The applicants, two Polish nationals, relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, filed a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the Republic of Poland complaining about the excessive length of administrative proceedings related to the functioning of a craftsmen’s cooperative established next to the their home in 1978. The applicants further alleged that due to the cooperative’s continuous activities they have been subjected to serious noise and pollution for a number of years, which resulted serious and long-term health problems. On 21 July 2009, the ECtHR held that there has been a violation of the applicants’ right to a fair hearing, since the length of the administrative proceedings was excessive and failed to meet the “reasonable time” requirement. With regard to the applicants’ right to respect for private and family life, the Court reiterated that even if there is no explicit right in the Convention to a clean and quiet environment, Article 8 of the Convention may apply in environmental cases, regardless of whether the pollution is directly caused by the State or the State's responsibility arises from failure to regulate private-sector activities properly. Nevertheless, the Court concluded that it has not been established that the noise levels considered in the present case are so serious as to reach the high threshold established in cases dealing with environmental issues. Therefore, the Court held that Article 8 of the Convention had not been violated.