BOUYID v. BELGIUM JUDGMENT
9
As emphasised by the submissions of both the Crown Prosecutor of 10 November
2005 and those of the Principal Crown Prosecutor, and by the decision of the
Committals Division, the facts of the present case do not constitute a serious or petty
criminal offence.
...”
42. An appeal on points of law lodged by the applicants – relying in
particular on Articles 3, 6 and 13 of the Convention – was dismissed on
29 October 2008 by the Court of Cassation.
D. The civil-party complaint concerning events prior to those of
8 December 2003 and 23 February 2004
43. On 5 February 2008 six members of the Bouyid family, including
the two applicants, had filed a civil-party complaint with an investigating
judge of the Brussels Court of First Instance concerning all their accusations
against the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode police officers, in particular relating to
facts that predated the events of 8 December 2003 and 23 February 2004.
44. The civil-party complaint led to the appearance of six officers before
the Brussels Court of First Instance, hearing the case on the merits. In a
judgment of 30 May 2012, the court declared that the prosecution of the
relevant offences was time-barred. It does not appear from the file that an
appeal was lodged against that judgment.
II. INTERNATIONAL TEXTS, INSTRUMENTS AND DOCUMENTS
A. The concept of dignity
45. The Preamble to the 26 June 1945 Charter of the United Nations
affirms the determination of the peoples of the United Nations “to reaffirm
faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and
small”. The concept of dignity is also mentioned in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, the Preamble to which
states that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world”, and Article 1 of which provides
that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
46. Many subsequent international human rights texts and instruments
refer to this concept, including:
(a) the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination of 20 November 1963, which “solemnly affirms the
necessity of speedily eliminating racial discrimination throughout the world,
in all its forms and manifestations, and of securing understanding of and