Enhancing Parliament's role in relation to human rights judgments - Human Rights Joint Committee Contents


Letter from the Chair of the Committee to Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, Home Secretary, dated 8 July 2009

BULLEN AND SONEJI V UNITED KINGDOM (APP NO 3383/06, 8 JANUARY 2009)

  The Joint Committee on Human Rights is continuing its practice of reviewing the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finding the UK to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

  I am writing to inquire about the Government's response to the judgment in Bullen and Soneji v United Kingdom, which became final on 1 April 2009. In Bullen and Soneji, the applicants complained that the length of criminal proceedings against them, which included confiscation proceedings, had contravened the reasonable time requirements of Article 6(1) ECHR. The Court found a breach of Article 6(1) holding:

    "In light of the importance of what was at stake for the applicants in this case and without discounting the complexity of the legal issue in question, the Court finds the periods of delay attributable to the State, when taken cumulatively, to be unreasonably long and in breach of the reasonable time requirement as provided by Article 6 of the Convention." (para. 71)

  I would be grateful for your response to the following questions:

    1. What steps, if any, does the Government intend to take to give effect to the ECtHR's decision in Bullen and Soneji?

    2. Does the Government propose to revise guidance and training to relevant authorities such as prosecutors and the courts to ensure that future proceedings meet the reasonable time requirement in Article 6(1)? If so, please provide us with information about the revisions which the Government proposes. If not, please explain why not.

  In addition, please provide us with copies of the Government's submissions to the Committee of Ministers and ensure that we continue to be updated as further information is provided.

8 July 2009





 
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