TSOUTSIS A ELEFTHERAKIS proti Řecku

THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application nos. 17431/23 and 26683/23
Pantelis TSOUTSIS against Greece

and Konstantinos ELEFTHERAKIS against Greece

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 18 December 2025 as a Committee composed of:

Diana Kovatcheva, President,
Canòlic Mingorance Cairat,
Vasilka Sancin, 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.

The applicants were represented by Mr Ch. Chaskis, a lawyer practising in Thessaloniki.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions and the lack of any effective remedy in domestic law were communicated to the Greek Government (“the Government”). Complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under other provisions of the Convention.

The Court notes that on 30 March 2024 the applicant in application no. 17431/23 died and that Ms Aggeliki Tsoutsi and Mr Christos Tsoutsis, the applicant’s children, expressed their wish to pursue the application in the applicant’s stead.

The Court further notes that on 27 December 2024, the applicant in application no. 26683/23 died and that Ms Aristea Eleftheraki, the applicant’s wife, Mr Dimos Eleftherakis and Mr Giorgos Eleftherakis, the applicant’s children, expressed their wish to pursue the application in the applicant’s stead.

The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants’ heirs agreed to waive any further claims against Greece 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 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 applicants’ deaths and of the wish of their heirs to pursue the proceedings. 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, § 9, 13 July 2006; and Horváthová v. Slovakia, no. 74456/01, § 26, 17 May 2005). Nothing suggests that the rights the applicants 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 the applicants’ heirs had no standing to pursue the cases. Therefore, the Court considers that the applicants’ heirs have a legitimate interest in pursuing the applications.

The Court 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 applications out of the Court’s list of cases.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Decides that Ms Aggeliki Tsoutsi and Mr Christos Tsoutsis have standing to continue the proceedings in the stead of the deceased applicant Mr Pantelis Tsoutsis (application no. 17431/23);

Decides that Ms Aristea Eleftheraki, Mr Dimos Eleftherakis and Mr Giorgos Eleftherakis have standing to continue the proceedings in the stead of the deceased applicant, Mr Konstantinos Eleftherakis (application no. 26683/23);

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 22 January 2026.

Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Kovatcheva
Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 13 of the Convention

(non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions and lack of any effective remedy in domestic law)

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