JANJIĆ A OSTATNÍ proti Srbsku

FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 48936/17
Milena JANJIĆ against Serbia
and 4 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 23 March 2023 as a Committee composed of:

Tim Eicke, President,
Branko Lubarda,
Ana Maria Guerra Martins, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.

One of the applicants in application no. 81654/17, Mr Sokolov, died on 9 September 2021. The Government accepted the applicant’s wife, Ms Gerda Sokolov (who is also the second applicant in that case), as his legal heir.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions were communicated to the Serbian Government (“the Government”).

The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Serbia in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above‑mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.

THE LAW

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

The Court takes note of the death of Mr Sokolov and of the wish of his wife, the second applicant in the same application, to pursue the proceedings in his stead as well. The Court reiterates that where an applicant dies during the examination of a case his or her heirs may in principle pursue the application on his or her behalf (see Ječius v. Lithuania, no. 34578/97, § 41, ECHR 2000-IX; Shiryayeva v. Russia, no. 21417/04, §§ 8-9, 13 July 2006; and Horváthová v. Slovakia, no. 74456/01, § 26, 17 May 2005). Nothing suggests that the rights the applicant sought to protect through the Convention mechanism were eminently personal and non-transferable (see Malhous v. the Czech Republic [GC], no. 33071/96, 12 July 2001). The Government did not contend that Ms Gerda Sokolov had no standing to pursue the case. Therefore, the Court considers that Mr Sokolov’s widow has a legitimate interest in pursuing the application in his stead as well.

The Court further takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Decides that Ms Gerda Sokolov has standing to continue the proceedings in her late husband’s stead (application no. 81654/17);

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 13 April 2023.

Viktoriya Maradudina Tim Eicke
Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention

(non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions)

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

[2] Less any amounts which may have already been paid in that regard at the domestic level.

[3] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.