European Court of Human Rights - Case of Multiplex v. Croatia (2003) (excerpts related to Fair Trial (Right to a)) (English)
European Court of Human Rights - case of Multiplex v. Croatia (2003) (excerpts)
(...)
45. In this connection the Court reiterates that Article 6 § 1 of the Convention guarantees the right of access to a court for the determination of civil disputes. The Court considers that this right of access to a court does not only include the right to institute proceedings, but also the right to obtain a “determination” of the dispute by a court. It would be illusory if a Contracting State's domestic legal system allowed an individual to bring a civil action before a court without securing that the case would be determined by a final decision in the judicial proceedings. It would be inconceivable that Article 6 § 1 should describe in detail procedural guarantees afforded to litigants - proceedings that are fair, public and expeditious - without guaranteeing the parties to have their civil disputes finally determined (see, mutatis mutandis, Hornsby v. Greece, cited above, p. 510, § 40).
(...)
48. The Court reiterates that in the case of Kutić it found a violation of the applicants' right of access to a court, under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in so far as the possibility to have their claim determined by a court was stayed for a long laps of time as a result of the intervention of the legislature (see Kutić v. Croatia, cited above and, mutatis mutandis, Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy, judgment of 28 July 1999, Reports 1999-V, p. 95, § 70).
(...)
52. The Court acknowledges that a situation where a significant number of legal suits claiming large sums of money are lodged against a State may call for some further regulation by the State and that in respect of that matter the States enjoy a certain margin of appreciation. However, the measures taken must still be compatible with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.