Page 25 of 30 99. Under Article 50 (art. 50) of the Convention, "If the Court finds that a decision or a measure taken by a legal authority or any other authority of a High Contracting Party is completely or partially in conflict with the obligations arising from the ... Convention, and if the internal law of the said Party allows only partial reparation to be made for the consequences of this decision or measure, the decision of the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party." The applicants claimed under this provision 30,000,000 Swedish crowns (SEK) for non-pecuniary damage, together with reimbursement of legal fees and expenses in the sum of 884,500 SEK. The firstmentioned amount was, unless the Court could order payment to the applicants only, to be paid to them and the children in five equal shares. A. Damage 100. At the Court’s hearing, the Government, whilst reserving their position, indicated that they considered the claim for damage to be excessive. The Commission’s Delegate also found the amount claimed to be out of proportion; she suggested that a figure of 300,000 SEK would be reasonable and equitable. 101. The Court considers that, notwithstanding the Government’s reservation, this question is ready for decision (Rule 53 § 1 of the Rules of Court). It would first observe that it cannot accept the request, contained in the claims filed by the applicants on 27 July 1987, for an award of just satisfaction to the children: it is only Mr. and Mrs. Olsson who are applicants in the present proceedings. 102. The violation of Article 8 (art. 8) of the Convention found by the Court in the instant case arose solely from the manner in which the care decision was implemented (see paragraph 84 above). It follows that the applicants are not entitled to just satisfaction for that decision and the taking away of the children as such, but only for the prejudice which they may have suffered on account of the separation of the children from each other, the placement of Helena and Thomas at a long distance from the applicants’ home and the restrictions on visits. There can be no doubt, in the Court’s view, that these matters caused Mr. and Mrs. Olsson considerable inconvenience and, above all, substantial anxiety and distress. Regular and frequent contacts with the children were greatly impeded and the possibilities for the whole family to meet together were minimal. And this situation, with its deleterious effects on the applicants’ family life, endured for some seven years. These various factors do not readily lend themselves to precise quantification. Making an assessment on an equitable basis, as is required by Article 50 (art. 50), the Court awards Mr. and Mrs. Olsson together the sum of 200,000 SEK under this head. B. Legal fees and expenses 103. The applicants’ claim for legal fees and expenses, totalling 884,500 SEK, was made up of the following items: (a) 630,700 SEK for 901 hours’ work by their lawyer (at 700 SEK per hour) in the domestic proceedings and 14,600 SEK for related expenses; (b) 234,500 SEK for 335 hours’ work (at the same rate) in the proceedings before the Commission and the Court and 4,700 SEK for related expenses. The Government contested this claim in several respects, arguing in particular that: the applicants’ statement of the fees and expenses they had incurred in the domestic proceedings was insufficiently precise to permit of anything other than an equitable assessment; the amounts sought in respect of those proceedings related partly to work on questions that were not material to the case before the Strasbourg institutions and partly to work that was unnecessary; the hourly rate charged, though acceptable for the Strasbourg proceedings, was excessive for the domestic proceedings; and the time spent by the applicants’ lawyer on the Strasbourg proceedings exceeded what was reasonable. The Government were willing to pay total sums of 290,000 SEK for fees and 12,800 SEK for expenses, subject to a pro rata reduction in respect of such allegations pursued by Mr. and Mrs. Olsson before the Court as it might not http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/viewhbkm.asp?sessionId=60525252&skin=hudoc-en&a... 10/13/2010