KHOLODOV v. UKRAINE
Inadmissible
André Potocki;Angelika Nußberger;Carlo Ranzoni;Ganna Yudkivska;Khanlar Hajiyev;Yonko Grozev
1. The applicant, Mr Leonid Yuriyovych Kholodov, is a Ukrainian national who was born in 1964 and lives in Kharkiv. 2. The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows. 3. The applicant participated in the clean-up operations following the Chernobyl disaster and has special status as a “first category liquidator”. He is a second-degree disabled person as a result of his participation in the clean-up operations. In 2012 a commission of medical experts found that the applicant had lost 80% of his working ability. 4. The applicant suffers from multiple ailments of his joints. He has been diagnosed with polyarticular rheumatoid arthritis of his feet joints; arthritis of the left knee joint and the right ankle joint; and rheumatoid arthritis of the right elbow joint. 5. The applicant is a practising lawyer. He supports two daughters who were born in 2008. Owing to his condition the applicant is only able to walk for short distances and can hardly move during periods of exacerbation. The applicant uses his car extensively for personal, family and professional purposes. He has had a driving licence since 1986. 6. On 27 December 2013 the applicant caused a traffic accident after his negligent driving led to his car being hit by another car. Both cars were damaged, with that of the applicant being damaged in several places, including in the steering mechanism. The applicant admitted his fault. 7. On 18 February 2014 the Dzerzhynskyy District Court of Kharkiv found the applicant liable for a breach of traffic regulations resulting in damage to vehicles. When determining the penalty the court had regard to the nature of the offence and decided to suspend the applicant’s driving licence for one year. 8. The applicant appealed, arguing that the suspension of his driving licence was an excessively severe punishment in his case. He asked for the penalty to be converted into a fine. The applicant contended that in view of his disability a car was indispensable for his professional activities and a driving ban would eventually worsen his financial position and ability to support his family. Moreover, he also used the car for personal and family purposes on a daily basis. The applicant submitted that he had had a driving licence since 1986 and that he had not committed any other administrative offences. He asked the Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”) to take into account the fact he had admitted being at fault in the accident and that his car had been badly damaged. 9. By a final decision of 19 March 2014 the Court of Appeal amended the penalty and reduced the term of suspension of the licence to nine months. In its reasons the Court of Appeal first stated that there had been no evidence to suggest that the applicant’s disability was the sole reason for his using a car. Nor was a car the sole source of his income given that the applicant had a lawyer’s licence. The Court of Appeal then had regard to the facts that the applicant was a disabled person and that he had participated in the Chernobyl clean-up operation. It also noted that the applicant had admitted his fault but he had not expressed remorse. In addition, the applicant had not reimbursed the other party for the damage. 10. Article 124 of the Code of Administrative Offences of 1984 provides for administrative liability for breaches of traffic regulations which result in damage to vehicles, goods, roads, streets, railway level crossings, road construction equipment or other objects. It provides for a fine or a suspension of the offender’s driving licence for a period of six months to one year as a penalty for such an offence.