Rizzo and Others v. Italy

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 52134/19 Giovanna Antonietta RIZZO against Italy and 7 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 21 May 2026 as a Committee composed of:

Artūrs Kučs , President , Raffaele Sabato, Anna Adamska-Gallant , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of “Pinto” domestic decisions were communicated to the Italian Government (“the Government”).

THE LAW

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

The Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.

The Government acknowledged the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of “Pinto” domestic decisions. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The Government also undertook to ensure the enforcement of the domestic decisions under consideration in the cases concerned (see appended table) within the same three-month period, and to pay any costs of the domestic enforcement proceedings.

The payment and the enforcement of the domestic decisions in the cases concerned will constitute the final resolution of the cases.

The applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations.

The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:

“... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”.

Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see, in particular, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75 ‑ 77, ECHR 2003-VI).

The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of “Pinto” domestic decisions (see, for example, Gaglione and Others v. Italy, nos. 45867/07 and others, 21 December 2010 and Gagliano Giorgi v. Italy, no. 23563/07, 6 March 2012).

Noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).

In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine ).

Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (see Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 11 June 2026.

Viktoriya Maradudina Artūrs Kučs Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1

(non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of Pinto domestic decisions)

No.

Application no. Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Date of receipt of Government’s declaration

Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage

per applicant

(in euros) [1]

Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application

(in euros) [2]

52134/19

26/09/2019

Giovanna Antonietta RIZZO

1962

Pasquariello Gianpiero

Caserte

14/01/2026

200

30

52891/19

02/10/2019

Silvestro CERVERA

1969

14/01/2026

200

30

52898/19

02/10/2019

(5 applicants)

Mario FERRARO

1948

Domenico FERRARO

1944

Giovanni FERRARO

1950

Giuseppe FERRARO

1945

Vincenzo FERRARO

1953

14/01/2026

200

30

52947/19

02/10/2019

(5 applicants)

Giuseppe FERRARO

1945

Domenico FERRARO

1944

Giovanni FERRARO

1950

Mario FERRARO

1948

Vincenzo FERRARO

1953

14/01/2026

200

30

53005/19

02/10/2019

Giuseppe FERRARO

1945

14/01/2026

200

30

31681/20

17/07/2020

Giovanni PAPA

1969

14/01/2026

200

30

31687/20

17/07/2020

Massimo CARIATI

1939

14/01/2026

200

30

31690/20

17/07/2020

Antonella VIGLIONE

1977

14/01/2026

200

30

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.