PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 75204/01) against the Federal Republic of Germany lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a German national, Mr Theodor Klasen (“the applicant”), on 28 September 2001.

The applicant was represented by Mr R. Battenstein, a lawyer practising in Düsseldorf. The German Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel, Ministerialrätin, of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

On 27 October 2004 the Court decided to communicate the application. Applying Article 29 § 3 of the Convention, it decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the application at the same time.

The applicant died on 21 April 2005. On 11 May 2005 his lawyer informed the Registrar that his wife from a second marriage, Mrs Pauline Klasen, wished to continue with the case. By letter of 12 July 2005, the Government objected to her being allowed to do so.

On 1 April 2006 this case was assigned to the newly composed Fifth Section (Rule 25 § 1 and Rule 52 § 1).

THE FACTS

THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant, Mr Theodor Klasen, was born in 1933 and lived in Mülheim.

He worked between 1964 and the beginning of 1974 with asbestos insulators for the T Company in Mülheim. During this period, the workers of this company who were exposed to asbestos dust while working had to clean their clothes themselves. This was done by the applicant's first wife Mrs Gisela Klasen. On 1 April 1974, after the applicant had stopped working for the T Company, an accident prevention regulation (Unfallverhütungsvorschrift) entered into force pursuant to which the company was put in charge of cleaning the working clothes.

Having contracted a mesothelioma, an asbestosis related disease, Mrs Gisela Klasen applied on 6 March 1991 to the Düsseldorf Health Insurance Association for compensation payments, claiming that her illness was the consequence of the daily cleaning of her husband's work clothes. On 6 August 1991 the Health Insurance Association dismissed her request holding that her activity was not covered by the industrial health insurance, since she had acted on a strictly private basis and not as an employee.

On 5 September 1991 Mrs Gisela Klasen filed an objection against this decision which was rejected on 13 December 1991 by the Appeals Board of the Health Insurance Association.

In January 1992 Mrs Gisela Klasen commenced proceedings before the Duisburg Social Court. After her death on 13 September 1992, her husband Theodor Klasen, the applicant, continued the proceedings as legal successor of the deceased. The Social Court decided to await the decision in the precedent which was pending from April 1992 until February 1993 before the Social Court of Appeal and from March 1993 until December 1993 before the Federal Social Court. From March 1993 until October 1993 the proceedings were formally suspended.

On 17 May 1994 the Duisburg Social Court dismissed the action on the ground that, pursuant to Section 539 §§ 1 and 2 of the Social Security Act (Reichsversicherungsordnung), Mrs Gisela Klasen was not insured against accidents at work. The court found that she had not been an employee herself, nor had she acted like an employee. She had cleaned her husband's clothes on ground of their living together, but not with a view to acting for her husband's employer.

On 25 January 1995 the Social Court of Appeal rejected the applicant's appeal.

On 19 March 1996 the Federal Social Court rejected his appeal on points of law. It considered in particular that Mrs Gisela Klasen's death was not the consequence of an occupational disease as the cleaning of her husband's work clothes mainly served the interests of the couple's household and not the employer's interests.

On 20 June 1996 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint alleging that the social courts' interpretation of Section 539 of the Social Security Act was discriminatory. Invoking Article 6 of the Convention, the applicant further submitted that the proceedings had lasted too long.

In December 1997 the Federal Constitutional Court invited the Federal Parliament, the Federal Council (Bundesrat), the Federal Government, the Federal Social Court, the Governing Association of the worker's Health Insurances (Hauptverband der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften) and the parties of the proceedings before the lower courts to submit their written observations on the constitutional complaint. The latest observations were submitted to the Federal Constitutional Court on 17 September 1998.

On 13 March 2001 a panel of three judges of the Federal Constitutional Court refused to admit the complaint because it lacked reasonable prospects of success. The court held that the contested interpretation of Section 539 of the Social Security Act did not violate the applicant's constitutional rights and mainly argued that it was incumbent on the legislator to determine to which extent the industrial health insurance should cover third persons. It further pointed out that a constitutional complaint could not be based on an alleged violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. This decision was notified to the applicant's lawyer on 28 March 2001.
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CODE
DIRECT
75204/01
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ORG
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Federal Republic of Germany
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DEM
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German
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PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Theodor Klasen
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DATETIME
QUASI
28 September 2001
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PERSON
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Mr R. Battenstein
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LOC
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Düsseldorf
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ORG
NO_MASK
001-77251_a11_em2
German Government
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Government
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PERSON
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Mrs A. Wittling-Vogel
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ORG
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Federal Ministry of Justice
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DATETIME
QUASI
27 October 2004
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21 April 2005
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DATETIME
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11 May 2005
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PERSON
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Mrs Pauline Klasen
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DATETIME
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12 July 2005
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ORG
NO_MASK
Government
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DATETIME
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1 April 2006
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PERSON
DIRECT
Mr Theodor Klasen
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DATETIME
QUASI
1933
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LOC
QUASI
Mülheim
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DATETIME
QUASI
1964
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DATETIME
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1974
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MISC
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asbestos insulators
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ORG
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T Company
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LOC
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Mülheim
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asbestos dust
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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DATETIME
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1 April 1974
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ORG
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T Company
HEALTH
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DEM
QUASI
mesothelioma
HEALTH
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DEM
QUASI
asbestosis related disease
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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DATETIME
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6 March 1991
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ORG
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Düsseldorf Health Insurance Association
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DATETIME
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6 August 1991
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Health Insurance Association
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DATETIME
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5 September 1991
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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DATETIME
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13 December 1991
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ORG
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Appeals Board of the Health Insurance Association
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January 1992
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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ORG
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Duisburg Social Court
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13 September 1992
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PERSON
DIRECT
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Theodor Klasen
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Social Court
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April 1992
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February 1993
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Social Court of Appeal
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March 1993
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December 1993
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Federal Social Court
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March 1993
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October 1993
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17 May 1994
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Duisburg Social Court
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MISC
NO_MASK
001-77251_a11_em59
Social Security Act
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Reichsversicherungsordnung
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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25 January 1995
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Social Court of Appeal
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19 March 1996
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ORG
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Federal Social Court
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PERSON
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Mrs Gisela Klasen
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DATETIME
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20 June 1996
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NO_MASK
Social Security Act
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DATETIME
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December 1997
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001-77251_a11_em69
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NO_MASK
Federal Constitutional Court
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NO_MASK
Federal Parliament
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NO_MASK
Federal Council
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NO_MASK
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Bundesrat
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Federal Government
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Federal Social Court
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Governing Association of the worker
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ORG
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Health Insurances
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ORG
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Federal Constitutional Court
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17 September 1998
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13 March 2001
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Federal Constitutional Court
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MISC
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Social Security Act
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28 March 2001
Theodor Klasen
DEU
CHAMBER
Task: Annotate the document to anonymise the following person: Theodor Klasen