with the agreement of both parties, to examine the case as a first-instance court. The Supreme Court rejected the part of the applicant’s appeal concerning her claims decided by the decision of 1 December 2000. 34. On 5 January 2003 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan, noting that the defendant had not agreed to the modification of jurisdiction in favour of the Supreme Court, decided to forward the case to the Town Court for consideration as the first-instance court. The applicant appealed. 35. On 13 March 2003 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation quashed the decision of 5 January 2003 by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan on the grounds of a procedural irregularity (absence of parties at the hearing) and remitted the case to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan for consideration anew. 36. On 28 April 2003 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan, after hearing the parties and following a request lodged by the defendant’s representative, decided to forward the case to the Town Court for consideration as the first-instance court. The applicant appealed. 37. On 7 July 2003 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan of 28 April 2003 to remit the case to the Town Court. 38. On 16 October 2003 the applicant further amended her claims. 39. On 30 October 2003 the Town Court decided to forward the case to the Leninskiy District Court. The applicant appealed. 40. On 18 December 2003 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan quashed the Town Court’s judgment of 30 October 2003 by way of supervisory review and remitted the matter to the same court for consideration anew. The reasons for the decision were the same than those indicated in the judgment of 4 November 1999 (see paragraph 25 above). 41. On 9 February 2004 the applicant amended her claim. 42. On 10 February 2004 the Town Court allowed the applicant’s claim in part and awarded her certain financial compensation for salary arrears, legal costs and non-pecuniary damage. Both the applicant and the defendant appealed. 43. On 30 April 2004 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan quashed the Town Court’s judgment and remitted the case for consideration anew. The Supreme Court noted that it appeared from the materials of the case file that the salary arrears awarded by the decision of 21 September 1993 had been paid to the applicant in February 1994. 44. On 22 June 2004 the proceedings were suspended because the applicant was ill. They were resumed on 23 September 2004. 45. On 1 November 2004 the Town Court discontinued the proceedings because the applicant failed to appear in court. It appears that this order became final.