to complain about the conditions of his detention.
III. Alleged violation of Article 6 of the Convention
55. The applicant complained that he had been refused the opportunity to participate in the civil proceedings. He relied on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which, in so far as relevant, reads:
"In the determination of his civil rights and obligations... everyone is entitled to a fair... hearing... by [a]... tribunal..."
A. Admissibility
56. The Court notes that this complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
1. The parties' submissions
57. The Government submitted that, as a matter of law, the applicant, who had been serving a prison sentence at the time, did not have the right to be personally present at the court hearing concerning determination of his civil rights and obligations or to be entitled to free legal assistance. Nor did the interests of justice require that he be provided with legal aid. Accordingly, the domestic courts' decision to hear the case in the applicant's absence had been in compliance with applicable domestic laws. The courts had duly advised the applicant of the date and time of the court hearings and of his procedural rights, including the rights to appoint a representative to plead the case on his behalf and to ask the court to procure evidence. The applicant, however, had chosen not to avail himself of them. The courts had thoroughly examined the applicant's claims and the submissions made by the respondent parties in accordance with the rules of civil procedure. In the Government's opinion, the fact that the applicant had not been present in court was not decisive for the outcome of the proceedings. Nor had the principle of the equality of arms been infringed.
58. The applicant maintained his complaint. In his view, it was essential for compliance with the principle of the equality of arms that he attended the hearing. The domestic judicial authorities' failure to ensure his presence in court had deprived him of the opportunity to make effective use of his procedural rights. He had been unable to produce and examine evidence, to lodge requests and to argue his case. He did not have the financial means to retain a lawyer to represent him. In any event, the nature of his claims was such that his personal presence was indispensable for proper examination of his claims.
2. The Court's assessment
59. The Court reiterates that the principle of adversarial proceedings and equality of arms, which is one of the elements of the broader concept of a fair hearing, requires that each party be given a reasonable opportunity to have knowledge of and comment on the observations made or evidence adduced by the other party and to present his or her case under conditions that do not place him or her at a substantial disadvantage {vis-a-vis} his or her opponent (see {Krcmar} and Others v. the Czech Republic, No. 35376/97, § 39, 3 March 2000, and Dombo Beheer B.V. v. the Netherlands, 27 October 1993, § 33, Series A No. 274). The Court has previously found a violation of the right to a "public and fair hearing" in a case where a Russian court, after having refused leave to appear to the imprisoned applicants, who had wished to make oral submissions on their defamation claim, failed to consider other legal possibilities for securing their effective participation in the proceedings (see Khuzhin and Others v. Russia, No. 13470/02, §§ 53 et seq., 23 October 2008). It also found a violation of Article 6 in a case where an imprisoned applicant was similarly unable to be present and testify in court with regard t
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