EVROPSKI SUD ZA LJUDSKA PRAVA
VELIKO VEĆE
V. protiv UJEDINJENOG KRALJEVSTVA
(Predstavka broj 24888/94)
PRESUDA
Strazbur
16. decembra 1999.
U predmetu V. protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, Evropski Sud za ljudska prava, u skladu sa članom 27 Konvencije za zaštitu ljudskih prava i osnovnih sloboda (u daljem tekstu: Konvencija), dopunjen Protokolom br. 11, kao i relevantnim odredbama Poslovnika Suda2, zasedao je u Velikom veću u čijem su sastavu bile sledeće sudije:
G. L. VILDHABER (G. L .Wildhaber), predsednik Suda,
Gđa E. PALM, (E. Palm)
G. C.L. ROZAKIS, (C. L. Rozakis)
G. A. PASTOR RIDRUEHO, (A. Pastor Ridruejo)
G. G. RES, (G. Ress)
G. J. MAKARČIK, (J. Makarczyk)
G. P. KIRIS, (P. Kūris)
G. R. TIRMEN, (R. Türmen)
G. Ž. P. KOSTA (J. P. Costa)
Gđa F. TULKENS, (F. Tulkens)
G. C. BIRSAN, (C. Bîrsan)
G. P. LORENCEN, (P. Lorenzen)
G. M. FIŠBAH, (M. Fischbach)
G.V. BUTKEVIČ, (V. Butkevych)
G. J. KASADEVAL, (J. Casadevall)
G. A.B. BAKA, (A.B. Baka)
Lord REED, (Lord Reed), ad hoc sudija,
kao i g. P.J. MAHONI (Mahoney), zamenik sekretara Suda,
Pošto je razmotrio predmet na zatvorenim sednicama od 15. septembra i 24. novembra 1999.donosi sledeću presudu koja je usvojena poslednjeg pomenutog datuma:
POSTUPAK
Predmet je potekao iz predstavke (br. 24888/94) protiv Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva, koja je podnešena Komisiji na osnovu nekadašnjeg člana 25 Konvencije od strane Britanskog državljanina V, 20. maja 1994. god. Podnosilac predstavke je zatražio od Suda da ne otkriva njegov identitet.
Cilj predstavke i zahteva Komisije bio je da se, na osnovu činjenica navedenih u predmetu, donese odluka o tome da li je Država povredila članove 3, 5, 6 i 14 Konvencije.
Pred Sudom su se pojavili:
(a) u ime Države
g. H. Levelin ( H. Llewellyn), Ministarstvo za spoljne poslove i Komonvelt, u svojstvu zastupnika
g. D. Panik (D. Pannick) Q.C.[2], advokat
g. M. Šo (M. Shaw), advokat, u svojstvu advokata
g. S. Bremli (S. Bramley), Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova,
g. Dž. Lejn (J. Lane), Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova,
g. T. Moris (T. Morris), Zatvorska služba Nj.K.V. u svojstvu savetnika
(b) u ime podnosioca predstavke T.
g. B. Higs (B. Higgs), Q.C., advokat,
g. Dž. Nater (J. Nutter), advokat,
g. D. Lojd (D. Lloyd), u svojstvu pravnog zastupnika
(c) u ime podnosioca predstavke V.
g. E. Fitzdžerald (E. Fitzgerald), Q.C., advokat,
g. B. Emerson (B. Emmerson), advokat,
g. Dž. Dikinson (J. Dickinson), u svojstvu pravnog zastupnika
g. T. Loflin (T. Loflin), pravnik, u svojstvu savetnika
(d) u ime roditelja žrtve
g. R. Makin (R. Makin), pravni zastupnik, u svojstvu savetnika g. Bulgera,
g. S. Sekston (S. Sexton), pravni zastupnik, u svojstvu savetnika gđe Fergus,
gđa M. Montefjore (M. Montefiore), u svojstvu savetnika
Sud je saslušao obraćanja g. Fitzdžeralda, g. Higsa, g. Makina, g. Sekstona i g. Panika, kao i odgovore g. Panika na pitanja koja je postavio jedan od članova Suda.
ČINJENICE
I. POSEBNE OKOLNOSTI SLUČAJA
A. Suđenje
1. Krivično delo
2. Postupak suđenja
3. Uticaj suđenja na podnosioca predstavke
“Po mom mišljenju, usled njegove nezrelosti i uzrasta kada je krivično delo počinjeno i kada je suđenje održano, [V.] nije bio u stanju da u potpunosti shvati i prati suđenje, osim osnovnih činjenica o svojim postupcima za koje odgovora. ... Da li je bio u stanju da spozna situaciju u toj meri da bi mogao da daje utemeljena uputstva svom advokatu kako bi ovaj delovao u njegovo ime ... to je, po mom mišljenju, vrlo sporno i pod znakom pitanja imajući u vidu njegovu nezrelost. Mada je on, u trenutku kada je krivično delo izvršeno, kaledarski već bio prešao granicu uzrasta od deset godina, ja nemam nikakve sumnje da je on, što se tiče psihološke i emocionalne zrelosti, bio mnogo manje zreo od tog uzrasta.”
“Zamoljen sam da, između ostalog, dam svoj komentar na to kakve mentalne i emocionalne efekte ima na decu uopšte, a sa posebnim osvrtom na maloletnog V., suđenje koje se odvija duži vremenski period i koje je otvoreno za javnost. Po mom mišljenju, postoje dva negativna aspekta postupka suđenja koja se odnose na decu uzrasta u kome je V. Prvo, veoma ozbiljna posledica suđenja koje dugo traje jeste da postoji neminovno odlaganje pružanja psihološke i terapeutske pomoći koja je neophodna. Desetogodišnje dete ima pred sobom još mnogo godina psihološkog razvoja i od najveće je važnosti da ne postoji prolongirana praznina nastala usled postupka suđenja. Kada deca izvrše tako teško delo kao što je ubistvo drugog deteta, posebno je važno da se suoče i prihvate realnost onoga što su učinili i svega što takvo delo predstavlja. Ovo nije moguće u slučaju kada je suđenje još u toku, i sud tek treba da odluči o krivici deteta. Dakle, ja zaključujem da je veoma produžen postupak suđenja neminovno štetan za dete koje ima tek deset ili jedanaest godina (ili čak i starije).
Činjenica da je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost i da su negativne reakcije javnosti (često ekstremno negativne reakcije) bile veoma očigledne, predstavlja dalji potencijalno štetan faktor. Iako je od suštinske važnosti za mlade ljude koji su izvršili težak zločin da prihvate težinu onoga što su učinili kao i njihovu sopstvenu odgovornost za taj zločin, ovo je bilo dodatno otežano činjenicom da je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost...”
B. Presuda
1. Zadržavanje u pritvoru po diskreciji krune (Detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure) i određivanje visine kazne (Tariff)
"Veoma velika briga i oprez moraju biti preduzeti pre nego što bilo koji od optuženih može biti slobodno pušten na slobodu, u širu zajednicu. Biće neophodno veliko psihoterapeutsko, psihološko i edukativno ispitivanje i pomoć.
Ne samo da se moraju u potpunosti resocijalizovati i prestati da predstavljaju pretnju za okruženje, već postoji i veoma realan rizik da će oni sami biti predmet osvetoljubivih napada od strane drugih.
... Kada bi optuženi bili odrasle osobe, u tom slučaju bih rekao da bi primerena zatvorska kazna, odnosno dužina faktičkog zadržavanja neophodna da bi se zadovoljili zahtevi odmazde i preventivne funkcije kazne, morala da bude - osamnaest godina.
Ipak, oba dečaka dolaze iz domova i porodica u kojima su bili prisutni veliki socijalni i emocionalni problemi. Rasli su u atmosferi rasturenih brakova gde su videli, čuli ili sami bili izloženi zlostavljanju, opijanju i nasilju. Ja ne sumnjam da su oba dečaka često gledala filmove pune nasilja i neadekvatnog sadržaja.
Po mojoj proceni, odgovarajuća dužina faktičkog zatvaranja koja je neophodna kako bi odgovorila zahtevu odmazde za počinjeno ubistvo, uzimajući u obzir užasne okolnosti i prirodu krivičnog dela kao i uzrast počinilaca jeste – osam godina. Osam godina je «jako, jako mnogo vremena» za dečaka od deset ili jedanaest godina. Oni su sada deca. Za osam godina oni će biti mladići. ”
“Kod donošenja odluke, državni sekretar je uzeo u obzir okolnosti krivičnog dela, preporuke koje je dobio od sudskih vlasti, predstavke koje su sačinjene u Vaše ime, kao i stepen do koga se ovaj slučaj može uporediti sa drugim slučajevima. Takođe je imao u vidu društvenu zabrinutost i uznemirenost ovim slučajem, o čemu svedoče brojne peticije i druga korespodencija a o čijem sadržaju su Vaši advokati obavešteni u pismu od 16. juna 1994., kao i potrebom da se zadrži poverenje javnosti u sistem krivičnih sankcija i pravosuđa.
Državni sekretar je u potpunosti uzeo u obzir činjenicu da ste u vreme izvršenja krivičnog dela imali samo deset godina. Takođe potvrđuje da mora biti primenjena mnogo blaža kazna nego u slučaju odrasle osobe.
Državni sekretar je imao u vidu predstavku koja je podneta u Vaše ime a koja se odnosi na relativnu krivicu i subjektivnu odgovornost vas i vašeg kooptuženog. Državni sekretar primećuje da ni sudija u postupku nije bio u stanju da utvrdi subjektivnu odgovornost. I državni sekretar došao je do istog zaključka.
Preporuke koje su dobijene od sudije u postupku, kao i od Vrhovnog sudije, bile su da je odgovarajuća visina kazne (“tarife”) osam odnosno deset godina. Sudija u postupku je dodao da kada bi optuženi bili odrasle osobe, u tom slučaju bi primerena visina zatvorske kazne bila - osamnaest godina. Državni sekretar izražava rezerve u pogledu ovih stavova. On je stanovišta da ovo predstavlja izuzetno okrutno i sadističko krivično delo izvršeno nad veoma malim, bespomoćnim detetom, u periodu od nekoliko sati. Državni sekretar veruje da bi, kada bi ovakvo delo bilo izvršeno od strane odraslih počinilaca, primerena visina zatvorske kazne bila dvadeset pet godina a ne osamnaest kao što je tvrdio sudija u postupku.
Iz gore navedenih razloga, a imajući u vidu uzrast kada je krivično delo počinjeno, državni sekretar je odlučio da u vašem slučaju odredi visinu kazne (“tarife”) od petnaest godina. Državni sekretar je zadovoljan jer visina kazne konzistentno odražava visinu kazni u drugim slučajevima.
Državni sekretar je spreman da razmotri svaku novu predstavku koju Vi ili Vaši zastupnici podnesete u vezi visine kazne, kao i da u svetlu takve nove predstavke smanji visinu kazne ukoliko to bude odgovarajuće.”
2. Postupak sudske kontrole
II. RELEVANTNO DOMAĆE ZAKONODAVSTVO
A. Uzrast učinioca i krivična odgovornost
Pretpostavka doli incapax je od tada napuštena, a tačnije 30. septembra 1998. (član 34 Zakona o krivičnim delima i neredima iz 1998.).
B. Vrsta postupka (suđenja) prema maloletnim učiniocima
C. Zaštita privatnosti maloletnog učinioca (deteta)
“(1) U vezi bilo kog postupka pred bilo kojim sudom ... sud može odlučiti da –
(a) nijedne novine koje izveštavaju sa određenog suđenja ne smeju objaviti ime, adresu ili školu, niti obelodaniti bilo koji detalj koji može dovesti do otkrivanja identiteta deteta ili mlade osobe koja je povezana sa suđenjem, bez obzira da li se radi o detetu učiniocu dela, detetu-žrtvi ili detetu koje je svedok na suđenju.
(b) ni u jednim novinama ne sme biti objavljena nijedna fotografija koja predstavlja ili uključuje sliku deteta ili mlade osobe koji su povezani sa suđenjem na gorepomenuti način; osim u slučaju izuzetaka, koji mogu biti odobreni od strane Suda.
(2) Svako lice koje objavi bilo šta u suprotnosti s nekom ovakvom naredbom biće u ubrzanom postupku – (summary trial) proglašeno odgovornim za svaki prekršaj i osuđeno na novčanu kaznu”.
Ova odredba je proširena članom 57(4) Zakona o deci i omladini iz 1963. kako bi se pokrili i zvučni (radio) i televizijski mediji i njihova emitovaja.
Apelacioni sud je, tumačeći član 39, stao na stanovište da, s obzirom da je Parlament namerno načinio razliku između postupka pred maloletničkim sudom, gde postoji prezumpcija zatvorenosti za javnost i postupka pred Krunskim sudom, gde je ova prezumpcija potpuno obrnuta, mora postojati ozbiljan razlog i osnova za izdavanje naredbe iz člana 39 Zakona iz 1933. (R. v. Lee (maloletnik) 96 Izveštaji o krivičnim žalbama br. 188).
D. Podobnost da se izjasni o optužnici i sposobnost shvatanja krivičnog postupka
“Suštinski je princip krivičnog prava, da suđenje za krivično delo mora biti sprovedeno u prisustvu okrivljenog. U osnovi ovog principa ne leži puka potreba za materijalnim prisustvom okrivljenog, već da okrivljeni bude u mogućnosti da shvati postupak i odluči hoće li i koje će svedoke pozvati da svedoče, da li će ili ne i sam svedočiti pred sudom i ako hoće o kojim će činjenicama relevantnim za slučaj govoriti.”
E. Zadržavanje u pritvoru po diskreciji Krune (Detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure)
1. Priroda zadržavanja po diskreciji Krune
“Lice osuđeno za krivično delo ubistva, koje je u vreme izvršenja dela imalo manje od osamnaest godina neće biti osuđeno na kaznu doživotnog zatvora, niti će biti osuđeno na smrt, već će sud izreći presudu... na zadržavanje u pritvoru do daljnjeg, po diskreciji Njenog Veličanstva, u kome će slučaju ono biti zadržano na mestu i pod okolnostima koje će odrediti Ministrar unutrašnjih poslova”
Do uzrasta od osamnaest godina, dete ili maloletnik koji je zadržan u pritvoru po diskreciji Krune biće smešten u dom za decu ili drugu instituciju koja poseduje sadržaje odgovarajuće za njegov uzrast. Kada napuni osamnaest godina, pritvorenik podleže prebacivanju u ustanovu za maloletničku delikvenciju, a sa navršenom dvadeset i jednom godinom biće prebačen u istu vrstu institucije u kojoj su smešteni odrasli učinioci osuđeni zbog ubistva na kaznu doživotnog zatvora.
2. “Tarifa”
Lord Stajn (Steyn) je istakao sledeće:
“Naša polazna tačka mora biti da utvrdimo prirodu ovlašćenja i ingerencija u postavljanju dužine “tarife”, koje ima državni sekretar. U pismu koje je Ministarstvo unutrašjnih poslova sačinilo u ime državnog sekretara sledeće objašnjenje: ‘Državni sekretar mora da garantuje da on, u svakom trenutku, dejstvuje sa podjednakom nepristrasnom pravednošću koju poseduje sudija koji donosi presudu.’ Poređenje između državnog sekretara dok utvrđuje visinu “tarife” koja predstavlja kazneni element presude, i sudije koji donosi presudu, potpuno je odgovarajuće. Utvrđujući “tarifu”, državni sekretar ispunjava, suprotno ustavnom načelu o podeljenim ingerencijama između izvršne i sudske vlasti, klasičnu pravosudnu funkciju. Parlament je državnom sekretaru poverio implicintno zakonsko pravo koje podrazumeva i pravo da utvrđuje politiku i utvrdi visinu “tarife”. Međutim, vlast da se utvrđuje visina “tarife” je, i pored toga, ravno ovlašćenju koje ima sudija koji donosi presudu.” Lord Houp (Hope) je istakao sledeće:
“Međutim, nametanje “tarife” koja je namenjena za određivanje minimuma vremena provedenog u zatvoru (pritvoru), je samo po sebi, nametanje forme kažnjavanja. Ovo ima, kao što je primetio Lord Mastil (Mustill) u predmetu R. v. Ministra unutrašnjih poslova, ex parte Doody na strani 557 A-B, karakterisitike ortodoksne sudijske funkcije, koja je usmerena na okolnosti krivičnog dela i samog učinioca, kao i na to koliki je odgovarajući minimum vremena, imajući u vidu svrhu odmazde i odvraćanja, koji mora biti proveden u zatvoru (pritvoru). Kada sudija preporučuje Ministru unutrašnjih poslova visinu “tarife”, on na ovo mora obratiti posebnu pažnju...
Ukoliko državni sekretar želi da odredi visinu “tarife” za određeni slučaj – kako bi zamenio mišljenja sudija svojim sopstvenim o miminumu vremena – on mora biti pažljiv i učiniti sve da se povinuje istim pravilima kao i sudija.”
Lord Houp je, takođe, komentarisao i izricanje “tarife” u slučaju kada je učinilac dete:
“Pristup koji ne uzima u obzir, u bilo kom stadijumu, razvoj deteta koje je u pritvoru, i njegov razvoj kao relevantan faktor za njegovo eventualno oslobađanje predstavlja nezakonitu politiku. Praksa ustanovljavanja kaznenog elementa na način kako se primenjuje kod učinilaca osuđenih na obaveznu kaznu doživotnog zatvora, gde se ne uzima u obzir napredak rehabilitacije niti lični razvoj tokom proteklog perioda, ne može se pomiriti sa zahtevima da se stalno preispituju zaštita i dobrobit deteta za svo vreme koje provodi u pritvoru.”
Lord Gof (Goff) je, između ostalog, izneo:
“... ukoliko državni sekretar implementira politiku određivanja kaznenog elementa presude za obavezni doživotni zatvor saglasno svom diskrecionom pravu prema članu 35, on u tom smislu vrši funkciju koja je analogna funkciji izricanja presude uz posledicu da je, dok to čini, u obavezi da deluje pod istim ograničenjima kao i sudija koji vršu istu funkciju. Ukoliko se bude obazirao na medijski publicitet i zahteve javnog mnjenja u vezi sa donošenjem odluke u individualnim slučajevima o kojima odlučuje, to će značiti da u obzir uzima irelevantne aspekte što će, nadalje, učiniti vršenje njegovog diskrecionog prava – nezakonitim.
Želeo bih ovde da ukažem na razliku između zabrinutosti društva i javnosti opšteg karaktera u vezi, na primer, rasprostranjenosti određenih tipova krivičnih dela, i zahteva da učinioci tih dela budu kažnjeni na propisan način i medijski publicitet oko toga da određeni učinilac krivičnog dela čiji se slučaj razmatra bude označen kao neko koga treba najstrože kazniti...”
“ Nastaviću da tražim savete i preporuke od sudije u postupku i od Vrhovnog sudije, prilikom odlučivanja o tome koja je kazna primerena za svako lice koje je počinilo krivično delo po članu 53(1) Zakona o deci i omladini iz 1933. Tada ću, imajući preporuke u vidu, kao i specifične, lične okolnosti učinioca, odrediti inicijalnu (načelnu) “tarifu”. Nastaviću da tražim dostavljanje podnesaka u ime zatvorenika i pružaću obrazloženja i razloge za konkretne odluke.
Činovnici u mom Ministarstvu dobijaće godišnje izveštaje o napretku i razvoju mladih ljudi osuđenih prema članu 53(1) čija načelna “tarifa” tek treba da istekne. Tamo gde bude izgledalo da ima prostora i razloga za skraćenja “tarife”, predmet će biti predstavljen na razmatranje državnom sekretaru.
Kada bude istekla polovina načelne “tarife”, ja ili ministar koji deluje u moje ime ćemo razmotriti izveštaj o progresu rehabilitacije i razvoja zatvorenika, i tražiti dostavljanje podnesaka po pitanju “tarife” u ime zatvorenika, kako bismo utvrdili da li je trajanje ranije određene “tarife” i dalje odgovarajuće...”
III. RELEVANTNE ODREDBE I TEKSTOVI MEĐUNARODNIH INSTRUMENATA
A. Standardna minimalna pravila Ujedinjenih Nacija za uređenje maloletničkog pravosuđa (“Pekinška pravila”)
»4. Minimalni uzrast za krivičnu odgovornost
4.1 U pravnim sistemima koji poznaju pojam minimalnog uzrasta za krivičnu odgovornost maloletnika, ta granica ne bi trebalo da bude vezana za suviše rani uzrast, imajući u vidu emotivnu, mentalnu i intelektualnu zrelost.
Komentar
Minimalni uzrast za krivičnu odgovornost maloletnika ima široki raspon u zavisnosti od istorijskog nasleđa i kulture. Savremeni pristup bi podrazumevao da se razmotri da li dete može da odgovori moralnim i psihološkim elementima krivične odgovornosti, odnosno da li se dete po prirodi svoje individualne sposobnosti rasuđivanja i razumevanja, može smatrati odgovornim za, u suštini, asocijalno ponašanje. Ako je starosna granica za krivičnu odgovornost vezana za suviše rani uzrast ili ako ta granica uopšte ne postoji, pojam odgovornosti bi postao besmislen. U celini, postoji bliska veza između pojma odgovornosti za delikventno ili kriminalno ponašanje i drugih socijalnih prava i odgovornosti (kao što su bračno stanje, poslovna sposobnost, itd.)
Stoga, treba ulagati napore kako bi se usaglasila razumna najniža starosna granica koja je međunarodno primenjiva.
8. Zaštita privatnosti
8.1 Pravo na privatnost maloletnika biće poštovano u svim fazama kako bi se izbegle štetne posledice po maloletnika usled preteranog i neodgovarajućeg publiciteta ili etiketiranja.
8.2 U načelu, neće se objavljivati nikakve informacije na osnovu kojih se može identifikovati maloletni prestupnik.
...
17. Principi kojima se treba rukovoditi prilikom donošenja presude i odlučivanja
17.1 Prilikom odlučivanja, nadležni organi će se rukovoditi sledećim principima:
(a) reakcija će uvek biti srazmerna ne samo okolnostima i težini prestupa, već i okolnostima koje se odnose na maloletnika, njegovim potrebama kao i potebama društva;
(b) ograničenja lične slobode maloletnika biće nametnuta tek nakon pažljivog razmatranja slučaja, i biće svedena na minimum, u meri u kojoj je to moguće;
...
(d) dobrobit maloletnika će biti faktor kojim će se rukovoditi u razmatranju njegovog slučaja;
...
Komentar
...
Pravilo 17.1 (b) sugeriše da pristup koji se svodi na kažnjavanje nije odgovarajući. Dok se u slučajevima odraslih učinilaca, a možda i kada je reč o ozbiljnim krivičnim delima maloletnika, može smatrati da krivične sankcije sa funkcijom odmazde imaju određeno opravdanje, u slučajevima kada je maloletnik učinilac takvi argumenti uvek treba da budu nadjačani interesom obezbeđenja dobrobiti i budućnosti mlade osobe.
...”
B. Konvencija Ujedinjenih Nacija o pravima deteta (1989)
Član 3 st. 1 Konvencije UN ističe:
“U svim aktivnostima koje se tiču dece, bez obzira da li ih preduzimaju
javne ili privatne institucije socijalnog staranja, sudovi, administrativni organi ili zakonodavna tela, najbolji interesi deteta biće od prvenstvenog značaja.” Član 37 (a) i (b) glasi:
“Države ugovornice će obezbediti da:
(a) nijedno dete ne bude podvrgnuto mučenju ili drugom okrutnom, nehumanom ili ponižavajućem postupku ili kažnjavanju. Ni smrtna kazna, ni doživotni zatvor bez mogućnosti oslobađanja, neće biti dosuđeni za dela koja izvrše osobe mlađe od 18 godina;
(b) nijedno dete ne bude nezakonito ili proizvoljno lišeno slobode. Hapšenje, zadržavanje u pritvoru i zatvaranje deteta mora biti u skladu sa zakonom i primenjeno jedino kao poslednja moguća mera i to na najkraći mogući vremenski period...
U članu 40 ističe se sledeće:
“1. Strene ugovornice priznaju pravo svakom detetu za koje se tvrdi, koje je optuženo ili za koje je utvrđeno da je prekršilo krivični zakon, na postupak usklađen sa unapređivanjem detetovog osećaja dostojanstva i vrednosti, koji njega/nju podstiče na poštovanje ljudskih prava i osnovnih sloboda drugih, i koji uzima u obzir uzrast deteta i činjenicu da je poželjno zalagati se za njegovu/njenu reintegraciju i preuzimanje konstruktivne uloge u društvu.
2. U tom cilju ... države ugovornice će posebno obezbediti:
...
(b) da se svakom detetu koje je osumnjičeno ili optuženo da je prekršilo
krivični zakon, garantuje najmanje:
...
(vii) da se poštuje njegova privatnost u svim fazama postupka.
Strane ugovornice će nastojati da podstiču stvaranje zakona, postupaka, organa i ustanova koji se izričito odnose na decu i bave decom za koju se tvrdi da su prekršila krivični zakon, ili koja su optužena ili za koju je utvrdjeno da su prekršila krivični zakon, a posebno:
(a) utvrđivanje najniže starosne granice ispod koje deca ne mogu biti smatrana sposobnom za kršenje krivičnog zakona;
(b) donošenje mera, kadgod je moguće i poželjno, za postupanje sa takvom decom, bez pribegavanja sudskom postupku, s tim da u potpunosti budu poštovana ljudska prava i zakonska zaštita.
...”
C. Izveštaj Komiteta za prava deteta o Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu
“35. Komitet preporučuje da treba sprovesti zakonodavnu reformu kako bi se obezbedilo da sudski postupak u maloletničkom pravosuđu vodi računa o detetu (child-oriented)...
36.Konkretnije, Komitet preporučuje da se ozbiljno uzme u razmatranje podizanje starosne granice za krivičnu odgovornost u svim oblastima u nadleđnosti Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva...”
D. Međunarodni Pakt o građanskim i političkim pravima (1966.)
“U postupku s maloletnicima vodiće se računa o njihovom uzrastu i o interesu koji predstavlja njihovo prevaspitavanje.”
E. Preporuke br. R (87) 20 Komiteta Ministara Saveta Evrope
“Komitet Ministara je, shodno članu 15 b Statuta Saveta Evrope,
...
S obzirom da društvena reakcija na maloletničku delikvenciju mora uzimati u obzir ličnost i posebne potrebe maloletnika, kao i da na njih treba primeniti specijalizovane postupke, a tamo gde je potrebno i posebnu negu i tretman, moraju se imati u vidu načela Deklaracije o pravima deteta Ujedinjenih nacija;
Uveren da sistem krivičnih sankcija za maloletnike mora nastaviti da stavlja glavni akcenat na ciljeve obrazovanja i socijalne integracije...;
...
Imajući na umu Standardna minimalna pravila Ujedinjenih Nacija za uređenje maloletničkog pravosuđa (“Pekinška pravila”),
Komitet Ministara preporučuje vladama država-članica da revidiraju, ukoliko je neophodno, svoje zakonodavstvo i praksu sa posebnim ciljem:
...
da se maloletnicima osigura brzo i efikasno suđenje, bez nepotrebnih odlaganja, da bi se omogućilo efikasno obrazovno delovanje;
tamo gde postoje sudovi za maloletnike treba da se izbegne vođenje sudskog postupka maloletnika pred sudovima za punoletne izvršioce;
...
da se ojača pravni položaj maloletnika kroz sve faze postupka ... tako što će se, između ostalog, priznati:
...
pravo maloletnih prestupnika na poštovanje njihovog privatnog života;
...”
IV. MINIMALNI UZRAST ZA KRIVIČNU ODGOVORNOST U EVROPI
POSTUPAK PRED KOMISIJOM
KONAČNI PODNESCI SUDU
Država je tražila od Suda da objavi da su žalbe podnosioca predstavke u odnosu na suđenje neodržive usled neiscrpljivanja svih domaćih pravnih lekova i da odluči da nije bilo povrede prava podnosioca predstavke prema Konvenciji.
PRAVO
I. PITANJA KOJA OVO SUĐENJE POKREĆE NA OSNOVU KONVENCIJE
A. Prethodni prigovor Države
“ Sud može uzeti predmet u postupak tek kada se iscrpu svi domaći pravni lekovi, u skladu sa opštepriznatim načelima međunarodnog prava, i u roku od šest meseci od dana kada je povodom njega doneta pravosnažna odluka.”
Država je istakla da ni pre, ni tokom suđenja, u ime podnosioca predstavke nije podneta žalba na činjenicu da je on imao teškoća u razumevanju i učestvovanju u postupku, niti na činjenicu da je to što je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost predstavlja nehumani ili ponižavajući tetman. Država se poziva na presudu Privatnog saveta u slučaju Kunat v. Države (vidi stav 34, gore) te konstatuje da se shodno njoj podnosilac predstavke mogao pozivati na to da englesko pravo, kao i član 6 stav 1, zahteva da optuženi bude sposoban da razume i učestvuje u krivičnom postupku protiv njega.
Kao posledica gore iznetog, Sud odbacuje prethodne primedbe Države.
B. Član 3 Konvencije
“Niko ne sme biti podvrgnut mučenju, ili nečovečnom ili ponižavajućem postupanju ili kažnjavanju.”
C. Član 6 stav 1 Konvencije
“Svakom, tokom odlučivanja o njegovim građanskim pravima i obavezama, ili o krivičnoj optužbi protiv njega, ima pravo na pravičnu i javnu raspravu u razumnom roku pred nezavisnim i nepristrasnim sudom, obrazovanim na osnovu zakona. Presuda se izriče javno, ali se štampa i javnost mogu isključiti iz celog ili iz dela suđenja u interesu morala, javnog reda ili nacionalne bezbednosti u demokratskom društvu, kada to zahtevaju interesi maloletnika ili zaštita privatnog života stranaka, ili u meri koja je, po mišljenju suda, nužno potrebna u posebnim okolnostima kada bi prisustvo javnosti moglo da naškodi interesima pravde.”
D. Član 6 stav 1, u vezi s članom 14 Konvencije
Iz ovih razloga, Sud smatra da ne treba da razmatra ovu žalbu.
II. PITANJA KOJA SE PO KONVENCIJI TIČU KAZNE
A. Član 3 Konvencije
B. Član 5 stav 1 Konvencije
“Svako ima pravo na slobodu i bezbednost ličnosti. Niko ne može biti lišen slobode osim u sledećim slučajevima i u skladu sa zakonom propisanim postupkom:
(a) u slučaju zakonitog lišavanja slobode na osnovu presude nadležnog suda;
...”
On ističe da je proizvoljno izricati istu kaznu – zadržavanje u pritvoru po diskreciji Krune – svim maloletnim prestupnicima osuđenim za ubistvo, bez obzira na njihove individulane okolnosti i potrebe. U vezi sa ovim, on se poziva na član 37(b) Konvencije Ujedinjenih nacija o pravima deteta, kao i na Pravila 16 i 17.1(a) i (b) Pekinških pravila (vidi stavove 45-46, gore) koji, između ostalog, zahtevaju da kazna lišavaja slobode izrečena deci bude na najkaraći mogući vremenski period, te da, pri izricanju kazne treba kao smernicu, uzeti u obzir dobrobit deteta.
C. Član 6 stav 1 Konvencije
1. Primenjivost člana 6 stav 1
2. Poštovanje člana 6 stav 1
D. Član 5 stav 4 Konvencije
“ Svako ko je lišen slobode ima pravo da pokrene postupak u kome će sud hitno ispitati zakonitost lišavanja slobode i naložiti puštanje na slobodu ako je lišavanje slobode nezakonito.”
III. PRIMENA ČLANA 41 KONVENCIJE
“Kada Sud utvrdi prekršaj Konvencije ili protokola uz nju, a unutrašnje pravo Visoke strane ugovornice u pitanju omogućava samo delimičnu odštetu, Sud će, ako je to potrebno, pružiti pravično zadovoljenje oštećenoj stranci."
A. Šteta
B. Sudski i drugi troškovi
C. Zatezna kamata
IZ NAVEDENIH RAZLOGA, SUD
Odbacuje jednoglasno prethodni prigovor Države;
Zaključuje sa dvanaest glasova za i pet protiv da nije došlo do povrede člana 3 Konvencije u odnosu na suđenje podnosioca predstavke;
Zaključuje sa šesnaest glasova za i jednim glasom protiv da je došlo do povrede člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije u odnosu na suđenje podnosioca predstavke;
Jednoglasno zaključuje da nije neophodno da ispituje žalbu po članu 6 stav 1 u vezi s članom 14 Konvencije;
Zaključuje sa deset glasova za i sedam protiv da nije došlo do povrede člana 3 Konvencije u odnosu na kaznu podnosioca predstavke.
Jednoglasno zaključuje nije došlo do povrede člana 5 stav 1 Konvencije;
Jednoglasno zaključuje da je došlo do povrede člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije u odnosu na određivanje “tarife” podnosioca predstavke;
Jednoglasno zaključuje da je došlo do povrede člana 5 stav 4 Konvencije;
Jednoglasno zaključuje
(a)da tužena Država treba da plati podnosiocu predstavke, u roku od tri meseca, iznos na ime troškova i izdataka od 32.000 (trideset dve hiljade) funti sterlinga, zajedno sa sredstvima koja će pokriti svaki pripadajući porez na dodatu vrednost, umanjeno za 32.405 (trideset dve hiljade četristotine pet) francuskih franaka konvertovanih u funte sterlinga po stopi konverzije koja se primenjivala u trenutku donošenja ove presude;
(b)da će na navedenu svotu biti zaračunata godišnja kamatna stopa od 7,5% koja će teći od trenutka isteka gore navedenog roka od tri meseca do trenutka isplate.
Sačinjeno na engleskom i francuskom jeziku i izrečeno na raspravi otvorenoj za javnost u zgradi Suda za ljudska prava u Strazburgu dana 16. decembra 1999. godine.
Potpisao: Lucijus Vildhaber (Luzius Wildhaber) Pol Mahoni (Paul Mahoney)
Predsednik Sekretar Suda
U skladu sa članom 45 stav 2 Konvencije i pravilom 74 stav 2 Poslovnika Suda, uz ovu presudu su priložena i sledeća mišljenja:
(a) saglasno mišljenje Lorda Rida;
(b) delimično izdvojeno mišljenje gospode Rozakisa i Koste;
(c) zajedničko delimično izdvojeno mišljenje g. Pastora Ridrueha, g. Resa, g. Makarčika, gđe Tulkens i g. Butkeviča;
(d) delimično izdvojeno mišljenje g. Bake.
Parafirao: L.W. Parafirao: P.J.M
SAGLASNO MIŠLJENJE LORDA RIDA
Glasao sam kao i ostali članovi Suda u odnosu na sva pitanja pokrenuta u ovom postupku, a ovde želim samo da dodam sopstvena zapažanja u vezi s pitanjima koja su pokrenuta u odnosu na članove 3 i 6 Konvencije.
Ubistvo Džejmsa Baldžera (James Bulger) od strane podnosioca predstavke i T. (koji je podnosilac predstavke u predmetu 24724/94) bio je užasan akt. Džejms je imao dve godine. Tugu i bol njegovih roditelja, koji su učestvovali u postupku pred Sudom, nemoguće je opisati. Činjenica da su podnosilac predstavke i T. u vreme kada su počinili ubistvo imali samo deset godina posebno je zabrinjavajuća. Ostali aspekti ubistva, kao što je otmica Džejmsa od njegove majke, zverska priroda ubistva i unakažavanje Džejmsovog tela, izazvali su šok i odvratnost. Video snimci, koji pokazuju podnosioca predstavke i T. kako kidnapuju Džejmsa, i kako vode to bespomoćno, malo dete u njegovu smrt, prikazani su pred Džejmsovim roditeljima i pred ostalom publikom u sudnici. Imajući ove okolnosti u vidu, ne čudi što je slučaj veoma uznemirio i zabrinuo javnost, i što je dobio ogroman publicitet.
Koliko god da je užasan zločin koji je počinjen, lice koje ga je počinilo uživa određena prava, uključujući i pravo na pravično suđenje. Ovo pravo je zaštićeno odredbama engleskog prava, a takođe je garantovano i članom 6 Konvencije. Kao dodatak ovome, član 3 Konvencije zahteva da nijedno lice – čak i ono koje je optuženo i osuđeno za užasan zločin – ne sme biti podvrgnuto nehumanom i ponižavajućem tretmanu. Ove odredbe Konvencije odavno su prihvaćene od strane Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva. Pitanje koje je Sud trebalo da razmotri bilo je – da li je podnosilac predstavke tretiran u skladu sa ovim odredbama.
Deca koja izvrše krivično delo predstavljaju problem za bilo koji sistem krivičnog pravosuđa, upravo zato što su manje zrela od odraslih. Čak se i deca, za koju izgleda da im nedostaje nevinosti i ranjivosti, dalje razvijaju u fizičkom i psihičkom smislu, do postizanja pune zrelosti odrasle osobe. Kod odlučivanja da li je dete dovoljno zrelo da bi se, prema krivičnom zakonu, smatralo odgovornim za svoje postupke, srećemo se s jednom teškoćom: ako se detetu pripiše krivična odgovornost, onda će morati i da mu bude suđeno; međutim, ukoliko je dete nedovoljno zrelo, redovna procedura sudskog postupka neće biti u stanju da mu obezbedi pravično suđenje. Ali, ukoliko se detetu sudi, te bude i osuđeno, moraće da mu bude izrečena i kazna; međutim, ukoliko stepen nezrelosti deteta ima za posledicu da je ono manje krivo ili da bi vaspitno-popravne mere bile za njega svrsishodnije, njemu se ne može izreći ista vrsta kazne kao odraslim učiniocima. Svi ovi problematični aspekti tretmana dece u sistemu krivičnog pravosuđa – uzrast krivične odgovornosti, postupak suđenja i krivične sankcije i kažnjavanje – pokrenuti su u ovom predmetu.
Predlažem da, pre nego što pređemo na pitanja koja se odnose na postupak izricanja kazne, prvo razmotrimo pitanja koja proističu iz članova 3 i 6, stav 1 Konvencije, a koja se tiču suđenja.
Kao što je Sud istakao, član 3 Konvencije sadrži jednu od osnovnih vrednosti demokratskog društva. Zato i predstavlja apsolutnu zabranu: “niko” ne sme biti podvrgnut nečovečnom i ponižavajućem postupanju. Odvratnost koju je izazvalo Džejmsovo ubistvo ne može, dakle, da bude opravdanje za bilo kakvo nečovečno i ponižavajuće postupanje prema onima koji su odgovorni za njegovu smrt. Jedino pitanje koje se postavlja u odnosu na član 3 Konvencije jeste da li je postupanje prema podnosiocu predstavke bilo zaista nečovečno ili ponižavajuće.
Pojmovima “nečovečno” i “ponižavajuće” iz člana 3 Konvencije treba dati njihovo uobičajeno značenje (vidi presudu u predmetu Kempbel i Kosans (Campbell and Cosans) v. Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva od 25. februara 1982. godine, Series A br. 48, strane 13-14, stav 30). Dajući pojmovima uobičajeno značenje, ocena toga da li je dato postupanje bilo nečovečano ili ponižavajuće zavisi od primene standarda. S obzirom da je Konvencija živi instrument, relevantnim se moraju smatrati oni standardi koji preovlađuju, s vremena na vreme, među zemljama članicama Saveta Evrope. Ovo je u skladu sa opštim načelom, koje je čvrsto utemeljeno u precedentnom pravu Suda, da, kada se odlučuje o tome da li je određena mera prihvatljiva prema jednom ili više članova Konvencije, legitimno je uzeti u obzir standarde koji preovlađuju među državama članicama.
Da bi postupanje spadalo u okvire nadležnost člana 3 Konvencije, ono mora sadržati “makar minimalni nivo surovosti” (vidi, na primer, presudu u predmetu Raninen v. Finske od 16. decembra 1997. godine, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-VIII, str. 2821-22; stav 55). Procena ovog minimuma zavisi od svih okolnosti slučaja (ibid). Treba oceniti, kako objektivnu prirodu postupanja i tretmana i njihovih posledica na lice koje im je bilo podvrgnuto, tako i razloge vlasti koja je bila odgovorna za ovo postupanje, a sve da bismo odredili da li je takvo delovanje zabranjeno članom 3 Konvencije (vidi, na primer, presude u sledećim predmetima: Abdulazis, Kabales i Balkandali (Abdulaziz, Cabales and
Balkandali) v. Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva od 28. maja 1985., Series A br. 94, str. 42, stav 91; Hercegfalvi (Herczegfalvy) v. Austrije od 24. septembra 1992., Series A br. 244, str. 25-26, stav 82; i presudu u predmetu Raninen, pominjanu gore). Da bi se neko postupanje smatralo nečovečnim ili ponižavajućim, patnja ili poniženje moraju ići izvan neizbežne patnje i poniženja koji su rezultat zakonitog postupanja (vidi presudu u predmetu Siring (Soering) v. Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva od 7. jula 1989., Series A br. 161, str 39, stav 100).
Kada tvrdi da je postupanje prema njemu bilo nečovečno i ponižavajuće, podnosilac predstavke stavio je poseban akcenat u odnosu na uzrast za krivičnu odgovornost, na suđenje vođeno u Krunskom Sudu koje je bilo otvoreno za javnost i koje je trajalo tri nedelje, na činjenicu da je sudija dozvolio da njegovo ime bude objavljeno nakon izricanja presude, kao i na mnogobrojne ostale faktore koji se odnose na izricanje kazne, a o kojima ću govoriti kasnije.
Efekat pripisivanja krivične odgovornosti detetu zavisiće, pre svega, od prirode sudskog postupka i vrsta kazni koje se mogu primeniti na dete tog uzrasta po nacionalnom zakonodavstvu. Pripisivanje krivične odgovornosti ne može, samo po sebi, doći pod udar člana 3 Konvencije, osim u slučaju kada sadrži ili dostiže neophodni minimum surovosti. Ovo pitanje mora biti razmotreno u odnosu na preovlađujuće standarde u državama članicama.
Mada se, kod većine država članica, krivična odgovornost ne bi mogla pripisatu detetu od deset godina, ne postoji zajednički pristup u određivanju starosne granice za krivičnu odgovornost. Praksa se veoma razlikuje od zemlje do zemlje, raspon uzrasta je od sedam godina u nekoliko država članica do osamnaest godina u nekoliko drugih država. Takođe, nema ni preciznih smernica u mnogobrojnim međunarodnim tekstovima i instrumentima na koje je Sud bio upućen. Mada se starosna granica u Engleskoj i Velsu nalazi u nižem delu starosnog dijapazona, prema postojećim okolnostima se ne može reći da ona izlazi iz okvira preovlađujućeg standarda. Osim toga, nije cilj određivanja krivične odgovornosti deteta određenog uzrasta da ono pati ili da bude poniženo, već to predstavlja konsenzus društva u odnosu na starosnu granicu iznad koje se dete smatra dovoljno zrelim da snosi krivičnu odgovornost za svoje ponašanje. S obzirom da se kroz pojam detinjstva reflektuju razne društvene, kulturne i istorijske okolnosti, koje su podložne promeni protokom vremena, ne čudi da su različite države ustanovile različite starosne granice za krivičnu odgovornost deteta. Što se tiče Engleske i Velsa, starosna granica za krivičnu odgovornost, koja važi i danas, ustanovljena je od strane Parlamenta još 1963. godine, a potvrdio ju je Izabrani Komitet Donjeg doma u svom Izveštaju o maloletničkoj delikvenciji, 1993. godine. Ona, shodno tome, uživa demokratski legitimitet. Mada pripisivanje krivične odgovornosti detetu od deset godina može imati posledice koje će izazvati patnju kod tog deteta, neophodno je imati na umu da postupanje prema detetu – koje je počinilo slično delo a u državi koja ima višu starosnu granicu krivične odgovornosti – može takođe izazvati patnju. Bez obzira na činjenicu da li će dete koje je namerno počinilo ubistvo drugog deteta biti smatrano krivično odgovornim ili ne, svako društvo će zahtevati neki oblik istražne radnje kako bi se utvrdilo da li se dete ponašalo onako kako se sumnjiči, i ako jeste, zahtevaće neki oblik mera za zaštitu društvene zajednice kao i postupanja prema detetu. Iz svih navedenih razloga, zaključujem da pripisivanje krivične odgovornosti podnosiocu predstavke nije, samo po sebi, dovelo do nečovečnog i ponižavajućeg postupanja a prema članu 3 Konvencije.
Sledeće pitanje kojim ću se baviti jeste da li je suđenje podnosiocu predstavke u prisustvu javnosti pred Krunskim Sudom predstavljalo nečovečno i ponižavajuće postupanje prema njemu. Svako suđenje prouzrokuje mentalnu patnju i osećaj poniženja kod lica kome se sudi. Ipak, suđenje se ne može uobičajeno definisati kao nečovečno i ponižavajuće postupanje, s obzirom da je reč o legitimnom obliku zakonske procedure u okviru preovlađujućih standarda. Ovo važi čak i u slučaju kada suđenje dugo traje, i kada se vodi u prisustvu javnosti uz visoki nivo formalnosti. Ovde se, dakle svodimo na kritičko pitanje: da li je uzrast podnosioca predstavke doveo do toga da ovo suđenje bude nečovečno ili ponižavajuće.
Ako je bilo legitimno, prema članu 3 Konvencije, pripisati krivičnu odgovornost podnosiocu predstavke, sledi da je i suđenje bilo legitimno prema članu 3, bez obzira na činjenicu da se može verovati da bi bilo koji oblik suđenja prouzrokovao patnju detetu o kome je reč. Forma sudskog postupka koji je primenjen na podnosioca predstavke jeste ona koja se primenjuje u Engleskoj i Velsu na svako dete koje je optuženo za teško krivično delo, a prema zakonu koji je izglasao Parlament 1980. godine. Iako se podnosilac predstavke pozivao na dužinu trajanja suđenja, nije bilo nagoveštaja da je suđenje trajalo duže nego što je neophodno kako bi se utvrdile činjenice i okolnosti slučaja. Treba imati na umu da se podnosilac predstavke, kod izjašnjavanja o krivici, izjasnio da nije kriv, čime je dobio beneficije prezumpcije nevinosti, ali je, stoga, njegova krivica morala biti utvrđivana na osnovu izvođenja dovoljnog broja dokaza koji bi uverili porotu u krivicu izvan svake osnovane sumnje. Međutim, po mom mišljenju, činjenica da je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost predstavlja mnogo ozbiljniji problem. U Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu, kao i u ostalim državama članicama, smatra se neprikladnim da suđenje detetu od jedanaest godina bude otvoreno za javnost, i da medijsko izveštavanje bude bez ikakvih restrikcija. Suđenje, koje se odvijalo u sudnici punoj publike i novinara, sa mnoštvom neprijateljski nastrojenih posmatrača i fotografa ispred sudnice, razumljivo, daje povoda za pozornost i zabrinutost. Ipak, treba imati na umu da ta distinkcija – da li pravni sistem traži da se detetu sudi sa ili bez prisustva javnosti – odražava način na koji se uspostavlja ravnoteža između suprotstavljenih i neuporedivih vrednosti. S jedne strane, značaj zaštite dobrobiti i budućnosti dece učinilaca i pomoć u procesu njihove rehabilitacije i reintegracije nazad u društvo, govore u prilog vođenju sudskog postupka zatvorenog za javnosti. S druge strane, zaštita društvenog interesa (i interesa optuženog) u pravnom postupku otvorenom za javnost, uz društveni interes slobode medija i informacija, govore u prilog suđenju otvorenom za javnost. Ravnoteža, koju Parlament održava između ova dva konkurentna stanovišta, postignuta je time što najveći deo dece-prestupnika bude procesuirano pred maloletničkim sudovima, gde javnost nema pristupa a zabrana izveštavanja se automatski primenjuje, ali se zato zahteva da se deci optuženoj za najteža krivična dela sudi u Krunskom Sudu, u prisustvu javnosti. U takvom postojećem sistemu, posebno užasan slučaj kao što je Džejmsovo ubistvo, neizbežno je, u ogromnoj meri, privukao pažnju javnosti i medija. Iako je ova ravnoteža o kojoj sam govorio postavljena drugačije u Engleskoj i Velsu nego u većini država članica, te se, kao posledica, u postupku prema deci optuženoj za najteža krivična dela manja težina stavlja na njihovu dobrobit nego u većini država članica, to nije stoga što se želi zanemariti njihova dobrobit, ili što se nema poštovanja za ljudsko dostojanstvo, a ponajmanje se želi namerno prouzrokovati patnja ili poniženje; razlog naime leži u zahtevima tih drugih važnih aspekata ravnoteže o kojima sam govorio, gde se traži javno suđenje za ovako teške slučajeve. U ovim okolnostima, meni ne izgleda da se vođenje sudskog postupka otvorenog za javnost, pa čak i pod uslovima koji su preovlađivali u ovom slučaju, može pravično okarakterisati kao “nečovečno” i “ponižavajuće”. Takođe je neophodno imati na umu da, iako ima dokaza (koje ću analizirati kasnije) da je podnosilac predstavke doživeo značajnu patnju i stres, postoje dokazi koji ukazuju na to da patnja i stres ne mogu biti isključivo pripisani prirodi suđenja koje je bilo otvoreno za javnost, već su takođe bili rezultat griže savesti, kajanja i straha od neizbežnih posledica za njegovu umešanost u Džejmsovo ubistvo. Imajući na umu sve ove okolnosti, postupak suđenja, po mom mišljenju, ne može, prema preovlađujućim standardima, biti opisan kao “nečovečan” i “ponižavajući”.
Otkrivanje identiteta podnosioca predstavke nakon izricanja presude, bilo je, u ovim okolnostima, u skladu sa engleskim zakonom i praksom. U žalbi podnetoj u ime podnosioca predstavke tvrdilo se da je ovo obelodanjivanje identiteta neprikladno imajući na umu brojne međunarodne tekstove, uključujući tu posebno član 40, stav 2 (b) Konvencije Ujedinjenih nacija o pravima deteta. Ne mislim da je neophodno utvrđivati da li je odavanje identiteta povredilo član 40 stav 2 (b) (čije je tumačenje bilo povod za raspravu u Sudu) ili odredbe drugih tekstova koji se pominju, s obzirom da bilo koja patnja ili poniženje koji se mogu pripisati ovom aspektu postupanja prema podnosiocu predstavke ne može, ni u kom slučaju, dostići onaj minimum surovosti koji je, prema preovlađujućim standardima, neophodan kako bi došao pod udar člana 3 Konvencije.
Sledeće pitanje koje se postavlja i koje ću analizirati tiče se člana 6, stav 1 Konvencije, a vezana su za suđenje. Podnosilac predstavke se pozivao na načelo po kome pravo na pravično suđenje prema članu 6, stav 1 Konvencije uključuje i pravo optuženog da delotvorno učestvuje u vođenju svog slučaja (vidi presudu u predmetu Stenford v. Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva od 23. februara 1994. godine, Series A br. 282-A, strane 10-11, stav 26). Žalba je tvrdila da podnosilac predstavke nije bio u mogućnosti da razume sudski postupak, niti da pruži svoj opis događaja advokatima ili sudu, pre svega zato što je suđenje vođeno u okolnostima koje su bile neprikladne za detetov uzrast sa mnogo aspekata. Ovde se podrazumeva da ova žalba ne uključuje pitanje da li je podnosilac predstavke bio kriv ili nije: očigledno je od esencijalnog značaja da svako dete optuženo za tako teško krivično delo mora biti procesuirano u uslovima koji mu adekvatno obezbeđuju da dokaže svoju nevinost, ili alternativno da dokaže bilo kakve olakšavajuće okolnosti.
Sud je retko bio pozivan da razmatra primenu člana 6 Konvencije na slučajeve u kojima su deca optužena za krivična dela. Član 6, sam po sebi, dozvoljava isključenje prisustva javnosti sa svih ili nekih delova suđenja kada to zahtevaju interesi maloletnika, derogirajući tako osnovno načelo da sudski postupak mora biti vođen javno, te priznajući time da je interes deteta kome se sudi - relevantan i važan činilac. S druge strane, nema ničega u članu 6 Konvencije što bi ukazivalo na to da može doći, u slučajevima kada su uključena deca, do bilo kakve derogacije načela da sudski postupak mora obezbediti delotvorno učešće optuženog, koji mora biti u stanju da prati suđenje i, kada je neophodno, daje instrukcije svom advokatu. Međutim, kako bi se postiglo da to načelo bude poštovano u slučajevima u kojima su uključena deca, uslovi u kojima se vodi suđenje (uključujući i procedure postupka) moraju biti takvi da omogućavaju učešće, uzimajući u obzir uzrast, nivo zrelosti, i intelektualne i emocionalne kapacitete svakog pojedinačnog deteta. Ovo tumačenje člana 6 Konvencije je, takođe, u skladu sa razvojem međunarodnog prava: brojni relevantni tekstovi, uključujući Paktove koji su usvojeni kao obavezujući od strane Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva i ostalih država-članica (kao što je Konvencija Ujedinjenih Nacija o pravima deteta, član 40, i Međunarodni Pakt o građanskim i političkim pravima, član 14, stav 4) zahtevaju da maloletni prestupnici budu tretirani na način koji uzima u obzir njihov uzrast i unapređuje njihovu rehabilitaciju.
Tako, postoje posebni elementi koji se uzimaju u obzir kada su u pitanju deca koja su optužena za krivična dela. Međutim, postoje i različiti putevi kako se ovi elementi sprovode. U praksi, postoji široki dijapazon načina na koji države članice organizuju svoje sisteme krivičnog pravosuđa da bi zaštitile interese deteta, kao i širi društveni interes. Čak i u okviru bilo kog pojedinačnog sistema može biti teško odlučiti koje mere su odgovarajuće u nekom određenom slučaju, a imajući u vidu faktore kao što su zrelost deteta o kome se radi, njegov položaj u odnosu na optužbu protiv njega, kao i na vrstu krivičnih sankcija koje mu mogu biti izrečene. U ovim okolnostima, član 6 Konvencije, po mom mišljenju, mora biti tumačen tako da državama ostavlja široko polje da slobodno procene kako da organizuju proceduru postupanja prema deci koja su optužena za krivična dela (kao što je priznato u presudi predmeta Nortije (Nortier) v. Holandije, od 24. avgusta 1993. godine, Series A br. 267, a posebno u izuzetim mišljenima sudija).
Bez obzira koliko je široko polje slobodne procene, najvažnije je da optuženi, bez obzira da li je dete ili odraslo lice, bude omogućeno pravično suđenje. Ukoliko dete treba smatrati krivično odgovornim, onda mora uživati ista prava kao i odrasli na potpuno razumevanje onoga što se događa na suđenju i igrati aktivnu ulogu u svojoj odbrani. Moramo priznati da postoje neizbežna ograničenja u učešću deteta u pravnom postupku, bez obzira na formu tog postupka, jer se njegova sposobnost shvatanja i zrelost ne mogu porediti sa sposobnošću odraslog lica. Ipak, procedura u toku suđenja mora mu omogućiti da učestvuje do granice do koje se razumno to može očekivati od deteta.
U ovom predmetu, engleski zakon je zahtevao da podnosilac predstavke bude izveden pred Krunski Sud, koji je takođe i sud za punoletne učinioce teških krivičnih dela. Regulacija postupka bila je izrazito formalna. Podnosilac predstavke i T. su sedeli na posebno uzdignutom podijumu, u centru sudnice, odvojeni od svojih roditelja. Sudija je sedeo za uzvišenom katedrom. Porota se sastojala od dvanaest odraslih osoba. Sudija i porotnici su nosili uobičajene sudijske toge. Sama sudnica je bila ogromna, impozantna prostorija. Sedišta su bila ispunjena publikom i predstavnicima medija. Ovo je, po mom mišljenju, detetu od jedanaest kogina bilo zastrašujuće, bez obzira da li se na suđenju pojavljuje kao svedok ili kao optuženi.
Problem je, međutim, u ovom slučaju bio još veći zbog negativnog naboja i atmosfere u kojoj se odvijalo suđenje. Datum i lokacija suđenja bili su poznati javnosti, a slučaj izuzetno ozloglašen, te se neprijateljski raspoložena javnost okupljala izvan zgrade Suda, ponašajući se izuzetno razjareno, u jednom trenutku, čak, napavši vozilo kojim su podnosioci predstavki dovođeni u sudnicu. Takođe podsećam, da je sudija u postupku, u svom zaključnom obraćanju, naložio porotnicima da imaju u vidu, kod procene dokaza, da su svedoci dolazili u sudnicu praćeni medijskom hajkom i najezdom fotografa; da su davali iskaze u ogromnoj sudnici prepunoj ljudi; i da je njih nekoliko, što uopšte ne čudi, bilo toliko preplavljeno emocijama da su govorili gotovo nečujno. Čini mi se da je dete od jedanaest godina, koje je bilo u centru ovih zbivanja (i neprijateljstava), to podnelo još teže nego odrasli, te da je moguće da je to stvarno faktički uticalo na njegovu sposobnost da prati svedočenja i da svedoči na suđenju.
Sudu su predočeni dokazi o tome da je podnosilac predstavke, u suštini, bio faktički nesposoban da prati najveći deo suđenja kao i da delotvorno učestvuje u vođenju svoje odbrane, te da je malo verovatno da je bio u stanju da svedoči u svoju odbranu. Ovde se pozivam, pre svega, na svedočenje na suđenju od strane dr. Suzan Bejli, psihijatra konsultanta pri Ministarstvu unutrašnjih poslova, na njen izveštaj od 4. novembra 1997. godine; na izveštaj dr. Arnona Bentovima, psihijatra-konsultanta pri Dečjoj bolnici iz ulice Ormond od 31. januara 1995. godine; kao i na izveštaj od 11. februara 1998. godine Ser Majkla Ratera, profesora dečje psihijatrije na Institutu za Psihijatriju Londonskog Univerziteta. Ovi iskazi i izveštaju poduprti su dokumentima dobijenim od advokata i mlađeg savetnika koji su zastupali podnosioca predstavke za vreme suđenja, kao i od majke podnosioca predstavke. Kao što sam pomenuo, iz ovih dokaza se može zaključiti da problemi podnosioca predstavke nisu bili prouzrokovani isključivo uslovima pod kojima se suđenje odvijalo: kao što se može očekivati, on je bio traumatizovan Džejmsovim ubistvom, te je osećao jaku grižu savesti, kajanje i strah od odmazde. U isto vreme, iz ovih dokaza se može zaključiti da su njegove teškoće u praćenju suđenja takođe bile rezultat, u najvećoj meri, uslova u kojima je održano suđenje: pre svega, bio je prestrašen od rulje i prisustva televizijskih kamera ispred zgrade suda, ali i od stalne izloženosti pogledima javnosti, unutar suda. Ovo ne čudi, kad imamo na umu da su ovo oni isti elementi, na koje je sudija u postupku upozoravao porotu, a koji su doveli odrasle svedoke do toga da budu preplavljeni emocijama.
Vlada je, s druge strane naglasila da je u granicama sistema u kome je održano suđenje učinjeno mnogo da se podnosiocu predstavke pomogne da se suoči s ovim iskustvom. To je u potpunosti tačno, i treba da bude istaknuto. Kao što je savetnik T.-a javno potvrdio u svojim predstavkama Sudu, posebno je sudija u postupku učinio sve što je u njegovoj moći da suđenje bude vođeno u maniru podesnom za jedanaestogodišnjake. Radno vreme suda skraćeno je tako da odražava školski dan. Svaki dan suđenja bio je razdeljen na više jednosatnih delova, između kojih su bile pauze koje je podnosilac predstavke provodio sa roditeljima i socijalnim radnicima u prostoriji koja je izdvojena specijalno za tu namenu. Sa podnosiocem predstavke je, na podijumu, sedeo i socijalni radnik, a njegovi roditelji su sedeli u blizini. Služba za socijalno staranje preduzela je dodatne mere, pre početka suđenja, kako bi se obezbedilo da podnosilac predstavke bude upoznat sa sudnicom, sudskim postupkom i personalom suda. Ove mere su, verovatno, donekle olakšale teškoće sa kojima se suočio podnosilac predstavke. Ipak, za očekivati je da bi suđenje, vođeno u uslovima koje sam opisao, predstavljalo veoma zastrašujuće iskustvo za većinu jedanaestogodišnjaka.
Država je istakla značaj suđenja otvorenog za javnost i medije u očuvanje poverenja javnog mnjenja u sistem krivičnih sankcija i pravosuđa, kao i poštovanje legitimne zainteresovanosti javnog mnjenja za okolnosti pod kojima se dogodilo ubistvo deteta. Ja, naravno, prihvatam činjenicu da generalno suđenja moraju biti otvorena za javnost, iz razloga koje sam naveo gore: to je jasno i iz člana 6 Konvencije. Međutim, član 6 takođe jasno utvrđuje da ovo načelo nije apsolutno. Ono može biti derogirano u slučaju kada to zahtevaju interesi maloletnika, što engleski zakon zaista i potvrđuje u postupcima pred maloletničkim sudovima. Ono može biti derogirano i u slučajevima kada bi publicitet i javnost narušili interese pravosuđa, što engleski zakon takođe priznaje. Ukoliko je suđenje koje je otvoreno za javnost nespojivo sa pravičnošću suđenja, onda se prioritet daje ovom drugom. Takođe treba imati na umu da se može ograničiti prisustvo javnosti i medijskog izveštavanja do stepena neophodnog radi zaštite drugih legitimnih interesa a bez ukidanja takvih prava u celosti (što engleski zakon poznaje, na primer u slučaju decesvedoka).
Shodno tome, došao sam do zaključka da su uslovi u kojima je bilo suđeno podnosiocu predstavke, gledano u celini, bili nespojivi sa njegovim delotvornim učešćem u određivanju optužnice protiv njega. Kao rezultat toga, došlo je, po mom mišljenju, do povrede člana 6 Konvencije.
Žaleći se da kazna koja mu je izrečena predstavlja nečovečno postupanje suprotno članu 3 Konvencije, podnosilac predstavke se pozvao na element odmazde koji je inherentan logici „tarife“; na doživotnu mogućnost opoziva uslovnog otpusta nakon puštanja na slobodu; na dužinu trajanja “tarife” prvobitno utvrđene na petnaest godina; na vreme koje je već proveo lišen slobode; na rizik da će, možda, biti prebačen u instituciju za maloletne delikvente a kasnije i u zatvor za odrasle učinioce; i na odugovlačenje pri određivanju nove “tarife”.
Sud je već zaključio da osuda na zadržavanje po diskreciji Krune, u slučaju maloletnika koji su osuđeni za teška krivična dela, u sebi sadrži kazneni element (vidi presudu u predmetu Husein v. Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva od 21. februara 1996. godine, Reports 1996-I, str. 269-70, stavovi 53-54). Ako se ima u vidu da je pripisivanje krivične odgovornosti detetu o kome je reč – prihvatljivo, onda postojanje kaznenog elementa ne može, samo po sebi, biti ocenjeno kao nečovečno postupanje. Priroda i surovost bilo koje kazne može, s druge strane, pokrenuti pitanja po osnovu člana 3 Konvencije.
Ovde je neophodno napomenuti da države ugovornice imaju obavezu prema Konvenciji da preduzmu sve neophodne mere radi zaštite društva od teškog krivičnog dela. Član 3 Konvencije, zato, ne može zabraniti državama ugovornicama da detetu optuženom za teško krivično delo sa elementima nasilja izrekne kaznu dugotrajnog lišenja slobode, niti može zabraniti opoziv njegovog uslovnog otpusta nakon puštanja na slobodu, ukoliko je to neophodno radi zaštite društva.
Razmatrajući da li su dužina originalne “tarife” i dužina već odslužene kazne kompatibilni sa članom 3 Konvencije, uputno je osloniti se na Konvenciju Ujedinjenih nacija o pravima deteta, koja je usvojena od strane svih zemalja članica, uključujući i Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo. Član 3 stav 1 ove Konvencije zahteva da u svim aktivnostima koje se tiču dece, najbolji interesi deteta budu od prvenstvenog značaja. Član 40 stav 1 zahteva da se prema maloletnom prestupniku postupa na način koji uzima u obzir njegov uzrast, uz činjenicu da je poželjno zalagati se za njegovu/njenu reintegraciju i preuzimanje konstruktivne uloge u društvu. Ovi opšti zahtevi se ogledaju u članu 37(b) Konvencije Ujedinjenih nacija, koji predviđa da zatvaranje deteta mora biti u skladu sa zakonom i primenjeno jedino kao poslednja moguća mera, na najkraći mogući vremenski period.
Kao što je pokazao postupak sudske kontrole koji je pokrenuo podnosilac predstavke (R. v. Ministra unutrašnjih poslova, ex parte V. and T. [1998] Appeal Cases 407, 499), čini se da je originalna “tarifa” određena bez poštovanja zahteva koje sadrži član 3 stav 1, i član 40 stav 1 Konvencije Ujedinjenih Nacija. Ta „tarifa“ je, doduše, poništena. Mada postoje dokazi da je podnosilac predstavke patio kada je čuo za dužinu originalne „tarife“, smatram da bi dete tog uzrasta, verovatno, patilo i zbog „tarife“ čija dužina jeste u skladu sa Konvencijom Ujedinjenih Nacija, a verovatno i zbog bilo kog dužeg zadržavanja u ne-kaznene svrhe. Izricanje originalne „tarife“ ne može, po mom mišljenju, biti posmatrano kao loše postupanje koje dostiže minimum surovosti koji se zahteva prema članu 3 Konvencije.
U trenutku donošenja ove presude, podnosilac predstavke je lišen slobode već šest godina, računajući od proglašenja presude novembra 1993. On je zadržan u uslovima koji uzimaju u obzir njegov uzrast i poželjnost zalaganja za njegovu reintegraciju i preuzimanje konstruktivne uloge u društvu. On sam se ne žali na uslove u kojima boravi. Imajući na umu sve činjenice ovog slučaja (uključujući težinu postupka podnosioca predstavke), dužina njegovog lišenja slobode ne može, po mom mišljenju, biti okarakterisana kao nečovečno ponašanje.
Da li će podnosilac predstavke biti prebačen u instituciju za maloletne prestupnke, ili kasnije u zatvor za odrasle učinioce – zavisi od mnogobrojnih faktora. Nova „tarifa“ tek treba da bude određena: u ovom trenutku je nemoguće reći kolika će ona biti. Bilo kakvo dalje zadržavanje, nakon isteka „tarifnog“ perioda, zavisiće od procene rizika po bezbednost društva. Mesto i uslovi nekog budućeg zadržavanja, kao i njihov uticaj na podnosioca predstavke, u ovom trenutku su podjednako spekulativne prirode. U ovom trenutku je nemoguće prognozirati da li će to zadržavanje predstavljati povredu člana 3 Konvencije.
Svoje odlaganje da utvrdi novu „tarifu“, Država je pripisala mnogobrojnim činiocima. Odluka Gornjeg Doma od juna 1997. godine zahtevala je od Ministra unutrašnjih poslova da preispita politiku utvrđivanja „tarife“, što je i rezultiralo novom politikom od novembra 1997. godine. Državni sekretar je tada tražio dostavljanje novih podnesaka od strane podnosioca predstavke i T: podnesci podnosioca predstavke dostavljeni su u junu 1998. godine, ali se podnesci T. još očekuju. Državni sekretar je takođe tražio dostavljanje raznih izveštaja o napretku i razvoju T i podnosioca predstavke, koji su i dobijeni u avgustu 1999. godine. Postupci pred Komisijom i Sudom su, takođe, pokrenuli pitanje da li „tarifu“ uopšte može određivati državni sekretar bez da se time krši član 6 stav 1 Konvencije. Pod ovim okolnostima, ne smatram da odugovlačenje u utvrđivanju nove „tarife“ pokreće bilo kakva pitanja prema članu 3 Konvencije.
Shodno članu 6 stav 1, podnosilac predstavke je tvrdio da je utvrđivanje „tarife“ bilo, u svojoj suštini, funkcija kažnjavanja, te prema tome funkcija koju može i mora vršiti samo sud ili tribunal a nikako državni sekretar. Država je, s druge strane, tvrdila da postupak utvrđivanja „tarife“ nije deo izricanja kazne od strane suda, već prosto aspekt sprovođenja sudske presude.
Član 6 stav 1 Konvencije zahteva da svaka presuda za krivično delo bude izrečena od strane nezavisnog i nepristrasnog suda. Odlučivanje o krivičnoj optužbi uključuje i izricajne kazne licu koje je proglašeno krivim (vidi presudu u predmetu Ekl (Eckle) v. Nemačke od 15. jula 1982. godine, Series A br. 51, strane 34-35, stavovi 76-77). Formalna kazna, predviđena engleskim zakonom za ubistvo koje je počinio maloletnik, ne utvrđuje ni u jednom pogledu period za koji maloletnik mora biti lišen slobode. „Tarifa“ koju određuje državni sekretar, s druge strane, utvrđuje (podložno reviziji, kao što je usvojeno novom politikom kursom od novembra 1997. godine) minimalni period zatvaranja koji mora biti odslužen pre nego što se može razmatrati puštanje na slobodu. „Tarifa“ ima kazneni karakter: državni sekretar je, tako, opisao svoju funkciju u izveštaju od 10. novembra 1997. godine kao “odlučivanje koja je kazna odgovarajuća”. Odlučivanje koja je kazna odgovarajuća u slučaju lica osuđenog za krivično delo jeste, po mom mišljenju, vršenje sudijske funkcije kažnjavajna, kao što je utvrdio Apelacioni Komitet Gornjeg doma u postupku sudske kontrole koji je pokrenuo podnosilac predstavke. Iz ovoga sledi da je član 6 stav 1 Konvencije primenjiv na određivanje visine „tarife“. „Tarifa“, dakle, mora biti utvrđena od strane “nezavisnog i nepristrasnog suda”. S obzirom da državni sekretar uopšte nije nezavisan od izvršne vlasti, njegovo utvrđivanje „tarife“ podnosioca predstavke predstavlja povredu člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije.
U odnosu na pitanja iz člana 5 stav 1, člana 5 stav 4, i člana 41 Konvencije, u potpunosti se slaže sa odlukom Suda i nemam ništa da dodam.
DELIMIČNO IZDVOJENO MIŠLJENJE SUDIJA ROZAKISA I KOSTE
(Prevod)
Saglasni smo sa većinom članova Suda u svim tačkama osim jedne, a to je žalba prema članu 3 Konvencije koja se tiče kazne izrečene podnosiocima predstavki. Smatramo da je ova žalba sasvim osnovana.
Kao što se navodi u presudi, dvojica podnosilaca predstavke su imali po deset godina u trenutku kada su izvršili zločin. Imali su tek nešto preko jedanaest godina kada su proglašeni krivima i osuđeni “na zadržavanje po diskreciji Krune”. „Tarifni” deo kazne ustanovljen je u visini od petnaest godina od strane Ministra unutrašnjih poslova 22. jula 1994. godine. Ubice su tada imale po dvanaest godina. Treba imati na umu da je sudija u postupku, koji je doneo presudu, preporučio „tarifu“ u visini od osam godina, dok je Vrhovni sudija preporučio „tarifu“ od deset godina. Državni sekretar je svoju odluku doneo nakon što su mu dostavljena pisma i peticije građana koji su zahtevali veoma visoku „tarifu“ ili kaznu doživotnog zatvora (vidi stav 22 presude).
Kada je Gornji dom poništio odluku državnog sekretara on je obavestio Parlament da će ponovo razmotriti visinu originalne „tarife“ u svetlu napretka i razvoja prestupnika (vidi stav 27 presude), ali do ovog trenutka novo rešenje nije doneto.
U tako izuzetnom predmetu kao što je ovaj, veoma je teško naći tanku liniju koja definiše šta jeste “nečovečno i ponižavajuće” postupanje shodno članu 3 Konvencije, a šta nije. Po našem mišljenju, ključni činilac za procenu ovoga mora biti mladost i nezrelost ubica u vreme kada je počinjen zločin. Tada su imali deset godina; sada imaju sedamnaest, a i dalje ne znaju koliko još vremena moraju biti zatvoreni kako bi se zadovoljili zahtevi odmazde i odvraćanja. Ta neizvesnost, s kojom dva podnosioca predstavki žive od dana izricanja presude - a to je više od šest godina - očigledno im je prouzrokovala značajnu patnju. Ali, odlučujući faktor jeste taj, da su podnosioci predstavki, koji danas nisu daleko od punoletstva, u trenutku izvršenja zločina, u trenutku hapšenja i pritvora do početka suđenja, i u trenutku izricanja presude i zatvaranja - još bili deca.
Da li se može tvrditi da ova transformacija, koja ima veze sa njihovim uzrastom, ne može uticati na odluku koja se donosi u vezi visine i, posledično, okončanja „tarifnog“ perioda? Ili da ta odluka može biti ista kao u slučaju punoletnih ubica? Mi mislimo da ne može. Većina članova Suda je smatrala da nije došlo do povrede Konvencije jer su držali da period od šest godina zatvaranja ne predstavlja nečovečno i ponižavajuće postupanje (vidi stav 99 presude). Međutim, oni su računali samo onaj vremenski period koji je, do danas, objektivno protekao. Nisu uzeli u obzir prvobitno rešenje Ministra unutrašnjih poslova kojim se određuje kazna podnosiocima predstavki od petnaest godina, što je, prema rečima dr. Bentovima “izbezumilo” maloletnog V. (vidi stav 24 presude), niti, pre svega, potpunu neizvesnost u pogledu ukupne dužine kazne koju će morati da odsluže s obzirom da je proteklo već dve i po godine od odluke Gornjeg doma o poništenju „tarife“, kao ni činjenicu da nema garancije da će državni sekretar doneti novu odluku u bliskoj budućnosti. Iz svih gorenavedenih razloga, mi smatramo da, iako uslovi suđenja podnosiocima predstavki nisu povredili član 3 Konvencije, došlo je do povrede člana 3 po pitanju izricanja njihove kazne.
ZAJEDNIČKO DELIMIČNO IZDVOJENO MIŠLJENJE SUDIJA PASTORA RIDRUEHA, RESA, MAKARČIKA, GĐE TULKENS I SUDIJE BUTKEVIČA
Po našem mišljenju, suđenje podnosiocima predstavke kao i njihova kazna, uzeti zajedno, predstavljaju nečovečno i ponižavajuće postupanje koje je protivno članu 3 Konvencije. Kombinacija, koja se u ovom predmetu sastoji od: (i) pripisivanja krivične odgovornosti deci od deset godina, (ii) suđenja deci sa jedanaest godina pred sudom za punoletne izvršioce i (iii) izlaganje dece kazni zatvaranja sa neodređenim trajanjem, prouzrokovala je kod dece značajan nivo mentalne i fizičke patnje. Primena krivičnog postupka namenjenog punoletnim izvršiocima na jedanaestogodišnjaka, predstavlja, po našem mišljenju, relikt vremena u kome su efekti sudskog postupka i kažnjavanja na dečje fizičko i psihičko stanje i njihov dalji razvoj kao ljudskih bića - bili malo ili nikako uzimani u obzir.
Član 3 Konvencije garantuje apsolutno pravo na zaštitu od nečovečnog i ponižavajućeg postupanja. U srži ovog prava leži patnja i poniženje lica koje im je podvrgnuto. Nema razloga da se pretpostavlja da, minimalni nivo patnje koji je kvalifikuje kao loše postupanje, ne može biti nanešen od strane suda u njegovom zakonitom vršenju legitimne nadležnosti u toku sudskog postupka, a posebno tamo gde, iz mnogobrojnih razloga, to suđenje prouzrokuje javno poniženje. Mi se u potpunosti slažemo sa Sudom da razlog vođenja krivičnog postupka protiv podnosilaca predstavki nije bio, ni u kom slučaju, da ih ponizi ili da kod njih izazove patnju. Međutim, suprotno zaključku Suda, mi smo stanovišta da je patnja ili poniženje podnosilaca predstavki u potpunosti nezavisna od činjenice da li su državne vlasti postupale sa namerom da kod njih izazovu poniženje i patnju, ili ne. Čini nam se da je osnovni razlog vođenja ovog postupka protiv dece od jedanaest godina bio odmazda, a ne ponižavanje. Međutim, odmazda nije nikakav oblik pravde; odmazda nad decom u civilizovanim društvima mora biti u potpunosti isključena. Mi ovde ističemo da ono što je važno kad se ima na umu član 3 Konvencije nije subjektivni element (motivi i razlozi) na strani Države, već objektivni efekti na lica o kojima se radi.
Razdelivši “postupanje” na odvojene faze, tj. na samo suđenje i na izricinje kazne, većina članova Suda je izgubila iz vida efekat koji je ukupno postupanje u ovom predmetu imalo na dečju fizičku dobrobit i psihološku ravnotežu. Mi ne vidimo kako je moguće pravilno odvojiti suđenje, samo po sebi, od izricanja kazne koje je posledica tog suđenja. Osim toga, posmatrajući problem uzrasta za krivičnu odgovornost potpuno izolovano od problema suđenja pred sudom za punoletne učinioce jeste dodatni faktor distorzije kod određivanja uloge člana 3 Konvencije uzetog zajedno sa članom 1, a to je da se obezbedi efikasna zaštita od patnje i ponižavajućeg postupanja. Veoma niska starosna granica za krivičnu odgovornost mora uvek biti povezana sa mogućnošću vođenja sudskog postupka predviđenog za punoletne učinioce. To i jeste razlog zašto velika većina država ugovornica izbegava ovako nisku starosnu granicu za krivičnu odgovornost.
1. Što se tiče uzrasta za krivičnu odgovornost, ne prihvatamo zaključak Suda da se nije mogla utvrditi jasna tendencija razvoja među državama Evrope, i u međunarodnim instrumentima. Samo četiri evropske zemlje, od ukupno četrdeset i jedne države, spremne su da krivičnu odgovornost postave ovako nisko kao što je to urađeno u Engleskoj i Velsu, ili još i niže. Uopšte ne sumnjamo da među zemljama članicama Saveta Evrope postoji opšti standard prema kojem se sistem relativne krivične odgovornosti postavlja na granicu od trinaest ili četrnaest godina – uz vođenje specijalnih sudskih postupaka za maloletnike – a utvrđuje puna krivična odgovornost tek za lica koja su navršila osamnaest godina ili više. U slučaju kada deca od deset do trinaest ili četrnaest godina počine krivično delo, izriču im se vaspitnoobrazovne mere, kojima se pokušava postići integracija maloletnih prestupnika nazad u društvenu zajednicu. Čak i ako Pravilo br. 4 Pekinških pravila ne precizira minimalni uzrast za krivičnu odgovornost, samo upozorenje da se starosna granica ne sme postaviti previše nisko, dovoljan je indikator za to da su krivična odgovornost i zrelost dva povezana pojma. Očigledno je mišljenje velike većine zemalja članica Saveta Evrope da deca mlađa od trinaest ili četrnaest godina ne poseduju ovu vrstu zrelosti. U ovom predmetu nam se nameće paradoks, a to je da, iako su podnosioci predstavki smatrani dovoljno zrelim da im se pripiše krivična odgovornost, za njih je u sudnici napravljeno posebno dečje igralište u kome su boravili za vreme pauza.
2. Što se tiče suđenja, Sud je ustanovio da postoji međunarodna tendencija u prilog zaštite privatnosti maloletnih prestupnika. Međutim, i pored toga, on zaključuje da nedostatak privatnosti ne može biti odlučujući činilac kod razmatranja da li je suđenje u prisustvu javnosti doprinelo postupanju sa minimumom surovosti, čime bi potpadalo pod nadležnost člana 3 Konvencije (vidi stav 77 presude). Prema članu 40 Konvencije Ujedinjenih nacija o pravima deteta, privatnost mora u “potpunosti biti poštovana u svim fazama postupka”, i to je ključni element u smanjivanju patnje i poniženja dece. Mada je Konvencija Ujedinjenih nacija o pravima deteta obavezujuća za Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, engleski zakon, ipak, dopušta da dugačka suđenja budu vođena javno, u sudu za punoletne učinioce, sa svim pripadajućim formalnostima. Čak i nakon što je sudija u postupku preduzeo određene mere da umanji uticaj suđenja na decu, za decu tog uzrasta, koja su več bila u uznemirenom emocionalnom stanju, iskustvo takvog suđenja sigurno je bilo nepodnošljivo. Sedela su na uzdignutom podijumu, odakle ih je posmatrala prisutna publika i novinari, i postoje dokazi da su se posebno teško nosili sa činjenicom da je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost, a naročito jer su publiku doživljavali kao neprijateljsku: jednom prilikom je vozilo koje ih je dovodilo u sudnicu bilo čak i napadnuto, a takođe, sve vreme suđenja se u medijima vodila žestoka hajka i kampanja protiv njih što je navelo njihove zastupnike da od sudije traže zaustavljanje suđenja. Pred svim tim auditorijumom sastavljenim od publike i novinara, podnosioci predstavki su počeli da se suočavaju sa zločinima koje su počinili. Morali su da slušaju iskaze svedoka o događajima tog dana kada se ubistvo dogodilo, kao i zvučne zapise njihovih sopstvenih iskaza datih u policiji. Morali su da čuju odluku porote o krivici, i sudiju kako donosi presudu. Pred kraj ove izloženosti javnosti, obavešteni su da je sudija odlučio da skine zabranu sa objavljivanja njihovih imena. Mi nemamo nikakvu sumnju da se moglo očekivati da ovakav postupak izazove dugotrajne štetne posledice na jedanaestogodišnje dete, kao i visok nivo patnje. I tako je ser Majkl Rater (Michael Rutter) u svom izveštaju o V. koji datira od februara 1998. godine izrazio mišljenje, između ostalog, da je prisustvo javnosti na suđenju kao i neprijateljske reakcije javnog mnjenja moglo biti potencijalno poguban za dete njegovih godina (vidi stav 19 presude).
Osim prirode postupanja, posledice postupanja po decu još su relevantniji kriterijum za član 3 Konvencije. Podnosilac predstavke, V., preplakao je gotovo celo suđenje. Terapeut podnosioca predstavke je svedočio da efekat suđenja i uticaj na njihove porodice, kao i napadi i drugi oblici represije od strane javnosti i ostalih zatvorenika, do današnjeg dana koče napredak podnosilaca predstavki u smislu suočavanja sa onim što su uradili, i šta im se dogodilo. Ne možemo da prihvatmo zaključak u kome se kaže: “da bi bilo koji postupak ili istraga vođeni kako bi se utvrdile činjenice i okolnosti krivičnog dela koje su počinili T. i podnosilac predstavke, bez obzira da li bi takav postupak bio vođen sa ili bez prisustva javnosti, ... takođe proizveli kod podnosioca predstavke osećanja krivice, bola i straha”, (vidi stavku 79 presude).
Sudeći prema psihijatrijskim dokazima koji se odnose na posledice sudskog postupka po decu a podnosioci predstavki pokazivali su znake poremećaja usled post-traumatskog stresa. Postoje i dokazi koji pokazuju da je V. bio prestravljen od suđena i da su ovi efekti trajali još celu godinu nakon završetka suđenja. Tako je dr. Bentovim u januaru 1995. godine izvestio da je V. bio u stanju šoka kada je video da je publika puštena u sudnicu, da je osećao užas zbog činjenice da je bio posmatran sve vreme, i patnju kada su mu ime i fotografija objavljeni u novinama. U vreme doktorove espertize, V. je patio od visokog nivoa straha da će biti napadnut i kažnjen. U svom izveštaju od novembra 1997. godine, dr Bejli je zaključila da je V. trebalo dvanaest meseci da se oporavi od suđenja, te da i dalje o njemu misli svake noći. Izjavila je da je bio najuplašeniji na prvom saslušanju, u Prekršajnom sudu, a da se nakon prva tri dana suđenja pred Krunskim sudom osećao bolje jer je prestao da sluša šta se na suđenju govori.
Iako je dokaz da je u vreme suđenja V. osećao visoki stepen intenzivne patnje jasnji nego u slučaju T, može se zaključiti da je ovakva vrsta suđenja izazvala patnju i poniženje kod oba deteta, na nivou koji je izvan okvira potrebe da se primeni “bilo koji oblik postupka ili istražne radnje koja je neophodna da bi se utvrdile okolnosti dela koje je počinjeno”, i koji je dostigao minimum nečovečnog i ponižavajućeg postupanja.
3. Što se tiče određivanja kazne, važan element koji treba uzeti u obzir u vezi člana 3 Konvencije jeste kazna zadržavanja po diskreciji Krune, to jest na neodređeni period. Ovakva kazna za sobom povlači ogroman nivo nesigurnosti i anksioznosti za oboje dece. Ostaje pitanje da li Konvencija dozvoljava državama ugovornicama da jedanaestogodišnjem detetu izreknu kaznu sa neodređenim trajanjem; ali, posebna zaštitna obaveza država da obezbede da deca ne budu podvrgnuta nečovečnom postupanju, obavezuje ih da smanje neizvesnost koliko god je to moguće. Nakon završetka suđenja, sudija je predložio „tarifu“ u trajanju od osam godina, a Lord Vrhovni sudija od deset godina. Tada je državni sekretar, koji je između ostalog, dobio peticiju sa 278.300 potpisa u kojoj se traži da podnosioci predstavki nikad ne budu pušteni na slobodu, utvrdio visinu „tarife“ na petnaest godina.
Teško je zamisliti kako dete može da pojmi ovakvu kaznu, ali reakcija V da se plaši da nikad neće biti pušten na slobodu opšte ne iznenađuje. Ova „tarifa“ je, kasnije, bila poništena od strane Gornjeg doma, a nova „tarifa“ do danas nije utvrđena. Dakle, neizvesnost traje i dalje. Sud je, po našem mišljenju, samo uzeo u obzir (vidi stav 99 presude) činjenicu da je oba deteta bila zatvorena ukupno šest godina, a nije mogao da dođe do bilo kakvog zaključka po pitanju kompatibilnosti sa članom 3 sve dok nova „tarifa“ ne bude utvrđena. Ali problem leži upravo u izricanju kazne sa neodređenim trajanjem: neizvesnost i anksioznost deci, neizbežno, samo dodaje još jedan element patnje.
I na kraju, po našem mišljenju, javna priroda suđenja ne samo da je dodala nečovečnom već i ponižavajućem postupanju, a činjenica da je podnosiocima predstavki suđeno po istoj proceduri namenjenoj odraslim učiniocima i da su im izrečene kazne bez uzimanja u dovoljnoj meri u obzir da su u pitanju deca – mora biti okarakterisana kao nečovečna.
Nije nikakav odgovor na žalbu prema članu 3 Konvencije to što se zaključilo da je došlo do kršenja člana 6 stav 1. Ova dva člana imaju sasvim drugačije ciljeve i objekte zaštite. Član 3 zabranjuje prouzrokovanje patnje i poniženja, dok član 6 u ovom slučaju garantuje delotvorno učestvovanje u suđenju. Fokusirajući se samo na mogućnost dece od jedanaest godina da delotvorno učestvuju u postupku za odrasle učinioce pred Krunskim sudom, većina članova Suda je, po našem mišljenju, propustila da obrati dovoljno pažnje na patnju i poniženje koje je, neizbežno, taj postupak kod dece izazvao. U ovom slučaju, Krunski sud je, svakako, učinio sve što je bilo u njegovoj moći; problem je što je sistem, kako u načelu, tako i u praksi, u okviru koga je Krunski sud delovao, izazvao kršenje člana 3 Konvencije.
U potpunosti smo svesni užasne prirode počinjenog zločina, a uzeli smo u obzir i pisane komentare predate od strane roditelja ubijenog deteta. Članovi 2 i 3 Konvencije nameću pozitivnu obavezu državama ugovornicama da moraju štititi žrtve od zločina nasilja tako što će obezbediti delotvoran sistem prevencije. Međutim, u okolnostima kao što su ove, gde su i učinioci krivičnog dela bili deca u trenutku kako izvršenja tako i suđenja, ne smatramo da pozitivna obaveza prema članu 3 u odnosu na žrtvu krivičnog dela može opravdati suspenziju prava samog učinioca. Mislimo da najdelotvorniji način da se priznaju patnje žrtava, i da se zaštiti društvo, jeste da se poštuju najosnovnija i neprikosnovena prava učinilaca, posebno – i iznad svega – onda kada su ti učinioci deca od jedanaest godina.
DELIMIČNO IZDVOJENO MIŠLJENJE SUDIJE BAKE
Mada u potpunosti delim mišljenje većine članova Suda da nije došlo do povrede člana 3 Konvencije, smatram da je podnosilac predstavke imao pravično suđenje u prvostepenom postupku iz sledećih razloga.
Član 6 stav 1 Konvencije oličava opšte načelo da se sudske rasprave moraju voditi javno, na način koji optuženom omogućava punu mogućnost delotvornog učešća u vođenju njegovog ili njenog slučaja pred sudom. Ovo načelo je potčinjeno uslovu da se “štampa i javnost mogu isključiti sa celog ili sa dela suđenja ... kada to zahtevaju interesi maloletnika”. Niti tekst člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije niti njegovo tumačenje u precedentnom pravu, ne ide tako daleko da zahteva da detetu optuženom za krivično delo mora biti suđeno, u maloletničkom sudu ili u sudu za odrasle učinioce – na zatvorenoj sednici, bez prisustva javnosti. Iz ovoga sledi jednostavna činjenica da podvrgavanje deteta javnom suđenju u sudu za punoletne učinioce ne znači, samo po sebi, uskraćivanje pravičnog suđenja prema članu 6 stav 1 Konvencije.
Većina članova Suda se oslonila na argument da je javno suđenje podnosioca predstavke u Krunskom sudu bilo “zastrašujuće za dete od jedanaest godina” i da “u napetoj atmosferi sudnice i pod budnim okom prisutne publike” podnosilac predstavke nije mogao da delotvorno učestvuje u krivičnom postupku koji se vodio protiv njega.
Smatram da bilo koje suđenje za teško krivično delo (zatvoreno ili javno), gotovo neizbežno izaziva jaka osećanja anksioznosti, straha i patnje kao rezultat činjenice da se optuženi suočava – ponekad i po prvi put – sa težinom posledica onog dela koje je počinio. Takođe priznajem da ova prirodna osećanja mogu ograničiti, potpuno ili delimično, sposobnost optuženog (bio on dete ili odraslo lice) da delotvorno učestvuje u krivičnom postupku koji se vodi protiv njega. Čak i kada se prizna da je ovo potencijalno više izraženo u slučaju deteta, da li je ovo subjektivno osećanje i njegov mogući negativni uticaj na detetovo delovanje tokom suđenja dovoljno, kako bi se zaključilo da krivični postupak protiv njega nije bio pravičan? Ja ne mislim da jeste. U slučaju da se misli obrnuto, morao bi se ekspertizom dokazati faktički uticaj ovih subjektivnih činilaca na to kako se dete ponašalo za vreme suđenja, te da li je dete bilo u stanju da delotvorno učestvuje u svojoj odbrani. Osim toga, moralo bi se dokazati da je dete bilo sprečeno da aktivno učestvuje u vođenju svog slučaja ne zbog gotovo automatskih i prirodnih, psiholoških konsekvenci krivičnog postupka, već iz razloga prisustva javnosti na suđenju. Mislim da ovde idemo suviše daleko.
U ovom slučaju, vlasti su preduzele niz posebnih mera osmišljenih da se obezbedi da optuženi dečaci mogu adekvatno da učestvuju u suđenju. Ove mere su uključivale upoznavanje sa sudnicom, objašnjavanje procedure, skraćenje vremena suđenja sa redovnim pauzama kako bi se što više približilo školskoj satnici, i prisustvo socijalnih radnika pre i za vreme suđenja. Sudija u postupku je takođe istakao da će prekidati suđenje kada god mu socijalni radnici ili advokati odbrane budu rekli da jedan od optuženih pokazuje znake umora ili stresa.
Uzimajući u obzir okolnosti da je sudska procedura bila podešena tako da se uzme u obzir njegov uzrast, teško je reći da podnosilac predstavke nije dobio pravično suđenje prema članu 6 Konvencije. Ukoliko podnosilac predstavke nije bio u mogućnosti da delotvorno učestvuje u postupku, to nije bilo stoga što je suđenje bilo otvoreno za javnost i vođeno pred sudom za punoletne učinioce, već pre zato što se njegova pozicija objektivno nije mnogo razlikovala od one u kojoj optuženoj osobi nedostaje pravnog znanja, ili boluje od mentalnog oboljenja ili ima nizak nivo inteligencije, u kojim slučajevima se za njih može reći da su podvrgnuti sudskom postupku a ne da su njegovi aktivni učesnici. U ovoj situaciji, pravičnost krivičnog suđenja ne može predstavljati mnogo više od omogućavanja da dete dobije adekvatnu odbranu od strane visoko obučenih profesonalnih pravnih savetnika, te da se u potpunosti obezbede sadržaji neophodni za odbranu, kao što je i bio slučaj u ovom predmetu. U smislu pravičnosti krivičnog postupka, iluzorno je očekivati da dete ovog uzrasta može davati bilo kakva pravno relevantna uputstva svojim advokatima, sa ciljem da unapredi svoju odbranu.
Na osnovu gore izrečenog, ne nalazim da je došlo do povrede člana 6 stav 1 Konvencije, koji se odnosi na pravičnost suđenja.
****
[1] QC (Queen’s Council) – krunski savetnik je titula koja se na predlog Lorda kancelara (istovremeno ministar pravde i predsedavajući Doma lordova) dodeljuje najuglednijim advokatima u Britaniji.
[2] U Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu barrister-at-law je advokat koji ima pravo da zastupa klijente pred višim sudovima (prim. prev).
[3] U originalu solicitor - pravnik koji nema pravo zastupanja pred redovnim sudovima, ali obavlja sve druge pravne poslove (prim. prev).
[4] “Tarifa” predstavlja minimum vremena koje osuđeni mora provesti u zatvoru pre nego što dobije pravo da se razmatra njegov uslovni otpust. U trenutku ovog suđenja, engleski zakon je, za slučajeve kada je učinilac ubistva lice mlađe od 18 godina, primenjivao instituciju “tarife”, tj. perioda na koji maloletnik mora biti zadržan “u pritvoru po diskreciji Krune”, čiju dužinu određuje državni sekretar za svaki pojedinačni slučaj, uzimajući u obzir preporuke sudije u postupku i Vrhovnog sudije. (prim. prev.)
[5] Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (prim. prev.)
[6] Secretary of State for the Home Department, tj. Home Secretary. (prim.prev.)
[7] Napomena Sekretara Suda: Mira Hindli je osuđena za ubistvo 1966. godine i još se do danas nalazi u zatvoru.
[8] Napomena Sekretara Suda: Iz praktičnih razloga ovaj aneks će biti pridodat samo konačnoj štampanoj verziji presude (u službenim izveštajima određenih presuda i odlukaSuda), ali se primerak izveštaja Komisije može dobiti u Sekretarijatu Suda.
___________________________________
Prevod presude preuzet sa https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/
Prevod presude Beogradski centar za ljudska prava
In the case of V. v. the United Kingdom,
The European Court of Human Rights, sitting, in accordance with Article 27 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”), as amended by Protocol No. 11[1], and the relevant provisions of the Rules of Court2, as a Grand Chamber composed of the following judges:
MrL. Wildhaber, President,
MrsE. Palm,
MrC.L. Rozakis,
MrA. Pastor Ridruejo,
MrG. Ress,
MrJ. Makarczyk,
MrP. Kūris,
MrR. Türmen,
MrJ.-P. Costa,
MrsF. Tulkens,
MrC. Bîrsan,
MrP. Lorenzen,
MrM. Fischbach,
MrV. Butkevych,
MrJ. Casadevall,
MrA.B. Baka,
LordReed, ad hoc judge,
and also of Mr P.J. Mahoney, Deputy Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 15 September and 24 November 1999, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date:
PROCEDURE
1. The case was referred to the Court by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the Government”) on 4 March 1999 and by the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) on 6 March 1999, within the three-month period laid down by former Articles 32 § 1 and 47 of the Convention. It originated in an application (no. 24888/94) against the United Kingdom lodged with the Commission under former Article 25 by a British national, “V.”, on 20 May 1994. The applicant asked the Court not to reveal his identity.
The object of the Government's application and the Commission's request was to obtain a decision as to whether the facts of the case disclosed a breach by the respondent State of its obligations under Articles 3, 5, 6 and 14 of the Convention.
2. In accordance with the provisions of Article 5 § 4 of Protocol No. 11 taken together with Rules 100 § 1 and 24 § 6, a panel of the Grand Chamber decided on 31 March 1999 that the case would be examined by the Grand Chamber of the Court. The Grand Chamber included ex officio Sir Nicolas Bratza, the judge elected in respect of the United Kingdom (Article 27 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 24 § 4), Mr L. Wildhaber, the President of the Court, Mrs E. Palm and Mr C.L. Rozakis, the Vice-Presidents of the Court, and Mr G. Ress, Mr J.-P. Costa and Mr M. Fischbach, Vice-Presidents of Sections (Article 27 § 3 of the Convention and Rule 24 §§ 3 and 5 (a)). The other members appointed to complete the Grand Chamber were Mr A. Pastor Ridruejo, Mr G. Bonello, Mr J. Makarczyk, Mr P. Kūris, Mr R. Türmen, Mrs F. Tulkens, Mrs V. Strážnická, Mr C. Bîrsan, Mr P. Lorenzen and Mr V. Butkevych (Rule 24 § 3). Subsequently Sir Nicolas Bratza, who had taken part in the Commission's examination of the case, withdrew from sitting in the Grand Chamber (Rule 28). The Government accordingly appointed Lord Reed to sit as an ad hoc judge (Article 27 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 29 § 1). Later, Mr A.B. Baka, substitute judge, replaced Mr Bonello, who was unable to take part in the further consideration of the case (Rule 24 § 5 (b)).
3. On 23 June 1999 the President decided to deny public access to all documents filed with the Court by the Government and the applicant and the Court decided to hold the hearing in private (Rule 33 §§ 2 and 3).
4. On 1 June 1999 the President granted leave to the non-governmental organisation Justice and to Mr R. Bulger and Mrs D. Fergus, the parents of the child who had been murdered by T. and the applicant (see paragraph 7 below), to submit written comments in connection with the case (Article 36 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 61 § 3). On 6 September 1999 the President granted leave to the victim's parents to attend the hearing and to make oral submissions to the Court (Rule 61 § 3).
5. The hearing took place in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 15 September 1999, jointly with that in the case of T. v. the United Kingdom (application no. 24724/94).
There appeared before the Court:
(a) for the Government
MrH. Llewellyn, Foreign and Commonwealth Office,Agent,
MrD. Pannick QC, Barrister-at-Law,
MrM. Shaw, Barrister-at-Law,Counsel,
MrS. Bramley, Home Office,
MrJ. Lane, Home Office,
MrT. Morris, HM Prison Service,Advisers;
(b) for the applicant T.
MrB. Higgs QC, Barrister-at-Law,
MrJ. Nutter, Barrister-at-Law,Counsel,
MrD. Lloyd,Solicitor;
(c) for the applicant V.
MrE. Fitzgerald QC, Barrister-at-Law,
MrB. Emmerson, Barrister-at-Law,Counsel,
MrJ. Dickinson,Solicitor,
MrT. Loflin, Attorney,Adviser;
(d) for the victim's parents
MrR. Makin, Solicitor,Counsel for Mr Bulger,
MrS. Sexton, Solicitor,Counsel for Mrs Fergus,
MrsM. Montefiore,Adviser.
The Court heard addresses by Mr Fitzgerald, Mr Higgs, Mr Makin, Mr Sexton and Mr Pannick, and also Mr Pannick's reply to a question put by one of its members.
6. On 24 November 1999 Mr J. Casadevall, substitute judge, replaced Mrs Strážnická, who was unable to take part in the further consideration of the case (Rule 24 § 5 (b)).
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
A. The trial
1. The offence
7. The applicant was born in August 1982.
On 12 February 1993, when he was ten years old, he and another ten-year-old boy, “T.” (the applicant in case no. 24724/94), had played truant from school and abducted a two-year-old boy from a shopping precinct, taken him on a journey of over two miles and then battered him to death and left him on a railway line to be run over.
2. The trial process
8. The applicant and T. were arrested in February 1993 and detained pending trial.
9. Their trial took place over three weeks in November 1993, in public, at Preston Crown Court before a judge and twelve jurors. In the two months preceding the trial, each applicant was taken by social workers to visit the courtroom and was introduced to trial procedures and personnel by way of a “child witness pack” containing books and games.
The trial was preceded and accompanied by massive national and international publicity. Throughout the criminal proceedings, the arrival of the defendants was greeted by a hostile crowd. On occasion, attempts were made to attack the vehicles bringing them to court. In the courtroom, the press benches and public gallery were full.
The trial was conducted with the formality of an adult criminal trial. The judge and counsel wore wigs and gowns. The procedure was, however, modified to a certain extent in view of the defendants' age. They were seated next to social workers in a specially raised dock. Their parents and lawyers were seated nearby. The hearing times were shortened to reflect the school day (10.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., with an hour's lunch break), and a ten-minute interval was taken every hour. During adjournments the defendants were allowed to spend time with their parents and social workers in a play area. The judge made it clear that he would adjourn whenever the social workers or defence lawyers told him that one of the defendants was showing signs of tiredness or stress. This occurred on one occasion.
10. At the opening of the trial on 1 November 1993 the judge made an order under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (see paragraph 32 below) that there should be no publication of the names, addresses or other identifying details of the applicant or T. or publication of their photographs.
On the same day, the applicant's counsel made an application for a stay of the proceedings, on the grounds that the trial would be unfair due to the nature and extent of the media coverage. After hearing argument, the judge found that it was not established that the defendants would suffer serious prejudice to the extent that no fair trial could be held. He referred to the warning that he had given to the jury to put out of their minds anything which they might have heard or seen about the case outside the courtroom.
11. Dr Bentovim, of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, interviewed the applicant and his parents on behalf of the defence in September 1993, although he did not give evidence at the trial. He found that V. showed post-traumatic effects and extreme distress and guilt, with fears of punishment and terrible retribution. V. found it very difficult and distressing to think or talk about the events in question and it was not possible to ascertain many aspects. The doctor found that he showed evidence of immaturity, behaving in many ways like a younger child emotionally, and recommended that, whatever happened, he was likely to need therapeutic care in a residential context.
12. During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence for the purpose of establishing that the two defendants were criminally responsible for their actions in that they knew that what they were doing was wrong (see paragraph 29 below).
The court heard evidence from Dr Susan Bailey, a consultant psychiatrist from the Adolescent Forensic Service of the Home Office, who had written a report on the applicant on behalf of the Crown. Dr Bailey gave evidence that the applicant presented as a child of average intelligence, and would have been able in February 1993 to distinguish between right and wrong. He would have known that it was wrong to take a child from his mother, injure him and leave him on a railway line. She had seen the applicant on a number of occasions. On each occasion, he had cried inconsolably and shown signs of distress. He was not able to talk about the events in issue in any useful way.
The prosecution also called the headmistress at the school attended by the two boys. She stated that from the ages of four and five children were aware that it was wrong to strike another child with a weapon. She stated that T. and the applicant would have been aware that what they were doing was wrong. Another teacher gave evidence to the same effect.
13. In addition, evidence was given by persons who had witnessed T. and the applicant in the shopping centre from which the two-year-old boy was taken and who had seen the three boys at various points between the shopping centre and the vicinity of the railway line, where the body was later found. The tapes of the interviews of the police with T. and the applicant were replayed in court. Neither the applicant nor T. gave evidence.
14. In his summing-up to the jury the trial judge noted that witnesses had arrived in court in a blaze of publicity and many had faced a bevy of photographers. They had had to give evidence in a large court packed with people and not surprisingly several of them were overcome with emotion and some had had difficulty in speaking audibly. This was one of the factors to be borne in mind in assessing their evidence. He instructed the jury, inter alia, that the prosecution had to prove beyond reasonable doubt, in addition to the ingredients of the offences charged, that the applicant and T. knew that what they were doing was wrong.
15. On 24 November 1993 the jury convicted T. and the applicant of murder and abduction. Neither applicant made any appeal to the Court of Appeal against his conviction.
16. Following their conviction, the judge modified the order under section 39 of the 1933 Act (see paragraph 10 above) to allow the applicant and T.'s names, but no other details, to be published. The following day – 25 November 1993 – their names, photographs and other particulars were published in newspapers throughout the country. On 26 November 1993 the judge granted an injunction restraining, inter alia, the publication of the addresses where the boys were being detained or any other detail which could lead to information about their whereabouts, care or treatment being revealed.
3. The effect of the trial on the applicant
17. In January 1995 the applicant was interviewed again by Dr Bentovim for the purposes of the judicial review proceedings (see below). The doctor noted, inter alia, that V. was suffering from very high levels of fear that he would be attacked or punished for his actions. When the trial was mentioned, the applicant had described his sense of shock when he had seen the public being let in and his considerable distress when his name and photograph were published. He had been terrified of being looked at in court and had frequently found himself worrying what people were thinking about him. Most of the time he had not been able to participate in the proceedings and had spent time counting in his head or making shapes with his shoes because he could not pay attention or process the whole proceedings. He did not follow when he heard his and T.'s interviews with the police being played in court and he recalled crying at that time.
Dr Bentovim commented that:
“In my view, because of his immaturity, and his age when the act was committed and when he was tried, [V.] did not have the capacity to fully take in the process of the trial except for the major actions for which he was responsible. ... [W]hether ... he had an understanding of the situation such that he could give an informed instruction to his lawyer to act on his behalf ... is, in my view, very doubtful given his immaturity. Although he was chronologically over the age of ten at the time of his action, I am in no doubt that he was less mature than this as far as psychological or emotional age was concerned.”
18. In a report by Dr Bailey (see paragraph 12 above) dated November 1997, it was noted that until the trial the events during the offence were with the applicant ninety-eight per cent of the time and especially every night during the trial. It took him twelve months to get over the trial itself. He still thought of it every night. He had been most scared when in the magistrates' court on the first occasion. After the first three days at the Crown Court he had felt all right because he played with his hands and stopped listening. He had to stop listening because they played the police interviews with him and T. in front of everyone as if they were shouting it out. The press were laughing at him and he could tell from the faces of the jury that they would find him guilty. He still did not understand why the trial had been so long.
19. In a report on the applicant dated February 1998, Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, observed:
“I have also been asked to comment on the likely mental and emotional effects on children in general, and on [V.] in particular, of the prolonged trial process being in public. In my opinion there are two negative aspects of the trial process as they apply to children of [V.'s] age. First, one serious consequence of the long time involved in a trial means that there is an inevitable delay in providing the psychological care and therapeutic help that is needed. A child of ten has many years of psychological development still to come and it is most important that there is not a prolonged hiatus when this is impeded by the trial process. In particular, when children have committed a serious act, such as killing another child, it is most important that they are able to come to terms with the reality of what they have done and with all that that means. That is not possible at a time when a trial is still under way and guilt has still to be decided by the court. Thus, I conclude that the very prolonged nature of the trial process is bound to be deleterious for a child as young as ten or eleven (or even older).
The fact that the trial process is held in public and that the negative public reactions (often extreme negative reactions) are very obvious is a further potentially damaging factor. While it is crucially important for young people who have committed a serious act to accept both the seriousness of what they have done and the reality of their own responsibilities in the crime, this is made more difficult by the public nature of the trial process ...”
B. The sentence
1. Detention during Her Majesty's pleasure and the setting of the tariff
20. Following the applicant and T.'s conviction for murder, the judge sentenced them, as required by law, to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure (see paragraph 36 below).
He subsequently recommended that a period of eight years be served by the boys to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence (the “tariff” – see paragraphs 40-42 below). He commented that he could not determine the boys' relative culpability, and stated:
“Very great care will have to be taken before either defendant is allowed out into the general community. Much psychotherapeutic, psychological and educational investigation and assistance will be required.
Not only must they be fully rehabilitated and no longer a danger to others but there is a very real risk of revenge attacks upon them by others.
... If the defendants had been adults I would have said that the actual length of deterrence necessary to meet the requirements of retribution and general deterrence should have been eighteen years.
However these two boys came from homes and families with great social and emotional deprivation. They grew up in an atmosphere of matrimonial breakdown where they were exposed to, saw, heard, or suffered abuse, drunkenness and violence. I have no doubt that both boys saw video films frequently showing violent and aberrant activities.
In my judgment the appropriate length of detention necessary to meet the requirement of retribution and general deterrence for the murder, taking into account all its appalling circumstances and the age of the defendants when it was committed is eight years... . Eight years is 'very very many years' for a ten or eleven year old. They are now children. In eight years' time they will be young men.”
21. The Lord Chief Justice recommended a tariff of ten years. The applicant's representatives made written representations to the Home Secretary, who was to fix the tariff period.
22. By a letter dated 16 June 1994, the Secretary of State informed the applicant that the family of the deceased child had submitted a petition signed by 278,300 people urging him to take account of their belief that the boys should never be released, accompanied by 4,400 letters of support from the public; that a Member of Parliament had submitted a petition signed by 5,900 people calling for a minimum of twenty-five years to be served; that 21,281 coupons from the Sun newspaper supporting a whole life tariff and a further 1,357 letters and small petitions had been received of which 1,113 wanted a higher tariff than the judicial recommendations.
The applicant's solicitors were given an opportunity to submit further representations to the Secretary of State.
23. By a letter dated 22 July 1994, the Secretary of State informed the applicant that he should serve a period of fifteen years in respect of retribution and deterrence. The letter stated, inter alia:
“In making his decision, the Secretary of State had regard to the circumstances of the offence, the recommendations received from the judiciary, the representations made on your behalf and the extent to which this case could be compared with other cases. He also has regard to the public concern about this case, which was evidenced by the petitions and other correspondence the substance of which were disclosed to your solicitors by our letter of 16 June 1994, and to the need to maintain public confidence in the system of criminal justice.
The Secretary of State takes fully into account the fact that you were only ten years old when the offence was committed. He further acknowledges that a much lesser tariff should apply than in the case of an adult.
The Secretary of State notes the representations which were made on your behalf regarding the relative culpability of yourself and your co-defendant. The Secretary of State notes that the trial judge was unable to determine this. The Secretary of State has reached the same conclusion.
The recommendations made by the trial judge and the Lord Chief Justice were that the appropriate tariff should be eight years, and ten years respectively. The trial judge added that if the defendants had been adults then the appropriate tariff would have been eighteen years. The Secretary of State has had regard to these views. He takes the view that this was an exceptionally cruel and sadistic offence against a very young and defenceless victim committed over a period of several hours. The Secretary of State believes that if the offence had been committed by an adult then the appropriate tariff would have been in the region of twenty-five years and not eighteen years as suggested by the trial judge.
For these reasons, and bearing in mind your age when the offence was committed, the Secretary of State has decided to fix a tariff of fifteen years in your case. The Secretary of State is satisfied that such a tariff is consistent with the tariffs fixed in other cases.
The Secretary of State is prepared to consider any fresh representations which you or your representatives might wish to make about the length of the tariff and, in the light of such fresh representations, to reduce the tariff if appropriate.”
24. Dr Bentovim's January 1995 report (see paragraph 17 above) stated that the applicant had been distraught when told of the eight and ten year recommendations. When he was informed that a fifteen-year tariff had been fixed, he was devastated. He made comments that he would never be let out and had a preoccupation that he was like Myra Hindley[2]. He felt that his life was no longer worth living and there was no point going on.
2. The judicial review proceedings
25. The applicant instituted judicial review proceedings challenging, inter alia, the tariff which had been set by the Secretary of State as being disproportionately long and fixed without due regard to the needs of rehabilitation. Leave was granted on 7 November 1994.
26. On 2 May 1996 the Divisional Court upheld part of the applicant's claims. On 30 July 1996 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of the Secretary of State. On 12 June 1997 the House of Lords by a majority dismissed the Secretary of State's appeal and allowed the applicant's cross-appeal. A majority of the House of Lords found that it was unlawful for the Secretary of State to adopt a policy, in the context of applying the tariff system, which even in exceptional circumstances treated as irrelevant the progress and development of a child who was detained during Her Majesty's pleasure. A majority of the House of Lords also held that in fixing a tariff the Secretary of State was exercising a power equivalent to a judge's sentencing power and that, like a sentencing judge, he was required to remain detached from the pressure of public opinion. Since the Secretary of State had misdirected himself in giving weight to the public protests about the level of the applicant's tariff and had acted in a procedurally unfair way, his decision had been rendered unlawful (see further paragraph 43 below). The tariff set by the Secretary of State was accordingly quashed.
27. On 10 November 1997 the Secretary of State informed Parliament that, in the light of the House of Lords' judgment, he had adopted a new policy in relation to young offenders convicted of murder and sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure, pursuant to which, inter alia, he would keep the tariff initially set under review in the light of the offender's progress and development. The Secretary of State invited the applicant's representatives to make representations to him with regard to the fixing of a fresh tariff.
28. At the time of the adoption of this judgment, no decision has been taken in respect of the applicant's tariff. The Government in their memorial informed the Court that although the applicant V. had submitted representations regarding the appropriate length of tariff, similar representations were still awaited in respect of T., and the Home Secretary was in addition seeking independent psychiatric advice regarding both detainees.
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE
A. Age of criminal responsibility
29. Pursuant to section 50 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 as amended by section 16(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 (“the 1933 Act”), the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is ten years, below which no child can be found guilty of a criminal offence. The age of ten was endorsed by the Home Affairs Select Committee (composed of Members of Parliament) in October 1993 (Juvenile Offenders, Sixth Report of the Session 1992-93, Her Majesty's Stationary Office). At the time of the applicant's trial, a child between the ages of ten and fourteen was subject to a presumption that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong (doli incapax). This presumption had to be rebutted by the prosecution proving beyond reasonable doubt that, at the time of the offence, the child knew that the act was wrong as distinct from merely naughty or childish mischief (C. (a minor) v. the Director of Public Prosecutions [1996] Appeal Cases 1).
The doli incapax presumption has since been abolished with effect from 30 September 1998 (section 34 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).
B. Mode of trial for child defendants
30. Pursuant to section 24 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, children and young persons under eighteen years must be tried summarily in the magistrates' court, where the trial usually takes place in the specialist youth court, which has an informal procedure and from which the general public are excluded. The exceptions are children and young persons charged with murder, manslaughter or an offence punishable if committed by an adult with fourteen or more years' imprisonment, who are tried in the Crown Court before a judge and jury.
C. Protection of child defendants from publicity
31. Where a child is tried in the youth court, section 49 of the 1933 Act imposes an automatic prohibition restraining the media from reporting the child's name or personal details or from publishing his photograph or any other information which might lead to his identification. The court has a discretion to dispense with the restriction following conviction if it considers it in the public interest to do so.
32. Where a child is tried in the Crown Court, there is no restriction on the reporting of the proceedings unless the trial judge makes an order under section 39 of the 1933 Act, which provides:
“(1) In relation to any proceedings in any court ... the court may direct that –
(a) no newspaper report of the proceedings shall reveal the name, address or school, or include any particulars calculated to lead to the identification of any child or young person concerned in the proceedings, either as being the person by or against or in respect of whom the proceedings are taken, or as being a witness therein;
(b) no picture shall be published in any newspaper as being or including a picture of any child or young person so concerned in the proceedings as aforesaid;
except in so far (if at all) as may be permitted by the direction of the court.
(2) Any person who publishes any matter in contravention of any such direction shall on summary conviction be liable in respect of each offence to a fine ...”
This provision was extended by section 57(4) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 to cover sound and television broadcasts.
The Court of Appeal interpreting section 39 has held that, since Parliament intentionally distinguished between trial in a youth court, where there is a presumption against publicity, and trial in the Crown Court, where the presumption is reversed, there should be a good reason for the making of an order under section 39 of the 1933 Act (R. v. Lee (a minor) 96 Criminal Appeal Reports 188).
D. Fitness to plead and ability to comprehend criminal proceedings
33. An accused is “unfit to plead” if by reason of a disability, such as mental illness, he has “insufficient intellect to instruct his solicitors and counsel, to plead to the indictment, to challenge jurors, to understand the evidence, and to give evidence” (R. v. Robertson 52 Criminal Appeal Reports 690). The question whether or not a defendant is fit to plead must be decided by a jury upon the written or oral evidence of at least two medical experts. Where a jury has found the defendant unfit to plead, either the same or another jury may be required to proceed with the trial and decide whether the accused did the act or made the omission charged against him as the offence, in which case the court may make a hospital order against him (Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964, sections 4, 4A and 5). Alternatively, the trial may be postponed indefinitely until the accused is fit to plead.
34. In the case of Kunnath v. the State ([1993] 1 Weekly Law Reports 1315), the Privy Council quashed the conviction of an uneducated peasant from Kerala in southern India who had been sentenced to death for murder after a trial in Mauritius conducted in a language he did not understand and where the evidence was not translated for him by an interpreter. The Privy Council stated, inter alia:
“It is an essential principle of the criminal law that a trial for an indictable offence should be conducted in the presence of the defendant. The basis of this principle is not simply that there should be corporeal presence but that the defendant, by reason of his presence, should be able to understand the proceedings and decide what witnesses he wishes to call, whether or not to give evidence and if so, upon what matters relevant to the case against him.”
E. Detention during Her Majesty's pleasure
1. Nature of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure
35. In England and Wales, adults convicted of murder are subject to mandatory life imprisonment (Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1967). Adults convicted of certain violent or sexual offences, for example manslaughter, rape or robbery, may be sentenced to life imprisonment at the discretion of the trial judge, if he or she considers that (i) the offence is grave and (ii) there are exceptional circumstances which demonstrate that the offender is a danger to the public and that it is not possible to say when that danger will subside.
36. Offenders under the age of eighteen who are convicted of murder are automatically to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, in accordance with section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (as amended), which provides:
“A person convicted of an offence who appears to the court to have been under the age of eighteen years at the time the offence was committed shall not, if he is convicted of murder, be sentenced to imprisonment for life nor shall sentence of death be pronounced on or recorded against any such person but in lieu thereof the court shall ... sentence him to be detained during Her Majesty's pleasure, and if so sentenced he shall be liable to be detained in such a place and under such conditions as the Secretary of State may direct.”
Until the age of eighteen a child or young person detained during Her Majesty's pleasure will be held at a children's home or other institution providing facilities appropriate to his age. At the age of eighteen the detainee becomes liable to be transferred to a Young Offenders' Institution and, at the age of twenty-one, to detention in the same institution as an adult sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
37. At the time of the applicant's conviction, the effect of the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure was that the child or young person was detained for an indeterminate period, the duration of which was wholly within the discretion of the Home Secretary. The Secretary of State had a discretion to refer the case of a detained child to the Parole Board for its advice and, if so advised by the Parole Board, had a discretion to decide to order the child's release (Criminal Justice Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”), sections 35(2) and (3) and 43(2); see the speech of Lord Browne-Wilkinson in the House of Lords, R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte V. and T. [1998] Appeal Cases 407 at p. 492A-F, hereafter “Ex parte V. and T.”).
38. On 1 October 1997 section 28 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 was brought into force in order to implement the judgments of the European Court in the Hussain and Singh cases (Hussain v. the United Kingdom judgment of 21 February 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-I, p. 252, and Singh v. the United Kingdom judgment of 21 February 1996, Reports 1996-I, p. 280). The section provides that, after the tariff period has expired (see paragraphs 40-42 below), it shall be for the Parole Board, and not, as previously, for the Secretary of State, to decide whether it is safe to release on licence an offender serving a sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure for an offence of murder committed before the age of eighteen.
39. A person detained during Her Majesty's pleasure who is released on licence is liable to be recalled throughout his or her life, subject to the decision of the Parole Board.
2. The “tariff”
40. Over the years, the Secretary of State has adopted a “tariff” policy in exercising his discretion whether to release offenders sentenced to life imprisonment. This was first publicly announced in Parliament by Mr Leon Brittan on 30 November 1983 (Hansard (House of Commons Debates) cols. 505-507). In essence, the tariff approach involves breaking down the life sentence into component parts, namely retribution, deterrence and protection of the public. The “tariff” represents the minimum period which the prisoner will have to serve to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. The Home Secretary will not refer the case to the Parole Board until three years before the expiry of the tariff period, and will not exercise his discretion to release on licence until after the tariff period has been completed (per Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Ex parte V. and T., op. cit., at pp. 492G-493A).
41. Pursuant to section 34 of the 1991 Act, the tariff of a discretionary life prisoner is fixed in open court by the trial judge after conviction. After the tariff has expired, the prisoner may require the Secretary of State to refer his case to the Parole Board which has the power to order his release if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary to detain him for the protection of the public.
42. A different regime, however, applies under the 1991 Act to persons detained during Her Majesty's pleasure or serving a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. In relation to these prisoners, the Secretary of State decides the length of the tariff. The view of the trial judge is made known to the prisoner after his trial, as is the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice. The prisoner is afforded the opportunity to make representations to the Secretary of State who then proceeds to fix the tariff and is entitled to depart from the judicial view (R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Doody [1994] 1 Appeal Cases 531; and see the Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard's, policy statement to Parliament, 27 July 1993, Hansard (House of Commons Debates) cols. 861-864).
43. In the judicial review proceedings brought by the applicant (Ex parte V. and T., op. cit.), the House of Lords gave consideration, inter alia, to the nature of the tariff-fixing exercise in respect of sentences of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure.
Lord Steyn held:
“The starting point must to be inquire into the nature of the power to fix a tariff which the Home Secretary exercises. Writing on behalf of the Home Secretary the Home Office explained that: 'The Home Secretary must ensure that, at all times, he acts with the same dispassionate fairness as a sentencing judge.' The comparison between the position of the Home Secretary, when he fixes a tariff representing the punitive element of the sentence, and the position of the sentencing judge is correct. In fixing a tariff the Home Secretary is carrying out, contrary to the constitutional principle of the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, a classic judicial function. Parliament entrusted the underlying statutory power, which entailed a discretion to adopt a policy and fix a tariff, to the Home Secretary. But the power to fix a tariff is nevertheless equivalent to a judge's sentencing power.”
Lord Hope held:
“But the imposition of a tariff, which is intended to fix the minimum period in custody is, in itself, the imposition of a form of punishment. This has, as Lord Mustill observed in R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Doody at p. 557A-B, the characteristics of an orthodox judicial exercise, which is directed to the circumstances of the offence and those of the offender and to what, having regard to the requirements of retribution and deterrence, is the appropriate minimum period to be spent in custody. The judge, when advising the Secretary of State about the tariff, must and does confine his attention to these matters ...
If the Secretary of State wishes to fix a tariff for the case – in order to replace the views of the judiciary with a view of his own about the length of the minimum period – he must be careful to abide by the same rules ...”
Lord Hope also commented on the imposition of a tariff on a child offender:
“A policy which ignores at any stage the child's development and progress while in custody as a factor relevant to his eventual release date is an unlawful policy. The practice of fixing the penal element as applied to adult mandatory life prisoners, which has no regard to the development and progress of the prisoner during this period, cannot be reconciled with the requirement to keep the protection and welfare of the child under review throughout the period while he is in custody.”
Lord Goff stated, inter alia:
“... if the Secretary of State implements a policy of fixing a penal element of the sentence of a mandatory prisoner pursuant to his discretionary power under section 35, he is to this extent exercising a function which is closely analogous to a sentencing function with the effect that, when doing so, he is under a duty to act under the same restraints as a judge will act when exercising the same function. In particular, should he take into account public clamour directed towards the decision in the particular case which he has under consideration, he will be having regard to an irrelevant consideration which will render the exercise of his discretion unlawful.
In so holding I wish to draw a distinction in the present context between public concern of a general nature with regard to, for example, the prevalence of certain types of offence, and the need that those who commit such offences should be duly punished; and public clamour that a particular offender whose case is under consideration should be singled out for severe punishment ...”
44. On 10 November 1997 the Secretary of State announced that, in the light of the House of Lords' decision, he would adopt the following policy in respect of fixing the tariff for young offenders convicted of murder and detained during Her Majesty's pleasure:
“I shall continue to seek the advice of the trial judge and that of the Lord Chief Justice in deciding what punishment is required in any case of a person convicted under section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. I shall then set an initial tariff with that advice, and the offender's personal circumstances, in mind; I shall continue to invite representations on the prisoner's behalf and give reasons for decisions.
Officials in my Department will receive annual reports on the progress and development of young people sentenced under section 53(1) whose initial tariff has yet to expire. Where there appears to be a case for considering a reduction in tariff, that will be brought to the attention of Ministers.
When half of the initial tariff period has expired, I, or a Minister acting on my behalf, will consider a report on the prisoner's progress and development, and invite representations on the question of tariff, with a view to determining whether the tariff period originally set is still appropriate ...”
III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL TEXTS
A. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“the Beijing Rules”)
45. The Beijing Rules were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 29 November 1985. These Rules are not binding in international law; in the Preamble, States are invited, but not required, to adopt them. They provide, as relevant:
“4. Age of criminal responsibility
4.1 In those legal systems recognising the concept of the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles, the beginning of that age shall not be fixed at too low an age level, bearing in mind the facts of emotional, mental and intellectual maturity.
Commentary
The minimum age of criminal responsibility differs widely owing to history and culture. The modern approach would be to consider whether a child can live up to the moral and psychological components of criminal responsibility; that is, whether a child, by virtue of her or his individual discernment and understanding, can be held responsible for essentially antisocial behaviour. If the age of criminal responsibility is fixed too low or if there is no lower age limit at all, the notion of criminal responsibility would become meaningless. In general, there is a close relationship between the notion of responsibility for delinquent or criminal behaviour and other social rights and responsibilities (such as marital status, civil majority, etc.).
Efforts should therefore be made to agree on a reasonable lowest age limit that is applicable internationally.
...
8. Protection of privacy
8.1 The juvenile's privacy shall be respected at all stages in order to avoid harm being caused to her or him by undue publicity or by the process of labelling.
8.2 In principle, no information that may lead to the identification of a juvenile offender shall be published.
...
17. Guiding principles in adjudication and disposition
17.1 The disposition of the competent authorities shall be guided by the following principles:
(a) The reaction taken shall always be in proportion not only to the circumstances and gravity of the offence but also to the circumstances and the needs of the child as well as to the needs of the society;
(b) Restrictions on the personal liberty of the juvenile shall be imposed only after careful consideration and shall be limited to the possible minimum;
...
(d) The well-being of the juvenile shall be the guiding factor in the consideration of her or his case.
...
Commentary
...
Rule 17.1(b) implies that strictly punitive approaches are not appropriate. Whereas in adult cases, and possibly also in cases of severe offences by juveniles, just desert and retributive sanctions might be considered to have some merit, in juvenile cases such considerations should always be outweighed by the interest of safeguarding the well-being and future of the young person.
...”
B. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
46. This treaty (hereafter “the UN Convention”), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989, has binding force under international law on the Contracting States, including all of the member States of the Council of Europe.
Article 3 § 1 of the UN Convention states:
“In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”
Article 37 (a) and (b) provides:
“States Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without the possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time ... ”
Article 40 provides, as relevant:
“1. States Parties recognise the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognised as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society.
2. To this end ... the States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that:
...
(b) Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has at least the following guarantees:
...
(vii) To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the proceedings.
3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions, specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognised as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular:
(a) The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
(b) Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for the dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected.
...”
C. Report on the United Kingdom by the Committee on the Rights of the Child
47. In its concluding observations in respect of the United Kingdom (CRC/C/15/add. 34) dated 15 February 1995, the Committee set up by the United Nations to monitor compliance with the UN Convention stated, inter alia:
“35. The Committee recommends that law reform be pursued to ensure that the system of the administration of juvenile justice is child-oriented ...
36. More specifically, the Committee recommends that serious consideration be given to raising the age of criminal responsibility throughout the areas of the United Kingdom ...”
D. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
48. The Covenant provides in Article 14 § 4, which broadly corresponds to Article 6 of the European Convention, that:
“In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation.”
E. Recommendation no. R (87) 20 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
49. The above recommendation, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 17 September 1987, states, inter alia:
“The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
...
Considering that social reactions to juvenile delinquency should take account of the personality and specific needs of minors, and that the latter need specialised interventions and, where appropriate, specialised treatment, based in particular on the principles embodied in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child;
Convinced that the penal system for minors should continue to be characterised by its objective of education and social integration ...;
...
Having regard to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules),
Recommends the governments of member states to review, if necessary, their legislation and practice with a view:
...
4. to ensuring that minors are tried more rapidly, avoiding undue delay, so as to ensure effective educational action;
5. to avoiding committing minors to adult courts, where juvenile courts exist;
...
8. to reinforcing the legal position of minors throughout the proceedings ... by recognising, inter alia:
...
the right of juveniles to respect for their private lives;
...”
IV. THE AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY IN EUROPE
50. The age of criminal responsibility is seven in Cyprus, Ireland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; eight in Scotland; thirteen in France; fourteen in Germany, Austria, Italy and many eastern European countries; fifteen in the Scandinavian countries; sixteen in Portugal, Poland and Andorra; and eighteen in Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION
51. The applicant applied to the Commission on 20 May 1994. He alleged that, in view of his young age, his trial in public in an adult Crown Court and the punitive nature of his sentence constituted violations of his right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as guaranteed under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He further complained that he had been denied a fair trial in breach of Article 6 of the Convention, that he had suffered discrimination in breach of Article 14 in that a child aged younger than ten at the time of the alleged offence would not have been held criminally responsible; that the sentence imposed on him of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure amounted to a breach of his right to liberty under Article 5; and that the fact that a government minister, rather than a judge, was responsible for setting the tariff violated his rights under Article 6. Finally, he complained under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention that he had not had the opportunity to have the continuing lawfulness of his detention examined by a judicial body, such as the Parole Board.
52. The Commission declared the application (no. 24888/94) admissible on 6 March 1998 after a hearing. In its report of 4 December 1998 (former Article 31 of the Convention), it expressed the opinion, by seventeen votes to two, that there had been no violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicant's trial; by fourteen votes to five, that there had been a violation of Article 6 in respect of the applicant's trial; by fifteen votes to four, that no separate issue arose under Article 14 in respect of the applicant's trial; by seventeen votes to two, that there had been no violation of Articles 3 or 5 § 1 in respect of the applicant's sentence; by eighteen votes to one, that there had been a violation of Article 6 in respect of the fixing of the applicant's sentence; and by eighteen votes to one, that there had been a violation of Article 5 § 4. The full text of the Commission's opinion and of the six separate opinions contained in the report is reproduced as an annex to this judgment[3].
FINAL SUBMISSIONS TO THE COURT
53. In his memorial and at the hearing, the applicant asked the Court to find violations of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of his trial and sentence, Article 6 § 1 in respect of his trial and the tariff-setting procedure, Article 5 § 1 in respect of the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure and Article 5 § 4 in respect of the absence of any judicial review of the continuing legality of his detention. He also asked the Court to award him the legal costs and expenses of the Strasbourg proceedings.
The Government asked the Court to declare the applicant's complaints regarding the trial inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies and to find that there had been no violation of the applicant's Convention rights.
THE LAW
I. ISSUES UNDER THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE TRIAL
A. The Government's preliminary objection
54. The Government submitted that the applicant's complaints under Articles 3 and 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the trial were inadmissible since he had not exhausted domestic remedies as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention, which states:
“The Court may only deal with the matter after all domestic remedies have been exhausted, according to the generally recognised rules of international law, and within a period of six months from the date on which the final decision was taken.”
The Government pointed out that no complaint had been made on behalf of the applicant, either before or during the trial or on appeal, to the effect that he had had difficulty in understanding or participating in the proceedings or that the trial in public had amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. They referred to the Privy Council's judgment in Kunnath v. the State (see paragraph 34 above) upon which, they asserted, the applicant could have relied as demonstrating that English law, like Article 6 § 1, required that a defendant be able to understand and participate in criminal proceedings against him.
55. The applicant denied that there had been available to him any effective remedy in respect of his Convention complaints. He submitted that if an application had been made to stay the criminal proceedings against him, either it would have failed because the extent of his emotional and psychological disturbance was not sufficient to satisfy the test of unfitness to plead (see paragraph 33 above) or, in the event of such an application succeeding, the prosecution would not have abandoned the case but would have sought a postponement until the applicant was fit, thus prolonging his anguish and that of his family.
56. The Commission dismissed the Government's objection at both the admissibility and merits stages of its examination, on the basis that the matters about which the applicant complained under Articles 3 and 6 § 1 resulted from the English system whereby juveniles aged ten and over with sufficient maturity to tell right from wrong are tried for murder in the Crown Court. It considered that any application on V.'s behalf claiming that this system should not be applied to him would have been unlikely to have succeeded.
57. The Court recalls that the rule of exhaustion of domestic remedies referred to in Article 35 § 1 of the Convention requires applicants first to use the remedies provided by the national legal system, thus dispensing States from answering before the European Court for their acts before they have had an opportunity to put matters right through their own legal system. The rule is based on the assumption that the domestic system provides an effective remedy in respect of the alleged breach. The burden of proof is on the Government claiming non-exhaustion to satisfy the Court that an effective remedy was available in theory and in practice at the relevant time; that is to say, that the remedy was accessible, capable of providing redress in respect of the applicant's complaints and offered reasonable prospects of success. However, once this burden of proof has been satisfied it falls to the applicant to establish that the remedy advanced by the Government was in fact exhausted or was for some reason inadequate and ineffective in the particular circumstances of the case or that there existed special circumstances absolving him or her from the requirement (see the Akdivar and Others v. Turkey judgment of 16 September 1996, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996-IV, pp. 1210-11, §§ 65-68).
58. The applicant complains under Articles 3 and 6 § 1 of the Convention, that, inter alia, in view of his youth, immaturity and state of emotional disturbance, his trial in public in an adult Crown Court constituted inhuman and degrading treatment and was unfair because he was unable fully to participate. The Government rely upon the Privy Council's judgment in Kunnath v. the State (see paragraph 34 above) as establishing the existence of an effective remedy in respect of these complaints.
59. The Court observes that in the Kunnath case the Privy Council was concerned with the very different situation of an accused person who was unable to participate in the criminal proceedings against him because they were conducted in a language which he did not understand. It notes the well-established rule of English criminal law that, in order to obtain a stay of proceedings, a defendant suffering from a disability such as mental illness must establish before a jury that he is “unfit to plead”, that is that he lacks the intellectual capacity to understand the plea of guilty or not guilty, to instruct his solicitors and to follow the evidence (see paragraph 33 above). In addition, English law attributes criminal responsibility to children between the ages of ten and fourteen, subject, at the time of the applicant's trial, to the proviso that the prosecution had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that, at the time of the alleged offence, the child understood that his behaviour was wrong as distinct from merely naughty (see paragraph 29 above). Finally, it is the rule that children over the age of ten accused of murder, manslaughter and other serious crimes are tried in public in the Crown Court (see paragraph 30 above).
60. It is not suggested that the applicant's immaturity and level of emotional disturbance were sufficient to satisfy the test of unfitness to plead. Furthermore, the prosecution were able to rebut the doli incapax presumption in respect of the applicant. However, the Government have not referred the Court to any example of a case where an accused under a disability falling short of that required to establish unfitness to plead has been able to obtain a stay of criminal proceedings on the grounds that he was incapable of fully participating in them, or where a child charged with murder or another serious offence has been able to obtain a stay on the basis that trial in public in the Crown Court would cause him detriment or suffering.
61. In these circumstances, the Court does not consider that the Government have discharged the burden upon them of proving the availability to the applicant of a remedy capable of providing redress in respect of his Convention complaints and offering reasonable prospects of success.
It follows that the Court dismisses the Government's preliminary objection.
B. Article 3 of the Convention
62. The applicant submitted that his trial at Preston Crown Court amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention, which provides:
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
63. The applicant alleged that the cumulative effect of the age of criminal responsibility, the accusatorial nature of the trial, the adult proceedings in a public court, the length of the trial, the jury of twelve adult strangers, the physical lay-out of the courtroom, the overwhelming presence of the media and public, the attacks by the public on the prison van which brought him to court and the disclosure of his identity, together with a number of other factors linked to his sentence (considered in paragraphs 93‑101 below) gave rise to a breach of Article 3.
64. He submitted that, at ten years old, the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales was low compared with almost all European countries; in the vast majority of European countries the minimum age of responsibility was thirteen or higher (see paragraph 50 above). He contended, moreover, that there was a clear developing trend in international and comparative law towards a higher age of criminal responsibility, and referred in this connection to Rule 4 of the Beijing Rules and to the recommendation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child that the United Kingdom should raise the age of criminal responsibility (see paragraphs 45 and 47 above). He accepted that it was in principle possible for a State to attribute criminal responsibility to a child as young as ten without violating that child's rights under Article 3. However, it was then incumbent on such a State to ensure that the procedures adopted for the trial and sentencing of such young children were modified to reflect their age and vulnerability.
65. The applicant reminded the Court that he was ten years old at the time he committed the offence and eleven at the time of trial, although there was psychiatric evidence that he “functioned emotionally at far younger than his chronological age” (see paragraph 11 above). In addition, he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the trial. Nonetheless, he had been subjected to the frightening and humiliating ordeal of a public trial in an adult court, which had caused him significant and lasting psychological damage (see paragraphs 17-19 above). International human rights law recognised that it was inappropriate to try juveniles in public in an adult court subject to an accusatorial procedure (see paragraphs 45-49 above).
66. The Government denied that the attribution of criminal responsibility to the applicant and his trial in public in an adult court breached his rights under Article 3.
With regard to the age of criminal responsibility, they submitted that the practice amongst the Contracting States was very varied, with ages ranging from seven in Cyprus, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, to eighteen in a number of other States. There were no international principles laying down a specific age for criminal responsibility: Article 40 § 3 of the UN Convention required States to adopt a minimum age but imposed no specific such age. The Beijing Rules relied upon by the applicant were not binding under international law; the Preamble invited States to adopt them but left it up to States to decide whether or not to do so.
67. In any event, the Government contended that the applicant was not subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment and referred to a number of modifications introduced to the trial process to protect the applicant and prevent degrading treatment. Thus, the hearing times had been adapted, the judge had made it clear that he would adjourn at any time if either of the defendants showed signs of tiredness, the defendants were allowed to relax with their parents during breaks, and were seated in the courtroom next to their social workers in a specially raised dock to enable them to see what was going on.
68. The Commission in its report observed that there had been no intention to inflict distress or humiliation on the applicant through the trial process. Moreover, whilst there was evidence that the criminal process had caused the applicant distress, there could be no doubt that a significant part of this suffering was attributable to the fact that he had committed a horrific crime and was being brought to face the consequences. In these circumstances, there had been no violation of Article 3.
69. The Court observes at the outset that Article 3 enshrines one of the most fundamental values of democratic society. It prohibits in absolute terms torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, irrespective of the victim's conduct (see the Chahal v. the United Kingdom judgment of 15 November 1996, Reports 1996-V, p. 1855, § 79). The nature of the crime committed by T. and the applicant is, therefore, immaterial to the consideration under Article 3.
70. Ill-treatment must attain a minimum level of severity if it is to fall within the scope of Article 3. The assessment of this minimum is, in the nature of things, relative; it depends on all the circumstances of the case, such as the nature and context of the treatment or punishment, the manner and method of its execution, its duration, its physical or mental effects and, in some instances, the sex, age and state of health of the victim (see, amongst many other examples, the Soering v. the United Kingdom judgment of 7 July 1989, Series A no. 161, p. 39, § 100).
71. Treatment has been held by the Court to be “inhuman” because, inter alia, it was premeditated, was applied for hours at a stretch and caused either actual bodily injury or intense physical and mental suffering, and also “degrading” because it was such as to arouse in its victims feelings of fear, anguish and inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing them. In order for a punishment or treatment associated with it to be “inhuman” or “degrading”, the suffering or humiliation involved must in any event go beyond that inevitable element of suffering or humiliation connected with a given form of legitimate treatment or punishment (ibid.). The question whether the purpose of the treatment was to humiliate or debase the victim is a further factor to be taken into account (see, for example, the Raninen v. Finland judgment of 16 December 1997, Reports 1997-VIII, pp. 2821-22, § 55), but the absence of any such purpose cannot conclusively rule out a finding of a violation of Article 3.
72. The Court has considered first whether the attribution to the applicant of criminal responsibility in respect of acts committed when he was ten years old could, in itself, give rise to a violation of Article 3. In doing so, it has regard to the principle, well established in its case-law that, since the Convention is a living instrument, it is legitimate when deciding whether a certain measure is acceptable under one of its provisions to take account of the standards prevailing amongst the member States of the Council of Europe (see the Soering judgment cited above, p. 40, § 102; and also the Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom judgment of 22 October 1981, Series A no. 45, and the X, Y and Z v. the United Kingdom judgment of 22 April 1997, Reports 1997-II).
73. In this connection, the Court observes that, at the present time, there is not yet a commonly accepted minimum age for the attribution of criminal responsibility in Europe. While most of the Contracting States have adopted an age-limit which is higher than that in force in England and Wales, other States, such as Cyprus, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, attribute criminal responsibility from a younger age. Moreover, no clear tendency can be ascertained from examination of the relevant international texts and instruments (see paragraphs 45-46 above). Rule 4 of the Beijing Rules which, although not legally binding, might provide some indication of the existence of an international consensus, does not specify the age at which criminal responsibility should be fixed but merely invites States not to fix it too low, and Article 40 § 3 (a) of the UN Convention requires States Parties to establish a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the criminal law, but contains no provision as to what that age should be.
74. The Court does not consider that there is at this stage any clear common standard amongst the member States of the Council of Europe as to the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Even if England and Wales is among the few European jurisdictions to retain a low age of criminal responsibility, the age of ten cannot be said to be so young as to differ disproportionately from the age-limit followed by other European States. The Court concludes that the attribution of criminal responsibility to the applicant does not in itself give rise to a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
75. The second part of the applicant's complaint under Article 3 concerning the trial relates to the fact that the criminal proceedings took place over three weeks in public in an adult Crown Court with attendant formality, and that, after his conviction, his name was permitted to be published.
76. The Court notes in this connection that one of the minimum guarantees provided by Article 40 § 2 (b) of the UN Convention to children accused of crimes is that they should have their privacy fully respected at all stages of the proceedings. Similarly, Rule 8 of the Beijing Rules states that “the juvenile's privacy shall be respected at all stages” and that “in principle, no information that may lead to the identification of a juvenile offender shall be published”. Finally, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recommended in 1987 that member States should review their law and practice with a view to avoiding committing minors to adult courts where juvenile courts exist and to recognising the right of juveniles to respect for their private lives (see paragraphs 45, 46 and 49 above).
77. The Court considers that the foregoing demonstrates an international tendency in favour of the protection of the privacy of juvenile defendants, and it notes in particular that the UN Convention is binding in international law on the United Kingdom in common with all the other member States of the Council of Europe (see paragraph 46 above). Moreover, Article 6 § 1 of the Convention states that “the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial ... where the interests of juveniles ... so require” (see further paragraph 81 below). However, whilst the existence of such a trend is one factor to be taken into account when assessing whether the treatment of the applicant can be regarded as acceptable under the other Articles of the Convention, it cannot be determinative of the question whether the trial in public amounted to ill-treatment attaining the minimum level of severity necessary to bring it within the scope of Article 3 (see paragraph 70 above).
78. The Court recognises that the criminal proceedings against the applicant were not motivated by any intention on the part of the State authorities to humiliate him or cause him suffering. Indeed, special measures were taken to modify the Crown Court procedure in order to attenuate the rigours of an adult trial in view of the defendants' young age (see paragraph 9 above).
79. Even if there is evidence that proceedings such as those applied to the applicant could be expected to have a harmful effect on an eleven-year-old child (see paragraphs 17-19 above), the Court considers that any proceedings or inquiry to determine the circumstances of the acts committed by T. and the applicant, whether such inquiry had been carried out in public or in private, attended by the formality of the Crown Court or informally in the youth court, would have provoked in the applicant feelings of guilt, distress, anguish and fear. The psychiatric evidence shows that before the trial commenced he was suffering from the post-traumatic effects of the offence; that he cried inconsolably and found it difficult and distressing when asked to talk about what he and T. had done to the two-year-old, and that he suffered fears of punishment and terrible retribution (see paragraphs 11-12 above). Whilst the public nature of the proceedings may have exacerbated to a certain extent these feelings in the applicant, the Court is not convinced that the particular features of the trial process as applied to him caused, to a significant degree, suffering going beyond that which would inevitably have been engendered by any attempt by the authorities to deal with the applicant following the commission by him of the offence in question (see paragraph 71 above).
80. In conclusion, therefore, the Court does not consider that the applicant's trial gave rise to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention.
C. Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
81. In addition, the applicant complained that he had been denied a fair trial in breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which states:
“In the determination of ... any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.”
82. The applicant submitted that the right to a fair trial under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention implies the right of an accused to be present so that he can participate effectively in the conduct of his case (he relied upon the Stanford v. the United Kingdom judgment of 23 February 1994, Series A no. 282-A, pp. 10-11, § 26). He referred to psychiatric and other evidence which established that the applicant was no more emotionally mature than an eight- or nine-year-old, that he did not fully attend to or understand the proceedings and that he was too traumatised and intimidated to give his own account of events, either to his lawyers, the psychiatrist who interviewed him, or to the court (see paragraphs 11-12 and 17-19 above).
83. The Government disputed that the public nature of the trial breached the applicant's rights. They emphasised that a public trial serves to protect the interests of defendants as a guarantee that proceedings will be conducted fairly and by encouraging witnesses to come forward. Moreover, hearings of grave charges should take place in open court because of the legitimate public interest in knowing what has occurred and why, and to maintain confidence in the administration of justice. They pointed out that the applicant was represented by highly experienced leading counsel and that the procedure was modified as far as possible to facilitate his understanding and participation (see paragraph 9 above).
84. The Commission expressed the view that where a child was faced with a criminal charge and the domestic system required a fact-finding procedure with a view to establishing guilt, it was essential that the child's age, level of maturity and intellectual and emotional capacities be taken into account in the procedures followed. It considered that the public trial process in an adult court with attendant publicity must be regarded in the case of an eleven-year-old child as a severely intimidating procedure and concluded that, having regard to the applicant's age, the application of the full rigours of an adult, public trial deprived him of the opportunity to participate effectively in the determination of the criminal charges against him, in breach of Article 6 § 1.
85. The Court notes that Article 6, read as a whole, guarantees the right of an accused to participate effectively in his criminal trial (see the Stanford judgment cited above, loc. cit.).
It has not until the present time been called upon to consider how this Article 6 § 1 guarantee applies to criminal proceedings against children, and in particular whether procedures which are generally considered to safeguard the rights of adults on trial, such as publicity, should be abrogated in respect of children in order to promote their understanding and participation (but see the Nortier v. the Netherlands judgment of 24 August 1993, Series A no. 267, and particularly the separate opinions annexed thereto).
86. The Court recalls its above findings that there is not at this stage any clear common standard amongst the member States of the Council of Europe as to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and that the attribution of criminal responsibility to the applicant does not in itself give rise to a breach of Article 3 of the Convention (see paragraph 74 above). Likewise, it cannot be said that the trial on criminal charges of a child, even one as young as eleven, as such violates the fair trial guarantee under Article 6 § 1. The Court does, however, agree with the Commission that it is essential that a child charged with an offence is dealt with in a manner which takes full account of his age, level of maturity and intellectual and emotional capacities, and that steps are taken to promote his ability to understand and participate in the proceedings.
87. It follows that, in respect of a young child charged with a grave offence attracting high levels of media and public interest, it would be necessary to conduct the hearing in such a way as to reduce as far as possible his or her feelings of intimidation and inhibition. In this connection it is noteworthy that in England and Wales children charged with less serious crimes are dealt with in special youth courts, from which the general public is excluded and in relation to which there are imposed automatic reporting restrictions on the media (see paragraphs 30 and 31 above). Moreover, the Court has already referred to the international tendency towards the protection of the privacy of child defendants (see paragraph 77 above). It has considered carefully the Government's argument that public trials serve the general interest in the open administration of justice (see paragraph 83 above), and observes that, where appropriate in view of the age and other characteristics of the child and the circumstances surrounding the criminal proceedings, this general interest could be satisfied by a modified procedure providing for selected attendance rights and judicious reporting.
88. The Court notes that the applicant's trial took place over three weeks in public in the Crown Court. Special measures were taken in view of the applicant's young age and to promote his understanding of the proceedings: for example, he had the trial procedure explained to him and was taken to see the courtroom in advance, and the hearing times were shortened so as not to tire the defendants excessively. Nonetheless, the formality and ritual of the Crown Court must at times have seemed incomprehensible and intimidating for a child of eleven, and there is evidence that certain of the modifications to the courtroom, in particular the raised dock which was designed to enable the defendants to see what was going on, had the effect of increasing the applicant's sense of discomfort during the trial, since he felt exposed to the scrutiny of the press and public. The trial generated extremely high levels of press and public interest, both inside and outside the courtroom, to the extent that the judge in his summing-up referred to the problems caused to witnesses by the blaze of publicity and asked the jury to take this into account when assessing their evidence (see paragraph 14 above).
89. There is considerable psychiatric evidence relating to the applicant's ability to participate in the proceedings. Thus, Dr Susan Bailey gave evidence during the trial in November 1993 that on each occasion when she had seen the applicant prior to the trial he had cried inconsolably and had not been able to talk about the circumstances of the offence in any useful way (see paragraph 12 above). Dr Bentovim similarly found in his report of September 1993 that the applicant was suffering from post-traumatic effects and found it very difficult and distressing to think or talk about the events in question, making it impossible to ascertain many aspects (see paragraph 11 above). Subsequent to the trial, in January 1995, the applicant told Dr Bentovim that he had been terrified of being looked at in court and had frequently found himself worrying what people were thinking about him. He had not been able to pay attention to the proceedings and had spent time counting in his head or making shapes with his shoes. Dr Bentovim considered that, in view of V.'s immaturity, it was “very doubtful” that he understood the situation and was able to give informed instruction to his lawyers (see paragraph 17 above). The report of Dr Bailey dated November 1997 also described the applicant's attempts to distract himself during the trial, his inability to listen to what was said and the distress caused to him by the public nature of the proceedings (see paragraph 18 above).
90. In such circumstances the Court does not consider that it was sufficient for the purposes of Article 6 § 1 that the applicant was represented by skilled and experienced lawyers. This case is different from that of Stanford (cited in paragraph 82 above), where the Court found no violation arising from the fact that the accused could not hear some of the evidence given at trial, in view of the fact that his counsel, who could hear all that was said and was able to take his client's instructions at all times, chose for tactical reasons not to request that the accused be seated closer to the witnesses. Here, although the applicant's legal representatives were seated, as the Government put it, “within whispering distance”, it is highly unlikely that the applicant would have felt sufficiently uninhibited, in the tense courtroom and under public scrutiny, to have consulted with them during the trial or, indeed, that, given his immaturity and his disturbed emotional state, he would have been capable outside the courtroom of cooperating with his lawyers and giving them information for the purposes of his defence.
91. In conclusion, the Court considers that the applicant was unable to participate effectively in the criminal proceedings against him and was, in consequence, denied a fair hearing in breach of Article 6 § 1.
D. Articles 6 § 1 and 14 of the Convention taken together
92. Before the Commission the applicant complained under Articles 6 § 1 and 14 of the Convention taken together that the attribution to him of criminal responsibility discriminated against him unfairly in comparison to a child aged younger than ten at the time of committing similar acts. However, he did not maintain this complaint before the Court, which sees no reason of its own motion to examine the issues under Article 14.
In conclusion, the Court does not consider it necessary to examine this complaint.
II. ISSUES UNDER THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE SENTENCE
A. Article 3 of the Convention
93. The applicant argued that, in view of his age at the time of the offence, the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure was severely disproportionate and in breach of Article 3 of the Convention (see paragraph 62 above).
He relied on the element of retribution inherent in the tariff approach, on the fact that the Home Secretary had initially set a tariff of fifteen years and on the fact that, although this decision had been quashed by the House of Lords (see paragraph 26 above), no new, lower tariff had yet been set. He had thus been exposed to executive control and to a high level of delay and uncertainty regarding his future. If a lower tariff were not set, he risked transfer to a Young Offenders' Institution at the age of eighteen, and, at twenty-one, to an adult prison. Moreover, he would be subject to recall to prison for the rest of his life (see paragraphs 36 and 39 above).
94. The Government submitted that the applicant had been convicted of an especially horrible murder and that he could not complain that he would be detained until it was safe to release him into the community, or that he might be recalled to prison if necessary for the protection of the public. It was true that during the tariff period the applicant was detained as punishment, and not solely for the purposes of public protection. However, neither Article 3 of the Convention nor Article 37 of the UN Convention prohibited the punishment of a young person for a criminal offence. They pointed out that the applicant was detained in an institution where he received education and enjoyed facilities appropriate to his age, that he had made no complaint about his present conditions of detention, and that any complaint relating to his possible transfer to a Young Offenders' Institution or to a prison was entirely speculative.
95. The Commission agreed with the Government. It referred to the Hussain v. the United Kingdom judgment of 21 February 1996 (Reports 1996-I), where the Court held that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure was primarily preventative, attracting the guarantees of Article 5 § 4 (see paragraphs 115 and 119 below). It could not, therefore, be said that the applicant had forfeited his liberty for life or that his detention gave rise to a violation of Article 3.
96. The Court recalls that following the applicant's conviction for murder in November 1993 he automatically became subject to the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure. According to English law and practice, juveniles sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure must initially serve a period of detention, “the tariff”, to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. Thereafter it is legitimate to continue to detain the offender only if this appears to be necessary for the protection of the public (see paragraphs 40-42 above and the Hussain judgment cited above, pp. 269-70, § 54). The applicant's tariff was initially fixed at fifteen years by the Home Secretary on 22 July 1994. However, this decision was quashed by the House of Lords on 12 June 1997 and at the date of adoption of the present judgment no new tariff has been set. The applicant makes no complaint about his current conditions of detention, although he does contend that his transfer at the age of eighteen to a Young Offenders' Institution and thereafter to an adult prison might raise issues under Article 3.
97. In assessing whether the above facts constitute ill-treatment of sufficient severity to violate Article 3 (see paragraph 70 above), the Court has regard to the fact that Article 37 of the UN Convention prohibits life imprisonment without the possibility of release in respect of offences committed by persons below the age of eighteen and provides that the detention of a child “shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”, and that Rule 17.1(b) of the Beijing Rules recommends that “[r]estrictions on the personal liberty of the juvenile shall ... be limited to the possible minimum” (see paragraphs 45-46 above).
98. The Court recalls that States have a duty under the Convention to take measures for the protection of the public from violent crime (see, for example, the A. v. the United Kingdom judgment of 23 September 1998, Reports 1998-VI, p. 2699, § 22, and the Osman v. the United Kingdom judgment of 28 October 1998, Reports 1998-VIII, p. 3159, § 115). It does not consider that the punitive element inherent in the tariff approach itself gives rise to a breach of Article 3, or that the Convention prohibits States from subjecting a child or young person convicted of a serious crime to an indeterminate sentence allowing for the offender's continued detention or recall to detention following release where necessary for the protection of the public (see the Hussain judgment cited above, p. 269, § 53).
99. The applicant has not yet reached the stage in his sentence where he is able to have the continued lawfulness of his detention reviewed with regard to the question of dangerousness and, although he has not yet been notified of any new tariff, it can be assumed that he is currently detained for the purposes of retribution and deterrence. Until a new tariff has been set, it is not possible to draw any conclusions regarding the length of punitive detention to be served by the applicant. At the time of adoption of the present judgment he has been detained for six years since his conviction in November 1993. The Court does not consider that, in all the circumstances of the case including the applicant's age and his conditions of detention, a period of punitive detention of this length can be said to amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
100. Finally, the Court observes that it cannot be excluded, particularly in relation to a child as young as the applicant at the time of his conviction, that an unjustifiable and persistent failure to fix a tariff, leaving the detainee in uncertainty over many years as to his future, might also give rise to an issue under Article 3. In the present case, however, in view of the relatively short period of time during which no tariff has been in force and the need to seek the views, inter alia, of both the applicant and T. (see paragraph 28 above), no such issue arises.
101. It follows that there has been no violation of Article 3 in respect of the applicant's sentence.
B. Article 5 § 1 of the Convention
102. The applicant alleged that the sentence of detention imposed upon him was unlawful, in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention, which provides:
“Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
(a) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a competent court;
...”
He contended that it was arbitrary to impose the same sentence – detention during Her Majesty's pleasure – on all young offenders convicted of murder, irrespective of their individual circumstances and needs. In this connection he referred to Article 37(b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Rules 16 and 17.1(a) and (b) of the Beijing Rules (see paragraphs 45-46 above) which, inter alia, require that sentences of detention imposed on children be as short as possible and that sentencers have regard, as the guiding factor, to the well-being of the child.
103. The Government, with whom the Commission agreed, denied that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure was unlawful or arbitrary, and pointed out that its purpose was to enable consideration to be given to the specific circumstances of the applicant's case, so that he would be detained only for so long as was necessary with regard to the need for punishment, rehabilitation and the protection of the community.
104. The Court observes that the applicant was detained following conviction by a competent court; in other words, his detention falls within the scope of Article 5 § 1 (a) of the Convention. There can be no question but that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure is lawful under English law and was imposed in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law. Moreover, it cannot be said that the applicant's detention is not in conformity with the purposes of the deprivation of liberty permitted by Article 5 § 1 (a), so as to be arbitrary (see the Weeks v. the United Kingdom judgment of 2 March 1987, Series A no. 114, p. 23, § 42; and cf. the Hussain judgment cited above, p. 269, § 53, where the Court referred to the question of the lifelong detention of a juvenile as possibly raising an issue under Article 3, but not Article 5 § 1).
105. It follows that there has been no violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention in the present case.
C. Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
106. The applicant claimed that the fact that the tariff period was fixed by the Home Secretary rather than a tribunal meeting the requirements of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see paragraph 81 above) gave rise to a violation of that provision.
1. Applicability of Article 6 § 1
107. The applicant, with whom the Commission agreed, submitted that the fixing of the tariff amounted to a sentencing exercise and, as such, should attract the safeguards of Article 6 § 1. The tariff determined both the maximum period of detention to be served for the purposes of punishment and deterrence and the minimum period to be served irrespective of dangerousness. He pointed out that in the judicial review proceedings (see paragraphs 26 and 43 above) a clear majority of judges in the Court of Appeal and House of Lords had characterised the Home Secretary's role in fixing the tariff as similar to that performed by a judge in sentencing. He referred in addition to the decision of the Irish Supreme Court in State v. O'Brien ([1973] Irish Reports 50), that a similar provision as applied in Ireland was unconstitutional because it entrusted the executive and not the judiciary with a sentencing function in respect of children.
108. The Government contended that Article 6 § 1 was not applicable. They reasoned that, upon being convicted of murder, the applicant was automatically subject to the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure (see paragraph 36 above), and that the fixing of the tariff was merely an aspect of the administration of the sentence already imposed by the court.
109. The Court recalls that Article 6 § 1 guarantees certain rights in respect of the “determination of ... any criminal charge ...”. In criminal matters, it is clear that Article 6 § 1 covers the whole of the proceedings in issue, including appeal proceedings and the determination of sentence (see, for example, the Eckle v. Germany judgment of 15 July 1982, Series A no. 51, pp. 34-35, §§ 76-77). The Court must determine whether the tariff-setting procedure in respect of young offenders detained during Her Majesty's pleasure amounts to the fixing of a sentence and falls within the scope of Article 6 § 1.
110. In contrast to the mandatory life sentence imposed on adults convicted of murder which constitutes punishment for life, the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure is open-ended. As previously mentioned, a period of detention, “the tariff”, is served to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence, and thereafter it is legitimate to continue to detain the offender only if this appears to be necessary for the protection of the public (see paragraphs 40-42 above and the Hussain judgment cited above, pp. 269-70, § 54; cf. the Wynne v. the United Kingdom judgment of 18 July 1994, Series A no. 294-A, pp. 14-15, § 35). Where a juvenile sentenced to detention during Her Majesty's pleasure is not perceived to be dangerous, therefore, the tariff represents the maximum period of detention which he can be required to serve.
111. The Court considers that it follows from the foregoing, as was recognised by the House of Lords in the judicial review proceedings brought by the applicant (see paragraph 43 above), that the fixing of the tariff amounts to a sentencing exercise. Article 6 § 1 is, accordingly, applicable to this procedure.
2. Compliance with Article 6 § 1
112. Both the applicant and the Commission were of the view that the tariff-fixing procedure had failed to comply with Article 6 § 1 in that the decision-maker was the Home Secretary rather than a court or tribunal independent of the executive. In addition the applicant pointed out that there had been no hearing and no opportunity for him to call psychiatric or other evidence, and that the Home Secretary retained a discretion to decide how much of the material before him he disclosed to the applicant.
113. The Government submitted that there were adequate safeguards to ensure that the procedure for the setting of the tariff was fair. Thus, the Secretary of State sought the views of the trial judge and the Lord Chief Justice, informed the applicant of the judges' views, and invited him to make representations as to the appropriate length of the tariff. The Secretary of State informed the applicant of the tariff fixed, and gave reasons in support of his decision. It was then open to the applicant to challenge the decision by way of judicial review.
114. The Court notes that Article 6 § 1 guarantees, inter alia, “a fair ... hearing ... by an independent and impartial tribunal ...”. “Independent” in this context means independent of the parties to the case and also of the executive (see, amongst many other authorities, the Ringeisen v. Austria judgment of 16 July 1971, Series A no. 13, p. 39, § 95). The Home Secretary, who set the applicant's tariff, was clearly not independent of the executive, and it follows that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1.
D. Article 5 § 4 of the Convention
115. Finally, the applicant complained that since his conviction he had had no opportunity to have the continued lawfulness of his detention determined by a judicial body. He alleged a violation of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention, which states:
“Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention is not lawful.”
116. The applicant adopted the opinion of the Commission, which stated (in paragraph 143 of its report), that given that the only justification for an indeterminate sentence could be the protection of the public, and having regard to the fact that children aged eleven could be expected to develop physically, intellectually and emotionally, only a short tariff could be compatible with Article 5 § 4. It could not be excluded that after several years a young offender who had gained in maturity could claim that new issues had arisen affecting the lawfulness of his continued detention. Since the applicant had been detained without review following his conviction in November 1993, there had been a violation of Article 5 § 4.
117. The Government submitted that there had been judicial review of the lawfulness of the detention in that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure was imposed by the trial court following the applicant's conviction for murder. After the expiry of the tariff a judicial body, the Parole Board, would decide on release, in compliance with Article 5 § 4 (see paragraph 38 above). However, until the tariff period had been served, Article 5 § 4 did not confer any right to periodic review because the tariff period primarily depended on the circumstances of the offence and the consequential requirements of retribution and deterrence, factors which were not subject to change over time.
118. The Court observes at the outset that it is not its task, within the context of Article 5 of the Convention, to pronounce upon the appropriate length of detention or other sentence which should be served by a person after conviction by a competent court (see the Weeks judgment cited above, p. 26, § 50, and also paragraph 104 above). Given that the fixing of a tariff in respect of a juvenile detained during Her Majesty's pleasure amounts to the determination of a sentence (see paragraph 111 above), the Court will limit its consideration to the question whether the applicant should be able to take proceedings to have the lawfulness of his continued detention decided by a court satisfying the requirements of Article 5 § 4.
119. The Court recalls that where a national court, after convicting a person of a criminal offence, imposes a fixed sentence of imprisonment for the purposes of punishment, the supervision required by Article 5 § 4 is incorporated in that court decision (see the De Wilde, Ooms and Versyp v. Belgium judgment of 18 June 1971, Series A no. 12, pp. 40-41, § 76, and the Wynne judgment cited above, p. 15, § 36). This is not the case, however, in respect of any ensuing period of detention in which new issues affecting the lawfulness of the detention may arise (see the Weeks judgment cited above, p. 28, § 56, and the Thynne, Wilson and Gunnell v. the United Kingdom judgment of 25 October 1990, Series A no. 190-A, pp. 26-27, § 68). Thus, in the Hussain judgment (op. cit., pp. 269-70, § 54), the Court decided in respect of a young offender detained during Her Majesty's pleasure that, after the expiry of the tariff period, Article 5 § 4 required that he should be able periodically to challenge the continuing legality of his detention since its only justification could be dangerousness, a characteristic subject to change. In the Hussain case the Court was not called upon to consider the position under Article 5 § 4 prior to the expiry of the tariff (op. cit., p. 266, § 44).
120. The Court has already determined that the failure to have the applicant's tariff set by an independent tribunal within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 gives rise to a violation of that provision (see paragraph 114 above). Accordingly, given that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure is indeterminate and that the tariff was initially set by the Home Secretary rather than the sentencing judge, it cannot be said that the supervision required by Article 5 § 4 was incorporated in the trial court's sentence (cf. the De Wilde, Ooms and Versyp judgment and the Wynne judgment cited in paragraph 119 above).
121. Moreover, the Home Secretary's decision setting the tariff was quashed by the House of Lords on 12 June 1997 and no new tariff has since been substituted. This failure to set a new tariff means that the applicant's entitlement to access to a tribunal for periodic review of the continuing lawfulness of his detention remains inchoate.
122. It follows that the applicant has been deprived, since his conviction in November 1993, of the opportunity to have the lawfulness of his detention reviewed by a judicial body in accordance with Article 5 § 4. Against this background, the Court finds a violation of that Article.
III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
123. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
“If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.”
A. Damage
124. The applicant did not make any claim for pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage.
B. Costs and expenses
125. In respect of the costs and expenses of the Strasbourg proceedings, the applicant claimed solicitors' costs of 7,796.34 pounds sterling (GBP) exclusive of value-added tax (VAT) and barristers' fees totalling GBP 30,000 plus VAT. In addition he claimed costs and expenses incurred in relation to the hearing before the Court of GBP 4,580.
126. The Government stated that the solicitors' costs were reasonable but submitted that the barristers' fees should be reduced to GBP 21,000.
127. The Court considers that the total costs and expenses claimed by the applicant, GBP 42,376.34, are not excessive in view of the number and difficulty of the issues in the case. However, since the applicant was not able to establish violations of Articles 3 and 5 § 1 of the Convention, it reduces the award to GBP 32,000 (see, for example, the Steel and Others v. the United Kingdom judgment of 23 September 1998, Reports 1998-VII, p. 2763, § 125, and the Osman judgment cited above, p. 3173, § 168), together with any VAT which may be payable, but less the amounts already paid by way of legal aid by the Council of Europe.
C. Default interest
128. According to the information available to the Court, the statutory rate of interest applicable in England and Wales at the date of adoption of the present judgment is 7.5% per annum.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT
1. Dismisses unanimously the Government's preliminary objection;
2. Holds by twelve votes to five that there has been no violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicant's trial;
3. Holds by sixteen votes to one that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in respect of the applicant's trial;
4. Holds unanimously that it is not necessary to examine the complaint under Articles 6 § 1 and 14 of the Convention taken together;
5. Holds by ten votes to seven that there has been no violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicant's sentence;
6. Holds unanimously that there has been no violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention;
7. Holds unanimously that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in respect of the setting of the applicant's tariff;
8. Holds unanimously that there has been a violation of Article 5 § 4 of the Convention;
9. Holds unanimously
(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, for costs and expenses, 32,000 (thirty-two thousand) pounds sterling, together with any value-added tax that may be chargeable, less 32,405 (thirty-two thousand four hundred and five) French francs to be converted into pounds sterling at the rate applicable on the date of delivery of the present judgment;
(b) that simple interest at an annual rate of 7.5% shall be payable from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement.
Done in English and in French, and delivered at a public hearing in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 16 December 1999.
Luzius Wildhaber
President
Paul Mahoney
Deputy Registrar
In accordance with Article 45 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 74 § 2 of the Rules of Court, the following separate opinions are annexed to this judgment:
(a) concurring opinion of Lord Reed;
(b) partly dissenting opinion of Mr Rozakis and Mr Costa;
(c) joint partly dissenting opinion of Mr Pastor Ridruejo, Mr Ress, Mr Makarczyk, Mrs Tulkens and Mr Butkevych;
(d) partly dissenting opinion of Mr Baka.
L.W.
P.J.M.
CONCURRING OPINION OF Lord REED
I have voted with the majority of the Court in relation to each of the issues raised in this case, and wish only to add my own observations in relation to the issues raised under Articles 3 and 6 of the Convention.
The murder of James Bulger by the applicant and T. (the applicant in case no. 24724/94) was an appalling act. James was two years old. The grief of his parents, who took part in the proceedings before the Court, is inexpressible. The fact that the applicant and T. were themselves only ten years old at the time of the murder makes it particularly disturbing. Other aspects of the murder, such as the abduction of James from his mother, the brutal nature of the killing, and the severing of James's body, provoke shock and revulsion. The video pictures which showed the applicant and T. abducting James, and leading this defenceless little boy to his death, brought the events before his parents, and before the public, with a haunting clarity. In these circumstances it is unsurprising that the case has given rise to great public concern and has received a high level of publicity.
However dreadful a crime may be, the person accused of committing it has certain rights, including the right to a fair trial. That right is protected by English law, and it is also guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention. Article 3 of the Convention in addition requires that no person – even someone accused or convicted of a dreadful crime – shall be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment. The requirements of the Convention have long been accepted by the United Kingdom. The issue which this Court has to determine is whether the applicant has been treated in accordance with those requirements.
Children who commit crimes present a problem to any system of criminal justice, because they are less mature than adults. Even children who may appear to be lacking in innocence or vulnerability are nevertheless evolving, psychologically as well as physically, towards the maturity of adulthood. One consequent difficulty lies in deciding whether children are sufficiently mature to be held responsible for their actions under the criminal law. If children are held criminally responsible, they then have to be tried; but ordinary trial procedure will not be appropriate if a child is too immature for such procedure to provide him with a fair trial. If children are tried and convicted, they then have to be sentenced; but it will not be appropriate to sentence them in the same way as an adult, if their immaturity has the consequence that they were less culpable or that reformative measures are more likely to be effective. All of these problematical aspects of the treatment of children in the criminal justice system – the age of responsibility, the trial procedure and sentencing – are raised in the present case.
I propose to consider first the issues arising under Article 3 and Article 6 § 1 in relation to the trial, before considering the issues arising in relation to the sentencing process.
As the Court has observed, Article 3 of the Convention enshrines one of the most fundamental values of democratic society. It is for that reason that it constitutes an absolute prohibition: “no one” is to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment. The revulsion provoked by James's murder cannot therefore justify any inhuman or degrading treatment of those responsible for his death. The only issue under Article 3 is whether the treatment of the applicant was in fact inhuman or degrading.
The expressions “inhuman” and “degrading” in Article 3 of the Convention should be given their ordinary meaning (see the Campbell and Cosans v. the United Kingdom judgment of 25 February 1982, Series A no. 48, pp. 13-14, § 30). Giving the expressions their ordinary meaning, an assessment of whether a given form of treatment is inhuman or degrading depends upon the application of standards. Since the Convention is a living instrument, the relevant standards must be those prevailing from time to time amongst the member States of the Council of Europe. This is in accordance with the general principle, well established in the Court's case-law, that it is legitimate when deciding whether a certain measure is acceptable under one of the provisions of the Convention to take account of the standards prevailing amongst the member States.
In order for treatment to fall within the scope of Article 3, it must be “ill-treatment” which attains a minimum level of severity (see, for example, the Raninen v. Finland judgment of 16 December 1997, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-VIII, pp. 2821-22; § 55). The assessment of this minimum depends on all the circumstances of the case (ibid). In addition to the objective nature of the treatment and its effects on the person subjected to it, the purpose of the authority which was responsible for the treatment is also relevant in determining whether it is prohibited by Article 3 (see, for example, the Abdulaziz, Cabales and Balkandali v. the United Kingdom judgment of 28 May 1985, Series A no. 94, p. 42, § 91; the Herczegfalvy v. Austria judgment of 24 September 1992, Series A no. 244, pp. 25-26, § 82; and the Raninen judgment cited above, loc. cit.). In order for treatment to be inhuman or degrading, the suffering or humiliation involved must in any event go beyond that inevitable element of suffering or humiliation connected with a given form of legitimate treatment (see the Soering v. the United Kingdom judgment of 7 July 1989, Series A no. 161, p. 39, § 100).
In submitting that the trial amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment, the applicant relied particularly upon the age of criminal responsibility, the fact that the trial was held in public in the Crown Court over a period of three weeks and the fact that his name was permitted to be published after his conviction, together with a number of factors relating to his sentence which I shall consider below.
The effect upon a child of attributing criminal responsibility to him will depend primarily upon the nature of the trial procedure and sentences applicable to such a child under domestic law. The attribution of criminal responsibility cannot in itself give rise to an issue under Article 3 of the Convention unless it inevitably constitutes or results in ill-treatment attaining the necessary minimum level of severity. That matter has to be considered in accordance with prevailing standards amongst the member States.
Although in most of the member States criminal responsibility would not be attributed to a child of ten, there is no common approach to the attribution of criminal responsibility. The practice is very varied, with ages ranging from seven in a number of member States to eighteen in a number of others. Nor does any specific guidance emerge from the various international texts and instruments to which the Court was referred. In those circumstances, although the minimum age in England and Wales is towards the lower end of the range, it cannot be said to be out of line with any prevailing standard. Moreover, the purpose of attributing criminal responsibility to a child of a given age is not to cause that child suffering or humiliation, but to reflect a consensus in the society in question as to the appropriate age at which a child is sufficiently mature to be held criminally responsible for his or her conduct. Since perceptions of childhood reflect social, cultural and historical circumstances, and are subject to change over time, it is unsurprising that different States should have different ages of responsibility. So far as England and Wales are concerned, the present age of criminal responsibility was fixed by Parliament in 1963 and was endorsed by the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, in its Report on Juvenile Offending, in 1993. It accordingly enjoys democratic legitimacy. In addition, although the attribution of criminal responsibility to a child of ten will have consequences which may cause distress to the child concerned, it is necessary to bear in mind that the treatment of a child who has behaved in the same way in a State with a higher age of criminal responsibility may also cause distress. Whether a child who has intentionally killed another child is regarded as criminally responsible or not, any society is likely to require some form of inquiry to establish whether the child has in fact behaved in the manner alleged and, if so, some form of measures for the protection of the public and the care and treatment of the child in question. For all these reasons, I conclude that the attribution of criminal responsibility to the applicant did not in itself amount to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.
The next question is whether the trial of the applicant in public in the Crown Court amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment. Any trial is liable to cause mental suffering and feelings of humiliation to be experienced by the person on trial. Nevertheless, a trial could not ordinarily be described as inhuman or degrading treatment since it is a legitimate form of procedure according to prevailing standards. This is so even if the trial is lengthy and is held in public with a high level of formality. The critical issue is therefore whether the age of the applicant rendered such a trial inhuman or degrading.
If it was legitimate under Article 3 of the Convention to attribute criminal responsibility to the applicant, it follows that a trial was also legitimate under Article 3, notwithstanding that any form of trial would be liable to cause distress to the child involved. The form of trial procedure applied to the applicant was that which was applicable in England and Wales to any child accused of such a serious offence, under legislation enacted by Parliament in 1980. Although the length of the trial was relied on by the applicant, there was no suggestion that it was longer than was necessary to establish the facts in question. It has to be borne in mind that the applicant pleaded not guilty and benefited from a presumption of innocence, and that his guilt had to be established by leading sufficient evidence to satisfy the jury beyond reasonable doubt. The fact that the trial was held in public appears to me to raise a more serious issue. For the trial of an eleven-year-old child to be open to the general public and to be reported without restriction is regarded as generally inappropriate in the United Kingdom as in other member States. For the trial to take place in a court packed with members of the public and representatives of the media, and with a hostile crowd and numerous photographers outside, would naturally give rise to particular concern. Nevertheless, it has to be borne in mind that whether a legal system requires a child to be tried in public or in private reflects the way in which a balance is drawn between countervailing, and incommensurable, values. On the one hand, the importance attached to safeguarding the well-being and future of young children who have offended, and promoting their rehabilitation and reintegration into society, point towards holding their trials in private. On the other hand, the public interest (and that of the defendant) in the open administration of justice, and the public interest in freedom of information, point towards holding trials in public. The balance struck by Parliament between these competing considerations required the great majority of child offenders to be tried in youth courts, from which the general public are excluded and in which there are automatic restrictions on publicity, but required children accused of the most serious offences to be tried in public in the Crown Court. That being the system in place, an exceptionally dreadful case, such as that of James's murder, would inevitably attract the public and the media in large numbers. Although the balance, as I have described it, was struck differently in England and Wales from in most of the member States, and as a consequence the treatment in England and Wales of children accused of very serious offences was in that respect less weighted towards their welfare than the treatment of such children in most other member States, that was not because of any indifference towards their welfare, or any lack of respect for human dignity, let alone any intention to cause suffering or humiliation; but rather because the other important considerations which I have mentioned were considered on balance to require a public trial in such cases. In these circumstances, it does not appear to me that the holding of a public trial, even under the conditions which prevailed in the present case, can fairly be described as “inhuman” or “degrading”. It is also necessary to remember that, although there is evidence (which I discuss later) that the applicant experienced considerable distress, the evidence indicates that that distress is not solely attributable to the public nature of the trial, but was also the result of guilt, remorse and anxiety about the inevitable consequences of his involvement in James's murder. In all these circumstances, the trial procedure cannot in my opinion properly be described as “inhuman” or “degrading” according to prevailing standards.
The disclosure of the applicant's identity, following his conviction, was in accordance with English law and practice in such circumstances. It was submitted on behalf of the applicant that such disclosure was inappropriate having regard to a number of international texts, including in particular Article 40 § 2 (b) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It does not appear to me to be necessary to determine whether the disclosure was consistent with Article 40 § 2 (b) (the interpretation of which was in dispute before the Court) or the other texts in question, since any distress or humiliation attributable to that specific aspect of the applicant's treatment cannot in any event, in my opinion, be regarded as attaining the minimum level of severity necessary, according to prevailing standards, to bring it within the scope of Article 3 of the Convention.
I consider next the issues arising under Article 6 § 1 in relation to the trial. The applicant relied on the principle that the right to a fair trial under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention includes the right of the accused to participate effectively in the conduct of his case (see the Stanford v. the United Kingdom judgment of 23 February 1994, Series A no. 282-A, pp. 10-11, § 26). It was submitted that the applicant was unable to understand the proceedings, or to give his own account of events to his lawyers or to the court, principally because the trial was held under conditions which were inappropriate, in a variety of respects, for a child of that age. It should be understood that this complaint does not turn on the question whether the applicant was guilty or innocent: it is obviously essential that all children accused of such a serious offence should be tried under conditions which give them an adequate opportunity to establish their innocence, or alternatively to establish any mitigating circumstances.
The Court has rarely been required to consider the application of Article 6 to cases involving children accused of criminal offences. Article 6 itself, however, permits the exclusion of the public from all or part of a trial where the interests of juveniles so require, derogating from the general principle that trials must be held in public, and recognising that the interests of the child on trial are a relevant and important consideration. There is on the other hand nothing in Article 6 to indicate that there can be any derogation, in cases involving children, from the principle that the trial process should provide for the effective participation of the accused, who must be able to follow the proceedings and to give instructions where necessary to his lawyer. In order for that principle to be respected in cases involving children, however, the conditions under which the trial is held (including the procedure followed) have to be such as will permit such participation, taking into account the age, level of maturity and intellectual and emotional capacity of the child concerned. This interpretation of Article 6 is also in accordance with developments in international law: a number of relevant texts, including treaties accepted as binding by the United Kingdom and other member States (such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 40, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 14 § 4), require child offenders to be treated in a manner which takes account of their age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation.
There are thus special considerations relevant to cases where children are accused of criminal offences. There are, however, different ways in which they can be taken into account. In practice, there is a wide variation in the ways in which different member States organise their systems of criminal justice so as to protect the interests of the individual child and the wider public interest. Even within any particular system, it may well be difficult to decide in an individual case what measures are appropriate, bearing in mind such factors as the maturity of the child in question, his position in relation to the charge against him and the type of sanction which may be imposed. In these circumstances, Article 6 must in my opinion be interpreted as giving the authorities of member States a margin of appreciation as to their procedure for dealing with children accused of crime (as was recognised in the Nortier v. the Netherlands judgment of 24 August 1993, Series A no. 267, particularly in the separate opinions).
Nevertheless, however wide the margin of appreciation may be, it is paramount that an accused, whether an adult or a child, should receive a fair trial. If a child is to be held accountable to the criminal law, then he must enjoy the same right as an adult to understand what is happening at the trial and to play an active role in his defence. It has to be acknowledged that there are inevitable limitations to the participation which can be expected of a child in legal proceedings, whatever form those proceedings may take, since the understanding and maturity of a child are unlikely to equal those of an adult. Nevertheless, the trial process must enable him to participate to the extent which could reasonably be expected of a child.
In the present case, English law required that the applicant be tried in the Crown Court, which is also the court used for the trial of adults accused of serious offences. The setting was highly formal. The applicant and T. sat in a specially raised dock in the centre of the court, separated from their parents. The judge was raised on a dais. There was a jury of twelve adults. The judge and counsel wore the customary court dress. The court itself appears to have been a large and imposing room. The public benches were filled with members of the public and representatives of the media. This was in my opinion a setting which, in itself, a child of eleven would be likely to find intimidating, whether he was involved as a witness or as a defendant.
The problem was, however, exacerbated in the present case by the charged atmosphere in which the trial was conducted. The date and location of the trial being a matter of public knowledge, and the case being one of exceptional notoriety, hostile crowds gathered outside the court and behaved in an intimidating manner, on one occasion attacking the van in which the applicant was being transported. I also note that, in his summing-up, the trial judge instructed the jury to bear in mind, in assessing the evidence, that witnesses arrived in court in a blaze of publicity and that many faced a bevy of photographers; that they had to give evidence in a large court packed with people; and that not surprisingly several of them were overcome with emotion and some had difficulty in speaking audibly. It seems to me that a child of eleven, who was the primary focus of this attention (and hostility), would be likely to find it even more difficult to cope with, and that it would be likely to affect to a material degree his ability to follow the evidence and to give evidence himself.
There is evidence before the Court that the applicant was in fact unable to follow most of the trial proceedings or to participate effectively in the conduct of his defence, and that it is unlikely that he could have given evidence in his own defence. I refer in particular to the evidence given at the trial by Dr Susan Bailey, a consultant psychiatrist at the Home Office; to her report dated 4 November 1997; to the report dated 31 January 1995 by Dr Arnon Bentovim, a consultant psychiatrist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children; and to the report dated 11 February 1998 by Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. These are supported by documents emanating from the solicitor and junior counsel who acted for the applicant at the trial, and from the applicant's mother. As I have mentioned, it appears from their evidence that the applicant's problems were not entirely due to the conditions under which the trial was held: as one might expect, he was traumatised by James's murder and had strong feelings of guilt, remorse and fear of retribution. At the same time, it appears from that evidence that his difficulties in coping with the trial were also due, to a significant extent, to the conditions under which the trial was held: above all, he appears to have been intimidated by the crowds and television cameras outside the court, and by his exposure to the gaze of the public inside the court. This is not surprising, particularly when these are the same features as the trial judge drew to the jury's attention as causing adult witnesses to be overcome with emotion.
The Government on the other hand emphasised that, within the constraints of the system within which the trial was held, a great deal was done to assist the applicant in coping with the experience. That is perfectly true, and it is proper that it should be recognised. As counsel for T. expressly acknowledged in his submissions to the Court, the trial judge in particular did his best to ensure that the trial was held in a manner befitting an eleven year-old. The court day was shortened to reflect the school day. Each day was divided into hourly sessions separated by an interval, during which the applicant could spend time with his parents and social workers in an area allocated for that purpose. The applicant was accompanied in the dock by a social worker, and his parents were seated close by. Further steps were taken by the social services department, prior to the trial, to ensure that the applicant was familiar with the courtroom, court procedure and court personnel. These measures are likely to have mitigated the difficulties which the applicant would otherwise have experienced. Nevertheless, a trial held under the conditions which I have described could be expected to remain a highly intimidating experience for most eleven-year-old children.
The Government also emphasised the importance of a public trial, open to the press and to the general public, in order to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice and to respect the legitimate public interest in ascertaining the circumstances which had led to the killing of a young child. I of course accept that trials must in general be held in public, for the reasons which I have just summarised: that is clear from Article 6 itself. Nevertheless, Article 6 also makes it clear that that principle is not absolute. It can be derogated from where the interests of juveniles so require, as English law indeed recognises in the procedures followed in the youth courts. It can also be derogated from where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice, as English law also recognises. If the holding of a public trial is incompatible with the holding of a fair trial, it is the latter which must take priority. It also has to be borne in mind that it is possible to restrict attendance rights and reporting rights to the extent necessary to protect other legitimate interests without necessarily excluding such rights altogether (as English law recognises, for example in its treatment of child witnesses).
I have accordingly come to the conclusion that the conditions under which the applicant was tried, considered as a whole, were incompatible with his effective participation in the determination of the charge against him. In consequence, there has in my opinion been a violation of Article 6 of the Convention.
In submitting that the sentence imposed upon him constituted inhuman treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention, the applicant relied on the element of retribution inherent in the tariff approach; the lifelong possibility of recall to detention following release on licence; the length of the tariff of fifteen years originally imposed; the length of time which he has already served; the risk that he may be transferred to a Young Offenders' Institution and thereafter to an adult prison; and the delay in fixing a new tariff.
The Court has already accepted that the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure, in the case of young persons convicted of serious crimes, contains a punitive element (see the Hussain v. the United Kingdom judgment of 21 February 1996, Reports 1996-I, pp. 269-70, §§ 53-54). The existence of a punitive element cannot in itself be regarded as inhuman treatment, given that the attribution of criminal responsibility to the child in question is acceptable. The nature and severity of any punishment may on the other hand give rise to an issue under Article 3.
It is also necessary to recall that States have a duty under the Convention to take measures for the protection of the public from violent crime. Article 3 of the Convention cannot therefore have the effect of prohibiting States from imposing on a child convicted of a serious crime of violence a sentence which allows for his continued detention, or his recall to detention following release, where that is necessary for the protection of the public.
In considering whether the length of the original tariff, and the length of time already served by the applicant, are compatible with Article 3, it is appropriate to have regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is accepted by all of the member States, including the United Kingdom. Article 3 § 1 of that Convention requires that in all actions concerning children the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Article 40 § 1 requires the child offender to be treated in a manner which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society. These general requirements are reflected in Article 37(b) of the United Nations Convention, which requires that the imprisonment of a child be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
As was observed in the judicial review proceedings brought by the applicant (R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte V. and T. [1998] Appeal Cases 407, 499), the original tariff appears to have been fixed without regard to the requirements imposed by Articles 3 § 1 and 40 § 1 of the United Nations Convention. That tariff was, however, quashed. Although there is evidence that the applicant was distressed on learning of the original tariff, a child of that age would also be likely to be distressed by a tariff fixed in accordance with the United Nations Convention, or for that matter by the prospect of a lengthy period of detention for non-punitive purposes.
The imposition of the original tariff cannot therefore in my opinion be regarded as ill-treatment attaining the minimum level of severity required by Article 3 of the Convention.
Since his conviction in November 1993 the applicant has been detained for six years, at the time of adoption of the present judgment. He has been detained under conditions which have taken into account his age and the desirability of promoting his reintegration and his assuming a constructive role in society. He makes no complaint about the conditions under which he has been detained. Bearing in mind all the circumstances of the case (including the gravity of the applicant's conduct), this period of detention cannot in my opinion be said to amount to inhuman treatment.
Whether the applicant is transferred in the future to a Young Offenders' Institution, or eventually to an adult prison, will depend upon a number of factors. A new tariff has yet to be set: it is impossible at present to assess how long it may be. Any detention beyond the tariff period will depend on an assessment of the risk to the safety of the public. The location and conditions of any future detention, and their impact upon the applicant, are equally speculative at the present time. In these circumstances, it is impossible to make any findings as to whether such detention would constitute a violation of Article 3.
The delay in fixing a new tariff was attributed by the Government to a number of factors. The decision of the House of Lords in June 1997 had required the Secretary of State to reconsider the policy to be followed in fixing a tariff, resulting in the announcement of the new policy in November 1997. The Secretary of State had then sought representations from T. and the applicant: the applicant's representations had been submitted in June 1998, but those on behalf of T. were still awaited. The Secretary of State also required a variety of reports on the progress and development of T. and the applicant, which had been received in August 1999. The proceedings before the Commission and the Court had also raised the question whether the tariff could be fixed by the Home Secretary without a violation of Article 6 § 1. In these circumstances, I do not consider that the delay in fixing a tariff gives rise at the present time to any issue under Article 3.
In relation to Article 6 § 1, the applicant submitted that the fixing of the tariff was in substance a sentencing function, and therefore a function which must be carried out by a court or tribunal rather than by the Secretary of State. The Government, on the other hand, submitted that the fixing of the tariff was not part of the sentence of the court, but merely an aspect of the administration of the court's sentence.
Article 6 § 1 of the Convention requires any criminal charge to be determined by an independent and impartial tribunal. The determination of a criminal charge includes the sentencing of a person who has been convicted (see the Eckle v. Germany judgment of 15 July 1982, Series A no. 51, pp. 34-35, §§ 76-77). The formal sentence imposed under English law upon a child convicted of murder does not determine in any respect the period during which the child is to be deprived of his liberty. The tariff fixed by the Secretary of State, on the other hand, determines (subject to review, under the policy announced in November 1997) any minimum period of detention to be served before release can be considered. The tariff is punitive in character: the Secretary of State indeed described his function, in his statement of 10 November 1997, as “deciding what punishment is required”. Deciding what punishment is required in respect of a person convicted of a criminal offence is in my opinion a sentencing exercise, as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords recognised in the proceedings brought by the applicant. It follows that Article 6 § 1 is applicable to the fixing of the tariff. The tariff must therefore be fixed by “an independent and impartial tribunal”. Since the Secretary of State is not independent of the executive, the fixing of the applicant's tariff by the Secretary of State violated Article 6 § 1.
In relation to the issues arising under Article 5 § 1, Article 5 § 4 and Article 41 of the Convention, I agree with the judgment of the Court and have nothing to add.
PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION
OF JUDGES ROZAKIS AND COSTA
(Translation)
We voted with the majority on all points except one, namely the complaint under Article 3 of the Convention concerning the sentence imposed on the applicants. We consider that this complaint is well-founded.
As the judgment states, the two offenders were ten years old when they committed the crime. They were just over eleven when they were found guilty and sentenced to be detained “during Her Majesty's pleasure”. The “tariff” portion of the sentence was first fixed at fifteen years by the Home Secretary on 22 July 1994. The murderers were then twelve. It should be noted that the judge who sentenced them had recommended a tariff of eight years, and the Lord Chief Justice one of ten years. The Home Secretary's decision was taken after he had received letters and petitions calling for a very high tariff or life imprisonment (see paragraph 22 of the judgment).
When that decision was set aside, three years later, by the House of Lords, the Home Secretary informed Parliament that he would review the tariff originally set in the light of the offenders' progress and development (see paragraph 27 of the judgment), but to date no new decision has been taken.
In a case as exceptional as this one it is extremely difficult to trace the dividing line between what is “inhuman and degrading” within the meaning of Article 3 and what is not. In our opinion, the crucial factor for that assessment must be the murderers' extreme youth and immaturity at the time when they committed their crime. They were ten years old; they are now seventeen and still do not know how much of their sentence they will have to serve to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. That uncertainty, which the two applicants have lived with since the day they were sentenced, that is for more than six years, has obviously caused them considerable distress. But the decisive point is that the applicants, who are now not far from adulthood, were still only young children when they committed the offences, when they were arrested and detained pending trial and when they were convicted and detained.
Can it be contended that this transformation, which has to do with their age, should have no bearing on the decision to be taken concerning the length, and consequently the end, of the tariff period? Or that such a decision can be the same as would be taken in respect of adult murderers? We do not think so. Admittedly, the majority held that there had been no violation because they considered that a term of six years' imprisonment did not constitute inhuman and degrading treatment (see paragraph 99 of the judgment). But in doing so they assessed only the period of time which has objectively elapsed to date. They did not take account of the Home Secretary's initial decision fixing the length of the applicants' sentence at fifteen years, which, according to Dr Bentovim “devastated” V. (see paragraph 24 of the judgment), or, above all, of the total uncertainty about what term they must serve that they have been in for two and a half years since the House of Lords' decision, and of the fact that there is no guarantee that the Home Secretary will come to a new decision in the near future. For all these reasons, we think that although the conditions in which the applicants' trial took place did not breach Article 3 of the Convention, there was a violation of Article 3 on account of their sentence.
JOINT PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION
OF JUDGES PASTOR RIDRUEJO, RESS, MAKARCZYK,
TULKENS AND BUTKEVYCH
In our view the applicants' trial and their sentence taken together amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention.
The combination in this case of (i) treating children of ten years of age as criminally responsible, (ii) prosecuting them at the age of eleven in an adult court, and (iii) subjecting them to an indeterminate sentence, reached a substantial level of mental and physical suffering. Bringing the whole weight of the adult criminal processes to bear on children as young as eleven is, in our view, a relic of times where the effect of the trial process and sentencing on a child's physical and psychological condition and development as a human being was scarcely considered, if at all.
Article 3 guarantees an absolute right to protection against inhuman and degrading treatment. Its focus is the suffering and the humiliation a person is subjected to. There is no reason to presume that the minimum level of suffering qualifying as ill-treatment cannot be inflicted by a court exercising its lawful authority in the course of a trial, especially where, for a number of reasons, that trial amounts to a public humiliation. We fully agree with the Court that the purpose of the criminal proceedings brought against the applicants was not in any respect to humiliate or cause suffering to them. However, contrary to the Court's assessment, we are of the view that the suffering or humiliation of the person is wholly independent of whether or not the State authorities acted with the intention of humiliating the person, or causing suffering. It seems to us that the authorities' principal reason for bringing these proceedings against children of eleven years of age was retribution, rather than humiliation. However, vengeance is not a form of justice and in particular vengeance against children in a civilised society should be completely excluded. We would emphasise that for Article 3 what counts is not the subjective element (motive or purpose) on the part of the State, but the objective effect on the persons involved.
By splitting up the “treatment” into separate phases, i.e. the trial itself and the sentencing, the majority loses sight of the effect which the treatment in this case must have had on the children's physical well-being and psychological balance. We do not see how the trial as such and the sentencing consequent on the outcome can properly be separated. Furthermore, considering the age of criminal responsibility in isolation from the trial process in an adult court is a further factor which is likely to lead to a distortion of the role of Article 3 of the Convention taken together with Article 1, that is, to secure effective protection against suffering and degrading treatment. The very low age of criminal responsibility has always to be linked with the possibility of adult trial proceedings. That is why the vast majority of Contracting States have eschewed such a very low age of criminal responsibility.
1. As far as the age of criminal responsibility is concerned, we do not accept the conclusion of the Court that no clear tendency can be ascertained from developments amongst European States and from international instruments. Only four Contracting States out of forty-one are prepared to find criminal responsibility at an age as low as, or lower than, that applicable in England and Wales. We have no doubt that there is a general standard amongst the member States of the Council of Europe under which there is a system of relative criminal responsibility beginning at the age of thirteen or fourteen – with special court proceedings for juveniles – and providing for full criminal responsibility at the age of eighteen or above. Where children aged from ten to about thirteen or fourteen have committed crimes, educational measures are imposed to try to integrate the young offender into society. Even if Rule 4 of the Beijing Rules does not specify a minimum age of criminal responsibility, the very warning that the age should not be fixed too low indicates that criminal responsibility and maturity are related concepts. It is clearly the view of the vast majority of the Contracting States that this kind of maturity is not present in children below the age of thirteen or fourteen. In the present case, we are struck by the paradox that, whereas the applicants were deemed to have sufficient discrimination to engage their criminal responsibility, a play area was made available for them to use during adjournments.
2. As far as the trial is concerned, the Court recognises that there is an international tendency in favour of the protection of the privacy of juvenile defendants. It nevertheless finds that a lack of privacy cannot be decisive for the question whether the trial in public amounted to treatment attaining the minimum level of severity necessary to bring it within the scope of Article 3 of the Convention (see paragraph 77 of the judgment). According to Article 40 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, privacy has to be “fully respected at all stages of the proceedings”, and it is a crucial element in minimising the suffering and humiliation of children. Although the United Nations Convention is binding on the United Kingdom, English law nevertheless allows lengthy criminal proceedings to be held in public in an adult court with all the attendant formality. Even if the trial judge did take certain steps to limit the impact of the trial on the children, for children of this age in an already disturbed emotional state the experience of the trial must have been unbearable. The children were seated on a platform where they could be seen by the public and the press, and there is evidence that they found the public nature of the trial especially difficult to cope with, in particular since they perceived the public as hostile: on one occasion the van that brought them to court was attacked and by the time of the trial there had already been a virulent press campaign which prompted their representatives to apply to the judge for a stay of proceedings. Before this audience of members of the public and journalists the applicants had to begin the process of coming to terms with the crimes which they had committed. They had to listen to the witnesses' accounts of the events of the day in question and the tapes of their own interviews with the police. They had to hear the jury's verdict of guilty and the judge passing the sentence. At the end of this public exposure they were informed that the judge had decided to lift the ban on the publication of their names. We have no doubt that such proceedings could be expected to produce a lasting harmful effect on an eleven-year-old child, and a high level of suffering. Thus, Sir Michael Rutter in his report on V. dated February 1998 expressed the opinion, inter alia, that the holding of a trial in public and the negative public reaction could potentially be damaging to a child of his age (see paragraph 19 of the judgment).
Besides the nature of the treatment, its effect on the children is a further relevant criterion in connection with Article 3. The applicant V. cried throughout most of the trial. The applicants' therapists have stated that the effect of the trial and the impact on their families and attacks and other reprisals by members of the public and fellow prisoners are, to this day, hampering the applicants' progress in coming to terms with what they have done and what has happened to them. We cannot accept that “any proceedings or inquiry to determine the circumstances of the acts committed by T. and [V.], whether such inquiry had been carried out in public or in private, ... would have provoked in the applicant[s] feelings of guilt, distress, anguish and fear” (see paragraph 79 of the judgment).
According to the psychiatric evidence relating to the effects of the trial process on the children, both showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. There is furthermore evidence showing that V. was distressed and frightened by the trial and that these effects lasted a year or more. Thus, Dr Bentovim in January 1995 reported that V. described a sense of shock at seeing the public let in to the courtroom, a terror at being looked at and considerable distress when his name and photograph were published. At the time of the doctor's examination, V. was suffering from a high level of fear that he would be attacked and punished. In her report of November 1997 Dr Bailey found that it took V. twelve months to get over the trial and that he still thought about it every night. She reported that he had been most scared at the first hearing at the magistrates' court, and that after the first three days in the Crown Court he had felt better because he had stopped listening.
Even if the evidence that V. experienced a high level of intense suffering at the time of the trial is clearer than for T., it can be concluded that this kind of trial caused suffering and humiliation to both children at a level which went beyond the needs of “any proceedings or inquiry to determine the circumstances of the acts committed” and which reached the minimum level of inhuman and degrading treatment.
3. As far as the sentence is concerned, an important element to be taken into account in relation to Article 3 is the sentence of detention during Her Majesty's pleasure, i.e. for an indefinite period. This sentencing entailed an enormous amount of uncertainty and anxiety for the two children. It is questionable whether the Convention allows States to subject an eleven-year-old child to an indeterminate sentence on conviction, but the special duty of care on States to ensure that children are not subjected to inhuman treatment obliges the State to reduce the uncertainty as far as possible. After the trial judge had recommended a tariff of eight years, the Lord Chief Justice made a recommendation of ten years. Then the Home Secretary who had received, inter alia, a petition signed by 278,300 people expressing the view that the applicants should never be released set their tariffs at fifteen years. It is difficult to imagine how a child could conceive of such a sentence, but the reaction of V. that he feared that he would never be released comes as no surprise. This tariff was itself quashed by the House of Lords and no new tariff has been set. So the uncertainty remains. The Court, in our view, has only taken into account (see paragraph 99 of the judgment) the fact that both children have now been detained for six years, finding it impossible to draw any conclusion regarding the compatibility with Article 3 until a new tariff has been set. But the problem lies in the very passing of a sentence of an indefinite nature: the uncertainty and anxiety for persons as vulnerable as children inevitably add another element of suffering.
In conclusion, for us, the public nature of the trial not only contributed to the inhuman but also to the degrading treatment, and the fact that the applicants were tried in accordance with the same criminal procedure as adults and sentenced without sufficient account being taken of the fact that they were children must be qualified as inhuman.
It is no answer to a complaint under Article 3 to find a violation of Article 6 § 1. The Articles have different aims and objects of protection. Article 3 prohibits suffering and humiliation, whilst Article 6 in this case guarantees effective participation in the trial. By focusing mainly on the possibility for children of eleven to participate effectively in an adult Crown Court procedure, the majority of the Court has in our view failed sufficiently to address the suffering and humiliation which such a procedure inevitably entails for children. In the present case the Crown Court certainly did everything it could; it was the system within which it had to operate, taken as a whole, both in principle and in practice, which gave rise to a breach of Article 3 of the Convention.
We are fully aware of the terrible character of the crime committed, and we have had regard to the written comments filed by the parents of the murdered child. Articles 2 and 3 impose a positive obligation on States to protect victims against crimes of violence by providing effective deterrence. However, in circumstances such as those at issue here, where the offenders were themselves children at the time of the crime and trial, we do not consider that the positive obligation under Article 3 in respect of the victims of an offence can justify the suspension of the rights of the offender. We think that the most effective way to acknowledge the suffering of victims and to protect society is to respect the most fundamental and absolute rights of offenders, especially – and above all – where those offenders are eleven-year-old children.
PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE BAKA
While I fully share the view of the majority of the Court that there has been no violation of Article 3, I have concluded that the applicant had a fair trial in the instant case for the following reasons.
Article 6 § 1 of the Convention embodies the general rule that justice should be administered in public in a way which affords the accused the full possibility to participate effectively in the conduct of his or her case. This rule is subject to the proviso that “the press and the public may be excluded from all or part of the trial ... where the interests of juveniles ... so require”. Neither the text of Article 6 § 1 nor its interpretation in the case-law, however, goes so far as to require that a child charged with a criminal offence should always be tried either by a juvenile court or by an adult court in private. It follows that the mere fact of subjecting a child to a public trial in an adult court does not in itself amount to a denial of a fair hearing under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
The majority of the Court relied heavily on the argument that the applicant's public trial in the Crown Court in the present case was “intimidating for a child of eleven” and that “in the tense courtroom and under public scrutiny” the applicant was unable to participate effectively in the criminal proceedings against him.
I am of the opinion that any (public or in camera) trial of a serious criminal charge almost inevitably causes strong feelings of anxiety, fear and distress as a result of the fact that the accused person has to face – sometimes for the first time – the serious consequences of the acts committed. I also accept that these natural feelings could limit, wholly or partly, the accused person's (adult or child) ability to participate actively in the criminal proceedings against him or her. Even admitting that this is potentially more so in the case of a child, would this subjective feeling and its possible handicapping impact on his or her actions during the trial be enough to ground a finding that the criminal proceedings against him were unfair? I do not think so. To hold otherwise would require examination of the actual effect of these subjective factors on how the child behaved at the trial and on whether the child was able to contribute efficaciously to his or her defence. Moreover, it would also have to be shown that the child was prevented from active participation in the conduct of his or her case not because of the almost automatic and natural psychological consequences of a criminal trial, but more specifically by reason of the public nature of the proceedings. I think that this goes too far.
In the present case the authorities took a series of special measures designed to ensure that the accused boys could participate adequately in the trial. These measures included familiarising them with the courtroom, an explanation of the procedure, a shortened court day with regular break intervals corresponding to the normal school schedule and the presence of social workers prior to and during proceedings. The trial judge also made it clear that he would adjourn whenever the social workers or defence lawyers told him that one of the defendants was showing signs of tiredness or stress.
Under these circumstances, when the ordinary court procedure had been tailored to take into account his young age, it is difficult to say that the applicant did not receive a fair trial under Article 6. If the applicant was unable to participate effectively in the proceedings, it was not because his case was tried publicly by an adult court but rather because his position objectively was not significantly different from that of accused persons who are lacking legal knowledge, suffering mental disease or of low intelligence, such that they can be said to be subjects of the criminal process rather than active participants in it. In this situation, fairness of a criminal trial cannot mean much more than ensuring that the child is defended adequately by highly trained professional counsel and that the necessary facilities for the defence are fully provided – as they were in the present case. In terms of fairness of criminal proceedings, it is rather illusory to expect that a child of this age could give any legally relevant instruction to his or her lawyer in order to facilitate his or her defence.
On the above basis, I found no breach of Article 6 § 1 as regards the fairness of the trial.
[1]1-2. Note by the Registry. Protocol No. 11 and the Rules of Court came into force on 1 November 1998.
[2]1. Note by the Registry. Myra Hindley was convicted of murder in 1966 and is still detained.
[3]1. Note by the Registry. For practical reasons this annex will appear only with the final printed version of the judgment (in the official reports of selected judgments and decisions of the Court), but a copy of the Commission’s report is obtainable from the Registry.