A two-day workshop on “Reasonable Time of Proceedings: Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Civil and Criminal Matters” brought together judges from ordinary courts and prosecutors to examine practical aspects of the right to trial within a reasonable time and its application in domestic practice.
The workshop offered a forum for practitioners to compare domestic jurisprudence with ECtHR standards and to identify practical measures for reducing excessive delays in court proceedings. The interactive sessions guided by two experts enabled participants to exchange experiences, review landmark case-law, and analyse the factors that affect length of proceedings.
Fruitful discussions developed around the obligations of domestic courts to apply the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and to interpret constitutional rights consistently with ECtHR case-law, particularly regarding the length of proceedings. Participants also delved into the wider scope of Article 6 ECHR and its relevance in domestic contexts marked by heavy caseloads combined with limited legal support for judges and prosecutors.
Specific attention was given to practical criteria for assessing the compliance of proceedings with a “reasonable time” requirement. Judges and prosecutors were presented how the ECtHR assesses the reasonableness of the length of proceedings by analysing complexity of the case, conduct of the applicant, conduct of the authorities, and risks for the applicant (personal freedom, livelihood, property, or pension rights). Participants agreed that these factors need to be assessed holistically and that courts need to adopt proactive case-management measures, avoid unjustified postponements and plan resources to prevent unnecessary delays.
Judges and prosecutors reviewed several landmark ECtHR judgments, including Zimmermann & Steiner v. Switzerland, Frydlender v. France, Kudla v. Poland, Brumarescu v. Romania, Ryabykh v. Russia, Scordino v. Italy, Piersak v. Belgium, De Cubber v. Belgium, Salduz v. Türkiye, Edwards & Lewis v. United Kingdom, Beles v. Czech Republic and Golder v. UK, considering how their reasoning applies to domestic case-management and procedural practice.
The workshop ended with concrete recommendations for improving case-management, strengthening procedural discipline and aligning domestic practice with ECtHR standards.