CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 19 février 1998

.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. February 1998 Edificaciones March Gallego S.A. v. Spain - 28028/95 Judgment 19.2.1998 Article 6 Civil proceedings Article 6-1 Access to court Application to set aside proceedings for payment of bill of exchange inadmissible owing to a mistake made when application was submitted: no violation   [This summary is extracted from the Court’s official reports (Series A or Reports of Judgments and Decisions ). Its formatting and structure may therefore differ from the Case-Law Information Note summaries.] Recapitulation of case-law: primarily for national authorities to resolve problems of interpretation of domestic legislation – ordinary courts and Constitutional Court had considered that the mistake made when application to set aside was submitted had not been a straightforward clerical error but represented a want of diligence that could not be remedied and that the lack of any possibility of rectifying the mistake in the proceedings in question did not infringe the right to effective protection by the courts – Court’s task was confined to determining whether consequences of the courts’ decision were in conformity with Convention. Recapitulation of case-law on “right to a court” – decision of Spanish courts in instant case had taken account of seriousness of mistake made and of special features of procedure for applying to set aside proceedings for payment of a bill of exchange, in which the time-limits were mandatory and no extensions of time could be granted – legitimate purpose of strict time-limits, namely to speed up payment of sums in issue, the proceedings not being designed to determine merits of claim – no interference with right of access to a court. 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