“Reasonable Time” in the Administration of Justice: A Requirement of the European Convention of Human Rights (Art 6.1 ECHR)

Abstract

In most Member States the administration of justice is slow, and although sometimes it can be attributed to a specific judicial body, in most cases it is due to structural problems with the system. The ECHR has made a significant contribution in terms of defining the scope and content of the requirement, which has been reflected by national bodies and by the Luxembourg Court. The steps taken by ECHR concerning the right to and the fact that it has begun to indicate measures for preventing and even for redressing breach are positive. When the ECHR attributes breach of Art. 6.1 for undue delay, the State has the additional obligation to adopt general measures to prevent reoccurrence of the situation in the future. In this context, it is necessary to distinguish between isolated delays occurring in court and delays that are caused by structural problems. Keywords:Art 6.1 ECHR; European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR); justice; reasonable time