ECHR rules against Finland over unreasonably lengthy defamation proceedings

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday against Finland in a case of too lengthy defamation proceedings.
      The judgment concerns the proceedings of a Finnish citizen, the applicant, who was charged with defamation in 1997. After having been first questioned by police already in September 1995, the Helsinki Court of Appeal eventually acquitted him of the defamation charges in June 2000.
      The applicant complained that the proceedings against him had been unreasonably lengthy.
      In recent years, Finland has received several complaints from the ECHR in relation to the citizen’s right to a fair trial within a reasonable time.
     
In the present case, the proceedings against the applicant continued at the Helsinki Court of Appeal for more than two years. Moreover, the ECHR noted that in total, the case had dragged on over four years and two months. The Court of Human Rights considered that such a length of time was excessive.
      The Court held by six votes to one that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 (the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time). Consequently, the ECHR ordered the Finnish state to pay the man concerned EUR 2,500 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and a further EUR 4,000 for costs and expenses.


Links:
  The European Court of Human Rights: Press Releases

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