NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

6 in respect of women, 547 not exclusively men. 548 Article 34 NGOs can be an object of a breach of this provision of the Convention, as well. 549 The first paragraph of Article 6 applies to both civil and criminal proceedings, but the second and third paragraphs apply only to criminal proceedings. 550 Many of the guarantees enshrined in this Article, in particular, the concept of fairness, apply to both criminal and civil proceedings. The terms, ‘criminal charge’ and ‘civil rights and obligations’, have autonomous Convention meanings, which may be different from the national definitions of those terms. For example, some administrative sanctions, due to their severity, are seen as ‘criminal’ in the sense of the Convention. 551 The text of this Article of the Convention is, however, only the starting point as the Court, through its case-law, has extensively interpreted it. Although Article 6 envisages the right to a fair ‘trial’, the guarantees often apply long before the trial. In criminal cases, if national legislation foresees corporate criminal liability, an Article 34 NGO may use this right before it is formally charged with a criminal offence, and in civil cases, the right may apply to the administrative stages that precede the initiation of judicial proceedings. 552 The guarantees do not stop at the delivery of a judgment, but also apply to the execution phase. 553 An analysis of the case-law concerning Article 6 of the Convention, in respect to Article 34 NGOs, shows that the main areas covered are as follows: 1) right of access to a court; 2) the right to an independent and impartial tribunal; 3) equality of arms; 4) length of the proceedings and 5) non-enforcement of final judicial decisions. Such a division is only theoretical, as in many cases the Court has dealt with several areas at the same time. Consequently, it is not always possible to make a straight delineation. Nevertheless, in order to make the study more logical, we are going to address each of these groups of cases separately starting from the first in the order. 2.2.2 Access to court According to Article 6 of the Convention, everyone must have access to a court, 554 that is to an independent and impartial tribunal established by law whose decisions 547 See, for example, Mikulová v. Slovakia , no. 64001/00, 6 December 2005; E.M.B. v. Romania, no. 4488/03, 13 November 2012 and Nikolova and Vandova v. Bulgaria , no. 20688/04, 17 December 2013 and FURA-SANDSTRÖM, cited above, pp. 159-176. 548 Yuriy Nikolayevich Ivanov v. Ukraine , no. 40450/04, 15 October 2009. 549 See the cases Cooperativa de Credit Sătmăreana v. Romania , no. 32125/04, 11 March 2014; Zagrebačka banka d.d. v. Croatia , no. 39544/05, 12 December 2013 and Foundation Hostel for Students, cited above. 550 MOLE, N., HARBY, C. The right to a fair trial: a guide to the implementation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Human rights handbooks, No. 3. – 2nd edition, August 2006; Printed in Belgium: Council of Europe, 2006, p. 5. 551 Västberga Taxi Aktiebolag, cited above. 552 Grande Stevens, cited above. 553 Guide on Article 6. Right to a Fair Trial (civil limb). Council of Europe / European Court of Human Rights, 2013, p. 10. URL: < http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Guide_Art_6_ENG.pdf > accessed 20 July 2015. 554 CHRISTOFFERSEN, J. Fair Balance: A Study of Proportionality, Subsidiarity and Primarity in the European Convention on Human Rights. BRILL, 2009, p. 149.

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