CYIL 2012

ĽUBOMÍR MAJERČÍK ȃ ANNA MATUŠINOVÁ ȃ HUBERT SMEKAL CYIL 3 ȍ2012Ȏ Table 1: Development in number of applications and judgments (2002-2011) 4

CATEGORY / YEAR

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Applications allocated to judicial formations Applications declared inadmissible or struck out

329 629 1064 1264 2476 808 721 726 606 523

437 280 399 420 1264 1080 1569 765 1367 588

Applications declared admissible

2

7

41 30 32

6

13

6

10 14

Total number of judgments

4

5

27 29 38 11 16

3

11 22

Judgments at least one violation

4

5

27 28 37

9

15

3

9

19

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

1

Judgments no violation

Friendly settlements/strike out judgments

0

1

1

4

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

1

2

Other judgments

Source: authors based on Annual Reports of the ECtHR.

Table 1 shows great variations in all categories. While the number of applications allocated to judicial formations exploded from 2002 to 2006 (from 329 to 2476 applications), the next five years, from 2007 to 2011, recorded a steady decline in the number of applications allocated (from 808 to 523). Accordingly, the number of applications declared inadmissible or struck out varies considerably. The category “applications declared admissible” clearly hints that complaining to the Strasbourg Court means just a waste of money and time in the overwhelming majority of cases. With the exception of the years from 2004 to 2006 when more than 30 applications were declared admissible, from the year 2007 on, the number of admissible applications oscillates around ten. The number of judgments varies substantially every year and the curve resembles a serpent. The numbers jump from five in 2003 to 27 in 2004 and even 38 in 2006, only to fall to three in 2009 and then rise again to 19 in 2011. As already indicated, when a judgment is finally pronounced, the Czech Republic is with a very high probability found responsible for a violation of the Convention. Out of the total 166 judgments against the Czech Republic in the last decade, there was no violation found only in five 5 (additionally, seven ended in friendly settlements or judgments 4 The highest values are highlighted by red and the lowest by yellow. 5 The cases concern right to a fair trial twice, twice prohibition of discrimination (once in combination with right to education and once with right to property) and once right to property.

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