LE COMPTE, VAN LEUVEN AND DE MEYERE v. BELGIUM (ARTICLE 50) - 6878/75;7238/75

The European Court of Human Rights, sitting, in accordance with Article 43 (art. 43) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") and the relevant provisions of the Rules of Court * , as a Chamber composed of the following judges:

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date, on the application in the present case of Article 50 (art. 50) of the Convention:

The case of Le Compte, Van Leuven and De Meyere was referred to the Court by the European Commission of Human Rights ("the Commission") and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium ("the Government") on 14 March and 23 April 1980, respectively. The case originated in two applications (nos. 6878/75 and 7238/75) against that State introduced in 1974 and 1975 by three Belgian nationals, Dr. Herman Le Compte, Dr. Frans Van Leuven and Dr. Marc De Meyere.

The only outstanding matter to be settled is the question of the application of Article 50 (art. 50) in the present case. Accordingly, as regards the facts, the Court will confine itself here to giving the pertinent details; for further particulars, reference should be made to paragraphs 8 to 34 of the above-mentioned judgment (ibid., pp. 7-17).

At the hearings of 25 November 1980, the applicants� lawyer had asked the Court, in the event of its finding a breach of the Convention, to afford his clients just satisfaction under Article 50 (art. 50). He had, however, stated that he was not yet in a position "to establish the exact amount of any damages, in view of the possibility of compensation, if only partial, being granted under Belgian law".