Czech Yearbook Vol. 4 2013

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SOME GUARANTEES REGARDING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS APPLICABLE …
of importance, and therefore some national administrative and disciplinary proceedings
may be seen as “criminal” procedures for the purposes of the Convention.
The analysis of the case lawof theCourt showed that the rights embodied inArticles 2,
3 and 4 of Protocol No. 7 are applicable to NGOs to the same extent as to individuals.
Nevertheless, taking into account the relatively new phenomenon of corporate criminal
liability,70 the number of decisions of the Court on the issue is considerably smaller in
comparison with those involving natural persons. This can be explained from one side by
the substance of the rights itself, and from the other side by the fact that criminal sanctions
were not applied to legal persons for many years. Additionally, those states which have
a long tradition of criminal liability of legal persons, such as the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands, did not ratify Protocol No. 7.
Regarding the situation on 30 July 2013, the Court did not issue any judgment
in which it held the member state liable for a violation of guarantees in the criminal
proceedings envisaged in Articles 2, 3 or 4 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention
in respect of NGOs. Such a situation may also be influenced by the fact that the
two countries involved, holding the first and the second place in the number of
applications submitted to the Court,71 namely Russia and Turkey, do not possess
national legislation on the criminal liability of legal persons. Nevertheless, taking into
account the reality that Ukraine, which is always among the four leading countries
in the number of applications lodged with the Court, adopted new legislation on the
subject 72 on 23 May 2013, the situation may be changed in the future. Furthermore,
in Russian media there are also vivid discussions regarding plans for adoption of law
envisaging the criminal liability of legal persons in the Russian Federation.73
70 The data in the Table show that most of the countries adopted legislation on the corporate criminal
liability after the year 2000.
71 The Court’s statistics on 30 April 2013. Available at _
month_2013_BIL.pdf.
72 Law of Ukraine No. 2990 of 23 May 2013 On changes to some legal acts of Ukraine. Available at
73 The head of the Investigative Committee of Russian Federation, Mr Bastrykin, noted that the
Committee elaborated a draft law on liability of legal persons. For details see Bastyrkin hochet
ugolovnoj otvetstvennosti dlja juridicheskih lic ( Бастрыкин хочет уголовной ответственности
для юридических лиц) [Bastyrkin seeks criminal liability for legal persons]. Internet news on
18 March 2013. Available at and _
zakona_sledstvennogo_komiteta_rf_ob_ugolovnoj_otvetstvennosti_yuridicheskix_lic/2975.