2 SITAROPOULOS AND GIAKOUMOPOULOS v. GREECE JUDGMENT 4. The application was allocated to the First Section of the Court (Rule 52 § 1 of the Rules of Court). Christos Rozakis, the judge elected in respect of Greece, withdrew from sitting in the case. The Government accordingly appointed Spyridon Flogaitis to sit as an ad hoc judge (former Article 27 § 2 of the Convention, and Rule 29 § 1). 5. On 8 July 2010 a Chamber of that Section, composed of Nina Vajić, President, Anatoly Kovler, Elisabeth Steiner, Khanlar Hajiyev, Dean Spielmann and Sverre Erik Jebens, judges, and Spyridon Flogaitis, ad hoc judge, and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar, delivered a judgment in which it decided to strike the application out of the list of cases in respect of the second applicant. The Chamber held, by five votes to two, that the application was admissible in respect of the first and third applicants and that there had been a violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. 6. On 22 November 2010, following a request from the Government of 7 October 2010, a panel of the Grand Chamber decided to refer the case to the Grand Chamber under Article 43 of the Convention. 7. The composition of the Grand Chamber was determined according to the provisions of Article 26 §§ 4 and 5 of the Convention and Rule 24. 8. The applicants and the Government each filed observations (Rule 59 § 1), as did the Hellenic League for Human Rights, which had been given leave by the President to intervene in the written procedure (Article 36 § 2 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 3). 9. A hearing was held in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 4 May 2011 (Rule 59 § 3). There appeared before the Court: (a) for the Government Ms K. PARASKEVOPOULOU, Adviser, State Legal Council, Ms Z. HATZIPAVLOU, Legal Assistant, State Legal Council, Agent’s Delegates; (b) for the applicants Mr I. KTISTAKIS, lawyer, Ms A. TERZIS, lawyer, The Court heard addresses by Mr Ktistakis and Ms Hatzipavlou. Counsel; Adviser.