THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 13021/18
Efstratios ALEXELLIS
against Greece
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 5 February 2026 as a Committee composed of:
 Diana Kovatcheva, President,
 Canòlic Mingorance Cairat,
 Vasilka Sancin, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 9 March 2018,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Efstratios Alexellis, was born in 1941. He was represented by Ms A. Panousi, a lawyer practising in Athens.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings were communicated to the Greek Government (“the Government”).
By a letter of 29 March 2024, the Government informed the Court that the applicant had died on 6 August 2020, after filing the application, but before the friendly settlement took place in 2023. They submitted that the applicant’s heir according to the relevant register was his daughter Ms G. A. They further requested the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. In the alternative, they requested the Court to dismiss the application as inadmissible in view of an abuse of the right of individual petition pursuant to Article 35 § 3.
By a letter dated 20 January 2025 the applicant’s representative indicated that the applicant’s daughter Ms G. A., as his heir, would want to pursue the application. In her letter of 27 March 2025 she stated that all three daughters of the applicant wished to pursue the application together with the representative’s father, a retired lawyer, who she alleged was the applicant’s special successor, and submitted accompanying documents.
The Government argued that the applicant’s representative had not only failed to inform the Court of the applicant’s death but had also accepted the friendly-settlement proposal and had signed the declaration on behalf of the applicant on 2 August 2023, namely almost three years after the applicant’s death. They further submitted that there was ambiguity in the representative’s statements concerning the applicant’s heirs which created uncertainty and confusion.
The applicant’s representative did not contest that the applicant had passed away before the friendly settlement was signed. However, she argued that she was not aware of that fact until the Government notified the Court, and the Court subsequently informed her. She also argued that upon that notification, the heirs of the applicant contacted the Court to express their interest in pursuing the application before the Court in the applicant’s stead.
THE LAW
The Court observes that the applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the excessive length of civil proceedings.
The Court reiterates that it is for the heir who wishes to pursue the proceedings before the Court to substantiate his or her standing to do so (see Belskiy v. Russia (dec.), no. 23593/03, 26 November 2009).
Furthermore, the Court is mindful that the persons in question did not actively participate in the proceedings and only expressly declared their interest in pursuing the application after the Government had informed the Court, for the first time on 27 March 2025, which is more than four years and seven months after the applicant’s death.
In view of the above, the Court is not convinced that the persons indicated by the applicant’s representative have a legitimate interest to pursue the proceedings before the Court in the applicant’s stead.
Furthermore, the Court does not consider that “respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols” requires the examination of the application despite the applicant’s death.
In these circumstances the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application and concludes, pursuant to Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention, that the application should be struck out of its list of cases.
Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 26 February 2026.
 
 Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Kovatcheva
 Acting Deputy Registrar President