12
UNIYA OOO AND BELCOURT TRADING COMPANY v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
complaint Mr Golovkin sought to have the seizure of the first consignment
of alcohol declared illegal. He submitted that 120,317 litres of alcohol
belonged to Uniya, whereas the rest (337,104 litres) belonged to Belcourt. It
is unclear whether Mr Golovkin introduced that complaint in his own name
or on behalf of the first applicant company as the director of its Kaliningrad
branch.
36. On 17 June 2003 the Baltiyskiy District Court examined the
complaint and dismissed it. The court observed that the property seized did
not belong to the defendant personally, and that Article 175 of the CCrP
does not provide for confiscation of property as a penalty. However, “the
investigation of the criminal case was still pending, and it was unclear
whether any new charges or civil claims would be brought against
Mr Golovkin or against any prospective civil defendants”. The court also
noted that the prosecution had lodged a civil action against Mr Golovkin,
claiming damages in the amount of RUB 6,200,566.
37. On an unspecified date in 2003 the Baltiyskiy District Court sent a
letter to Mr Golovkin, informing him that his complaint about the seizure
order in the form of “removal of physical evidence” could not be examined.
38. On 22 July 2003 the Kaliningrad Regional Court upheld the lower
court’s decision of 17 June 2003. It held in particular that although the
decision of 17 June 2003 only referred to “removal of physical evidence”
orders, in essence it also covered “attachment of property” orders. The
Regional Court held that “since the investigation in the case [was] still
pending, and since the prosecutor had lodged a tort claim on behalf of the
State, the [lower court] had come to the right conclusion that Mr Golovkin’s
complaint should not have been allowed”.
(β) Second round (Article 125 proceedings)
39. In 2004 Mr Golovkin, in the capacity of a representative of Uniya,
renewed the complaint against the seizure orders concerning the first
consignment.
40. On 31 January 2005 the Baltiyskiy District Court refused to examine
the complaint in so far as it concerned the “attachment orders”, as being
essentially the same as the complaint examined on 17 June 2003.
Mr Golovkin appealed, but on 12 April 2005 the Kaliningrad Regional
Court confirmed the lower court’s decision. At the same time, the court
agreed to accept the complaint in so far as it concerned the “removal of
physical evidence” orders concerning the first consignment.
41. On 20 April 2005 the Baltiyskiy District Court refused to examine
the complaint by Mr Golovkin against the seizure orders of 1998 (both in
the form of “attachment of property” orders and “removal of physical
evidence” orders) as being essentially the same as the complaint already
examined earlier and rejected on 17 June 2003 and 22 July 2003.
UNIYA OOO AND BELCOURT TRADING COMPANY v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
13
(γ) Chapter 25 proceedings
42. Following the partial acquittal of Mr Golovkin and discontinuation
of the proceedings as to the remainder of the charges against him, the first
applicant company lodged a complaint with the Baltiyskiy District Court.
The first applicant company indicated that the courts had not ruled on the
issue of the alcohol seized in the criminal proceedings, and asked the court
to declare unlawful the decisions of the investigators concerning the seizure
of the first consignment of alcohol. It appears that Uniya was relying on the
general provisions of the Civil Procedure Code, which provided for the
judicial review of an administrative action (“Chapter 25 proceedings”).
43. On 29 December 2005 the Baltiyskiy District Court refused to
examine the complaint by Uniya. It ruled that since the seizure had been
ordered in criminal proceedings a civil court had no competence to examine
that issue in civil proceedings. On 8 February 2006 that decision was upheld
by the Kaliningrad Regional Court.
(ii) Complaints by Belcourt
(α) First round
44. On 19 May 2003 the second applicant company (Belcourt) lodged a
complaint with the Baltiyskiy District Court, referring to Article 125 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure. They sought to have the seizure of the alcohol
ordered by the investigator declared illegal. In a letter of 16 June 2003 the
Baltiyskiy District Court informed the second applicant company that its
complaint could not be examined, because Belcourt was not a party to the
criminal proceedings and therefore had no standing to lodge such a claim.
(β) Second round
45. In 2009 the second applicant company (Belcourt), with reference to
Article 125 of the CCrP, reintroduced its complaint against the decision of
the investigator of 1998 to seize alcohol belonging to it. The applicant
company argued that the seizure had been unjustified and contrary to the
law.
46. On 20 October 2009 the Baltiyskiy District Court dismissed the
second applicant company’s complaint on the following grounds. According
to the District Court, the seizure had been ordered by a competent
investigator as part of a criminal case. The seizure was ordered in
accordance with the procedure established in Articles 169, 170, 171, 175
and 176 of the CCrP. The investigator had not been aware that some of the
alcohol in the warehouses rented by Uniya was in fact the property of
Belcourt. The search and seizure had been carried out in the presence of an
employee of the warehouses. The investigator had had no obligation to
contact a representative of Belcourt.