A lawyer’s placement in pre-trial detention, his conditions of detention and the circumstances of his trial entailed several violations of the Convention (ECHR)

In the case of Kolomenskiy v. Russia (application no. 27297/07) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, (Judgement of 13.12.2016) that there had been: A violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights; a violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), taken together with Article 3 of the Convention; a violation of Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security); a violation of Article 5 § 3

(suspect’s right to be brought to trial within a reasonable time or released pending trial); a violation of Article 5 § 4 (right to a speedy review of the lawfulness of detention); a violation of Article 6 § 2 (presumption of innocence).

The case concerned the placement in pre-trial detention and the conditions of detention of a lawyer who had been appointed as the administrator of a company in judicial reorganisation proceedings.

The Court, assessing all the circumstances of the case, held that Mr Kolomenskiy had been detained in conditions which did not correspond to the standards required by Article 3 of the Convention. In addition, his placement in pre-trial detention had not been lawful, as the authorities had detained him for more than nine months on grounds that could not be considered sufficient. 

The Court also held that Mr Kolomenskiy’s appeals against the decisions extending his detention, worded in a stereotyped manner and devoid of any analysis of the applicant’s personal situation, had not been examined rapidly and had ultimately been examined in his absence. Finally, the principle of the presumption of innocence had been breached. (hudoc.echr.coe.int) Read the decision (in French) here