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The Court considers that the applicant's heirs, who had stated their intention of continuing the proceedings, have a legitimate interest in obtaining a finding that there had been a breach of the applicant's right guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention to have his case heard within a reasonable time (see, mutatis mutandis, Dalban v. Romania [GC], no. 28114/95, §§ 1 and 39, ECHR 1999-VI).

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The Court reiterates that the reasonableness of the length of proceedings must be assessed in the light of the circumstances of the case and with reference to the following criteria: the complexity of the case, the conduct of the applicant and the relevant authorities and what was at stake for the applicant in the dispute (see, among many other authorities, Frydlender v. France [GC], no. 30979/96, § 43, ECHR 2000-VII).

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It recalls that in various cases in which an applicant died in the course of the Convention proceedings it took into account the statements of the applicant's heirs or of close members of his family expressing their wish to pursue the application (see, inter alia, Kalló v. Hungary, no. 30081/02, § 24, 11 April 2006).

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The Court for its part does not find sufficient justification for the above-mentioned delays in the Court of Appeal proceedings, which it considers incompatible with the diligence required under Article 6 § 1. It recalls that it is for States to organise their judicial systems in such a way that their courts can meet the Convention's requirements, which includes the manner in which they obtain the necessary expert evidence (see, for example, Salesi v. Italy, judgment of 26 February 1993, Series A no. 257-E, § 24, T. and Others v. Finland, no. 27744/95, § 65, 13 December 2005).