sentenced to a penalty of six years, well within the limits set in that article. 6 September 1991 and, respectively, 1 December 1992, the only reason for such lengthy proceedings was the unjustified delay by the investigators in the case in bringing the author before the court. 4.9 In view of the fact that the Supreme Court considered that the penalty imposed on the author was in keeping with article 39 of the Lithuanian Criminal Code and bearing in mind the Committee’s case law stating that it is generally for the domestic courts to review the facts and evidence in a particular case, the State party maintains that the penalty imposed is in keeping with the prohibition on the imposition of a penalty that is heavier than the one that was applicable at the time when the offence was committed, as stated in article 15, paragraph 1, of the Covenant. 5.5 Lastly, the author refers to article 15, paragraph 1, of the Covenant and states once again that he should have been tried in accordance with the law in force at the time when the offence was committed, whereas, in fact, the offences for which he was tried were not defined by the law in force when they were committed. The Vilnius District Court, which heard the case, took the view that the definition of the offence was in keeping with article 104 of the Criminal Code (premeditated murder), without taking account of the fact that article 111, paragraph 2, providing for the offence of grievous bodily harm resulting in death, existed at the time. The author also maintains that the penalty applicable for that type of offence was heavier than the penalty applicable at the time the offence was committed. He states that he disagrees with the State party’s observation that, in its decision of 2 May 1996, the Supreme Court confirmed that the penalty was applied in accordance with the law in force at the time the offence was committed. Author’s comments 5.1 In his comments of 20 August 2000, the author argues that, throughout the proceedings, his right to a defence and to be heard by a court were mere formalities, as clearly reflected in the court’s decision. 5.2 The author’s conviction by the Vilnius District Court on 16 January 1996 was based on the fact that the only reasons for Mr. Zhuk’s death were the blows to his head and stomach which the author inflicted, thereby causing his death. According to the author, the court adopted these conclusions without any reliable evidence and without having examined the main evidence,5 since the forensic report stated that the cause of Mr. Zhuk’s death was a trauma to the stomach resulting in peritonitis. The medical report also stated that Mr. Zhuk was operated on too late, that the injuries which caused his death were not diagnosed until 30 hours after his arrival at the hospital and that the doctor, who suspected that there might be injuries to Mr. Zhuk’s stomach, did not take the necessary measures to make a final diagnosis so that he might be operated on immediately. Issues and proceedings before the Committee Admissibility considerations 6.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Human Rights Committee must, in accordance with rule 87 of its rules of procedure, decide whether or not the complaint is admissible under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant. 6.2 The Committee has ascertained that the same matter is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement for the purposes of article 5, paragraph 2 (a) of the Optional Protocol. It has further ascertained that the victim has exhausted domestic remedies for the purposes of article 5, paragraph 2 (b) of the Optional Protocol. The Committee also notes that the State party has not contested the admissibility of the communication under article 5, paragraphs 2 (a) and (b) of the Optional Protocol . 5.3 With regard to article 14, paragraph 3 (c), the author agrees with the State party that the duration of the proceedings should be counted as from the entry into force of the Covenant, i.e. 20 February 1992, but, even then, the period would be too long because there were four years and two months between the entry into force of the Covenant and the date of 2 May 1996. 6.3 With regard to the author’s allegations in respect of the violation of article 14, paragraph 1, the Committee recalls that it is generally for the courts of States parties, not for the Committee, to review the facts in a particular case. The Committee takes note of the State party’s allegations that all of the evidence was examined by the Supreme Court. Moreover, the information available to the Committee and the author’s arguments do not show that the evaluation of the facts by the courts was clearly arbitrary or amounted to a denial of justice. The Committee therefore takes the view that the 5.4 Bearing in mind that the evidence was collected during the initial stages of the investigation and that the forensic medical report was prepared on 5 According to the author, a forensic medical examination is compulsory in criminal proceedings, in accordance with article 86, paragraph 1, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and is one of the main pieces of evidence (art. 74, para. 2, and art. 85, para. 3). 124