In its judgment in the case of “Vega et al. v. Ukraine,” the European Court of Human Rights upheld the complaint filed by A.M. Korniyenko, prepared by A.M. Korniyenko, a partner at BARRISTERS Law Firm, Denis Ponomarenko, in collaboration with BARRISTERS LLP attorneys Iryna Hlovyuk and Ivanna Blokhina

On December 6, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights, in its judgment in the case of “Vega and Others v. UKRAINE), upheld the complaint filed by A.M. Korniyenko, which was prepared by Denis Ponomarenko, a partner at BARRISTERS Law Firm, in collaboration with attorneys Iryna Hlovyuk and Ivanna Blokhina of BARRISTERS Law Firm.

In this judgment, the ECHR found a violation of Article 6(1) and Article 13 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and ordered Ukraine to pay 3,000 euros—which, in our opinion, is an unreasonably low amount of compensation.

In this case, a client of BARRISTERS LLP complained to the ECHR about the excessive length of the criminal proceedings and the lack of any effective legal remedies under national law.

After reviewing all the materials submitted to it, the Court found no facts or arguments capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion regarding either the admissibility or the merits of the complaint. Taking into account its case law on this issue, the Court finds that in the criminal proceedings against the client of BARRISTERS Law Firm, which have been pending for over 10 years, the duration of the proceedings was excessive and did not meet the “reasonable time” requirement.

The European Court also noted that none of the applicants in this case had an effective remedy available to them regarding these complaints. Thus, these complaints are admissible and reveal violations of Article 6(1) and Article 13 of the Convention.

It is clear that in the criminal proceedings against A.M. Korniyenko—whose defense is being provided pro bono by attorneys from the law firm “BARRISTERS”—this is not the ECHR’s final decision.

As a reminder, on October 18, 2018, the Odesa Regional Court of Appeal overturned the judgment of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City and District Court of the Odesa Region, which had unlawfully sentenced Oleksandr Mykhailovych Korniyenko to life imprisonment. The case has been remanded to the court of first instance for a new trial.

The fight continues! And the attorneys at BARRISTERS, LLC are moving step by step toward a complete victory!

Every BARRISTERS victory is a team effort!
Thank you to Iryna Hlovyuk and Ivanna Blokhina for their help in preparing the materials for the ECHR.

P.S.
The case is difficult, protracted, and pro bono, but that won’t stop us!

With faith in God and knowledge of the law!