KOVÁCS AND OTHERS v. HUNGARY

2025-11-20T00:00:00
  SECOND SECTION DECISION Application no. 5976/25 László KOVÁCS against Hungary and 9 other applications (see appended table) The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 20 November 2025 as a Committee composed of:  Stéphane Pisani, President,  Juha Lavapuro,  Hugh Mercer, judges, and Attila Teplán, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table, Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases, Having deliberated, decides as follows: FACTS AND PROCEDURE The list of applicants and their representatives is set out in the appended table. The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of criminal proceedings were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”). In some of the applications, complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under other provisions of the Convention. The Court received friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Hungary in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above‑mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases. THE LAW Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision. The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Decides to join the applications; Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention. Done in English and notified in writing on 11 December 2025.    Attila Teplán Stéphane Pisani  Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (excessive length of criminal proceedings) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth Representative’s name and location Other complaints under well‑established case-law   Date of receipt of Government’s declaration Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]    5976/25 10/02/2025 László KOVÁCS 1990   Szabó Gábor Göd Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 13/06/2025 16/05/2025 1,400    6662/25 20/02/2025 Nikolett PAPP 1991   Debreczi Géza Budapest   14/07/2025 26/09/2025 5,500    7655/25 10/01/2025 Béla JÓNÁS 1957   Takács Gergely Tihamér Budapest   07/08/2025 14/10/2025 4,800    7806/25 24/02/2025 Pavol HORVATH 1966   N. Tóth Máté Budapest   05/08/2025 18/09/2025 2,600    7901/25 05/03/2025 József Tamás VAKULYA 1979   Frank Evelyn Budapest Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 23/09/2025 02/06/2025 2,700    9086/25 13/03/2025 Csaba HRECSKA 1965   Szabó Gábor Göd Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 24/09/2025 29/05/2025 2,000    9087/25 13/03/2025 Patrik VILLAND 1995   Szabó Gábor Göd Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 23/09/2025 02/07/2025 2,600    9388/25 07/03/2025 István HERCZEG 1964   István HERCZEG 1986   Tóth Attila Tas Budapest   24/09/2025 02/06/2025 4,600    9550/25 20/03/2025 Annamária PÁSZTORNÉ PETES 1977   Hatlaczki Gyula Nagykáta Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 23/09/2025 28/05/2025 2,400  11049/25 02/04/2025 Judit RÁCZ 1952   Fazekas Tamás Budapest Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of excessive length of criminal proceedings 03/09/2025 15/10/2025 6,400   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.