32 GOGITIDZE AND OTHERS v. GEORGIA JUDGMENT and oral arguments. However, only one of them, the second applicant, had availed himself of that opportunity, whilst the remaining applicants had ignored the domestic court’s two summonses. As to the second applicant, his arguments had been duly heard by the domestic courts; as a result of the courts’ thorough examination, some of his property had eventually been removed from the confiscation list. In general, the judicial examination, in which the burden of proof was placed on the respondent applicants by law, had been fair, and the court decisions had been sufficiently reasoned. As to the first applicant’s complaint under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, the Government submitted that the provision in question could not apply to the administrative confiscation proceedings, as the latter had not involved the determination of any criminal charge against the applicant. All in all, the Government concluded that the applicants’ complaints under Articles 6 §§ 1 and 2 were manifestly ill-founded. 119. The applicants reiterated that the administrative confiscation proceedings had been in breach of the principle of equality of arms contained in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, given that the hearing before the court of first instance had been conducted in the first and fourth applicants’ absence. As to the reasons for that absence, the applicants explained that the first applicant had been obliged to leave Georgia for fear of criminal prosecution, whilst the fourth applicant had been distrustful towards the Georgian judiciary in general. The applicants’ submissions did not contain any explanation as to why their lawyers had not attended the hearing. The applicants also called into question the outcome of the proceedings, accusing the domestic courts of an erroneous assessment of the factual circumstances of the case. As to his complaint under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, the first applicant reiterated that by requiring him to prove the lawful origins of his property prior to establishing his guilt on corruption charges, the domestic authorities had infringed his right to be presumed innocent. 2. The Court’s assessment (a) The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention 120. Having regard to the applicants’ submissions, the Court observes that it is not clear under which limb of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (“civil” or “criminal”), they intended to complain of. 121. Be that as it may, the Court reiterates its well-established case-law to the effect that proceedings for confiscation such as the civil proceedings in rem in the present case, which do not stem from a criminal conviction or sentencing proceedings and thus do not qualify as a penalty but rather represent a measure of control of the use of property within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol N. 1, cannot amount to “the determination of a criminal charge” within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and