CASE OF RICCARDI PIZZATI v. ITALY
Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion of domestic remedies);Violation of Art. 6-1;Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed;Non-pecuniary damage - financial award;Costs and expenses (national proceedings) - claim dismissed
Christos Rozakis
4. The applicant was born in 1924 and lives in Piacenza. 5. On 8 April 1974 the applicant sued M.P. in the Piacenza District Court seeking damages for the loss she had sustained as a result of works carried out by her neighbour which had resulted, among other things, in sewage being dumped on her property. 6. Preparation of the case for trial began on 11 May 1974. Of the sixty- six hearings scheduled between 11 November 1974 and 15 June 1995 nineteen were adjourned at the request of the parties, three at the request of the applicant, two at the request of M.P., four by the court of its own motion, and one on account of a lawyers’ strike; twelve were devoted to organising expert evidence, twelve to the filing of documents and the hearing of witnesses, twelve to attempts to seek a friendly settlement, and one was adjourned in order to allow the parties to make their submissions. 7. In the meantime M. P.’s lawyer had filed a death certificate with the registry in respect of his client. At a hearing on 29 February 1996 the judge declared the proceedings interrupted. On 25 September 1996 the parties resumed the proceedings and the judge fixed 11 June 1998 as the date for hearing submissions. On an unspecified date the case was referred to the panel of judges dealing with the oldest cases (Sezioni Stralcio). At a hearing on 18 November 1999 the parties requested that a date be fixed for hearing oral submissions and the judge adjourned the case to 8 June 2000. The hearing was not held on that date, but adjourned to 12 June 2000. On that date the judge allowed the parties to take the files out. 8. In a judgment of 23 October 2000, the text of which was deposited with the registry on the same day, the Piacenza Court allowed the applicant’s claim in part and ordered M. P.’s heir to move the septic tank that had not been installed at the prescribed distance and to replace part of the applicant’s sullage pipes. It also awarded her 15,000,000 Italian lire (7,747 euros). 9. On 17 October 2001 the applicant lodged an application with the Ancona Court of Appeal under Law no. 89 of 24 March 2001, known as the “Pinto” Act, complaining of the excessive length of the above-described proceedings. The applicant requested the court to rule that there had been a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and to order the Italian Government to pay compensation for the non-pecuniary damage sustained. The applicant claimed 200,000,000 Italian lire (103,291.37 euros (EUR)) in non-pecuniary damages. 10. In a decision of 31 January 2002, the text of which was deposited with the registry on 13 February 2002, the Court of Appeal found that a reasonable time had been exceeded. It dismissed the claim for pecuniary damages on the ground that the applicant had failed to substantiate it, awarded her EUR 5,000 on an equitable basis in compensation for the non-pecuniary damage and EUR 860 for costs and expenses. The decision was served on the applicant on 13 March 2002. 11. The applicant appealed to the Court of Cassation against that decision on 21 May 2002 on the ground that the amount awarded her by the Court of Appeal was inadequate. 12. However, in a judgment of 12 November 2002, the text of which was deposited with the registry on 3 January 2003, the Court of Cassation declared the appeal inadmissible on the ground that it had been lodged out of time. The authorities paid the amounts due on 23 December 2003. 13. In a letter of 25 August 2003 the applicant informed the Court of the outcome of the domestic proceedings and asked it to resume its examination of her application.