The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a judgment in the case of Zhabynets v. Ukraine concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings and the lack of effective remedies in domestic law. The Court found violations of Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention and awarded the applicant EUR 900 in non-pecuniary damages. The Court examined the case based on established criteria for assessing the reasonableness of proceedings’ length: case complexity, conduct of the applicant and authorities, and what was at stake for the applicant. The proceedings in question lasted for 7 years, 1 month, and 7 days across three levels of jurisdiction, which the Court found to be excessive and in violation of the ‘reasonable time’ requirement. The key provisions of the decision include:
- The Court found that the length of civil proceedings in Ukraine was excessive and violated Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
- The Court established that Ukraine failed to provide an effective remedy for complaints about lengthy proceedings, violating Article 13
- The decision references the leading case of Karnaushenko v. Ukraine, where similar violations were previously found
- Ukraine was ordered to pay compensation within three months, with interest applicable in case of delayed payment
