CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 6 octobre 2005

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 79 October 2005 Sgattoni v. Italy - 77132/01 Judgment 6.10.2005 [Section III] Article 35 Article 35-1 Exhaustion of domestic remedies Effective domestic remedy Effectiveness of the “Pinto remedy” on bankruptcy questions: preliminary objection dismissed   Facts : The applicant was the director of a company which was declared bankrupt in 1991. He was appointed liquidator of the company in January 2001. In March 2001 the company was again declared bankrupt by a court. The company appealed and the appeal proceedings were still pending in May 2005. In April 2002 the applicant lodged an application under the “Pinto Act”. This was dismissed on the ground that the length of the bankruptcy proceedings had not been unreasonable. Law : Article 35 § 1: in matters of insolvency, the remedy made available by the “Pinto Act” could be regarded as an effective one for the purposes of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention only where the application had been lodged with the Italian courts after 14 July 1993. Since the applicant had lodged his application prior to that date, the Court dismissed the Italian Government’s objection that the applicant had not exhausted domestic remedies. Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - The application was admissible under this head solely in respect of the period after 29 January 2001, when the applicant was appointed liquidator of the company. The length of the bankruptcy proceedings, approximately four years and three months, had not upset the fair balance that had to be struck between the general interest in ensuring the payment of the company’s creditors and the company’s interest in securing the peaceful enjoyment of its possessions. Conclusion : no violation (unanimously).   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes