Auszug aus EGMR, 29.06.2006 - 45289/99

Referring to the findings of the Pellegrin v. France judgment ([GC], no. 28541/95, § 66, ECHR 1999-VIII) the Government therefore disputed that the applicant could rely on a "civil right" within the meaning of Article 6 of the Convention.

The Court finally does not discern any fresh evidence capable of persuading it to reconsider the ruling it gave in its decision of 16 June 2005 that the duties and responsibilities of a chimney sweeper under Austrian law were not such as to exclude the dispute at issue from the scope of Article 6 § 1. In particular, in its admissibility decision the Court considered the duty of chimney sweepers to examine buildings as to their conformity with fire protection legislation, to inform operators of heating facilities about relevant legislation and, in case of imminent danger, to report the matter to the competent authority, did not "typify the specific activities of the public service... as the depository of public authority responsible for protecting the general interests of the State or other public authorities" (see Pellegrin v. France [GC], no. 28541/95, § 66, ECHR 1999).

Auszug aus EGMR, 29.06.2006 - 45289/99

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).