Finland has once again received a judgement against it at the European Court of Human Rights, over one of the standard complaints - violation of the section of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that states "everyone is entitled to a ... hearing within a reasonable time".
In the ECHR judgement handed down on Tuesday, the Finnish state was ordered to pay EUR 4,000 to the plaintiff for non-pecuniary damages, and an additional EUR 1,000 in court costs. The court dismissed the remainder of the applicant's claim for just satisfaction.
The court proceedings that had provoked the complaint lasted nearly ten years from 1995 to 2005 through various hearings, up to a Supreme Court ruling in 2005.
In the past two or three years, Finland has received dozens of similar decisions from the court in Strasbourg, most recently just a week ago.
