Leon and Agnieszka Kania v. Poland

The European Court of Human Rights held that Poland did not fail to take reasonable measures to secure applicant's rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, because applicant's claim against disturbances from a neighboring metal-working cooperative did not meet the severity threshold to create an Article 8 issue. Article 8 of the European Convention recognizes the right of persons to respect for their private lives and homes. The Court observed that numerous inspections found that the cooperative's activities did not exceed permissible noise or pollution levels and that the cooperative had eventually ceased their activities. Absent any evidence of a health hazard, the State cannot be said to have neglected its obligations under Article 8. The Court did determine, however, that the length of the national proceedings, spanning an eleven year period, was excessive when examined in light of the complexity of the case, and therefore constituted a breach of Article 6(1), which recognizes the right of European peoples to obtain an effective national remedy in the event of a violation.