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14. When the principle of release conditioned by guarantees seemed
acceptable, it was still exclusively in relation to the amount of loss
that the amount of security required was fixed successively at
2,000,000, 1,750,000 and 1,250,000 schillings, finally to be reduced
on 3 June 1964 to the sum of one million schillings which Neumeister
was able to provide only on 16 September.

This concern to fix the amount of the guarantee to be furnished by a
detained person solely in relation to the amount of the loss imputed
to him does not seem to be in conformity with Article 5 (3) (art. 5-3)
of the Convention. The guarantee provided for by that Article
(art. 5-3) is designed to ensure not the reparation of loss but rather
the presence of the accused at the hearing. Its amount must therefore
be assessed principally by reference to him, his assets and his
relationship with the persons who are to provide the security, in
other words to the degree of confidence that is possible that the
prospect of loss of the security or of action against the guarantors
in case of his non-appearance at the trial will act as a sufficient
deterrent to dispel any wish on his part to abscond.

15. For these reasons, the Court finds that Neumeister's continued
provisional detention until 16 September 1964 constituted a violation
of Article 5 (3) (art. 5-3) of the Convention.

B. The question whether the proceedings against Neumeister lasted
beyond the reasonable time laid down in Article 6 (1) (art. 6-1) of
the Convention

16. The Commission has expressed the opinion that it is competent to
consider, even ex officio, whether the facts referred to it in an
application disclose violations of the Convention other than those of
which the application complains. This is certainly the case, and the
same is true of the Court, as has already been held in the judgment of
1st July 1961 on the merits of the Lawless case (Publications of the
Court, Series A, 1960-61, page 60, para. 40). It is however doubtful
whether the question arose in the present case, since Article 6 (1)
(art. 6-1) was expressly mentioned in the document filed by the
Applicant in July 1963 (statement of the facts, paras. 28 and 30). In
any event, as the whole of the proceedings against Neumeister since he
was charged has been referred to it, the Court is of opinion that it
must examine, as the Commission has done, whether or not the facts of
the case disclose a violation of Article 6 (1) (art. 6-1).

17. The first paragraph of Article 6 (art. 6-1) provides that "in the
determination of ... any criminal charge against him, everyone is
entitled to a ... hearing within a reasonable time by (a) ... tribunal
...".

18. The period to be taken into consideration for verifying whether
this provision has been observed necessarily begins with the day on
which a person is charged, for otherwise it would not be possible to
determine the charge, as this word is understood within the meaning of
the Convention.

The Court notes that Neumeister was charged on 23 February 1961.

19. Article 6 (1) (art. 6-1), furthermore, indicates as the final
point, the judgment determining the charge; this may be a decision
given by an appeal court when such a court pronounces upon the merits
of the charge. In the present case there has not yet been a judgment
on the merits. Neumeister appeared before the trial judge on
09 November 1964, but a decision given on 18 June 1965 called for
further measures of investigation, and the trial was reopened on
4 December 1967. It goes without saying that none of these dates may
be accepted as the end of the period to which Article 6 (1) (art. 6-1)
applies.
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