SELMOUNI v. FRANCE JUDGMENT 25 The Court notes that the circumstances of the case show that there were a number of other delays which should be considered. Almost a year elapsed between the medical examination on 7 December 1991 (see paragraph 18 above) and the interviewing of the applicant by the National Police Inspectorate (see paragraph 24 above); thereafter, again nearly a year elapsed between the opening of a judicial investigation (see paragraph 29 above) and the holding of an identity parade of the police officers (see paragraph 38 above); and two years and over eight months elapsed between the date on which they were identified and the date on which they were placed under investigation (see paragraph 50 above). The Court observes, like the Commission, that five years after the events no one had been charged, despite the fact that the police officers accused by the applicant had been identified. Moreover, the police officers did not finally appear before the Criminal Court (see paragraph 58 above) until almost five years after they had been identified and seven years after the period of police custody in question. 79. In the Court’s opinion, the issue is consequently not so much whether there was an inquiry, since it appears to have been conclusively established that there was one, as whether it was conducted diligently, whether the authorities were determined to identify and prosecute those responsible and, accordingly, whether the inquiry was “effective”. This issue is of particular importance if it is recalled that where an individual has an arguable claim that there has been a violation of Article 3 (or of Article 2), the notion of an effective remedy entails, on the part of the State, a thorough and effective investigation capable of leading to the identification and punishment of those responsible (see, among other authorities, the following judgments: Aksoy cited above, p. 2287, § 98; Assenov and Others v. Bulgaria, 28 October 1998, Reports 1998-VIII, p. 3290, § 102; and, mutatis mutandis, Soering v. the United Kingdom, 7 July 1989, Series A no. 161, pp. 34-35, § 88). The Court considers that Mr Selmouni’s allegations, which – as was clear from medical certificates of which the authorities were aware – amounted at the very least to an arguable claim, were particularly serious, in respect of both the alleged facts and the status of the persons implicated. 80. Having regard to the foregoing, the Court considers, like the Commission, that the authorities did not take the positive measures required in the circumstances of the case to ensure that the remedy referred to by the Government was effective. 81. Accordingly, given the lack of convincing explanation by the Government as to the “effectiveness” and “adequacy” of the remedy they relied on, that is, a criminal complaint together with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party, the Court considers that the remedy available to the applicant was not, in the instant case, an ordinary remedy sufficient to afford him redress in respect of the violations he alleged. While emphasising that its decision is limited to the circumstances of this case and must not be interpreted as a general statement to the effect that a criminal