FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 45493/06
by Nevenka CAR
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 17 September 2009 as a Chamber composed of:
Anatoly Kovler, President,
Nina Vajić,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
Dean Spielmann,
Sverre Erik Jebens,
Giorgio Malinverni,
George Nicolaou, judges,
and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 4 October 2006,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Ms Nevenka Car, is a Croatian national who was born in 1970 and lives in Marija Bistrica. She was represented before the Court by Mrs M. Parlov-Tkalčić, an advocate practising in Zagreb. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs Š. Stažnik.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
1. Civil proceedings
On 26 April 1991 the applicant brought a civil action against her employer, the company T., in the Zabok Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zaboku) challenging her dismissal. She also sought salary arrears.
After two remittals, on 13 October 2005 the Zabok Municipal Court delivered an interim judgment (međupresuda). On 1 February 2006 the Zlatar County Court (Županijski sud u Zlataru) dismissed an appeal by the respondent and upheld the first-instance interim judgment.
On 25 April 2008 the Zabok Municipal Court determined the exact amount of salary owed to the applicant. On 16 July 2008 the Zlatar County Court dismissed an appeal by the respondent and upheld the first-instance judgment.
On 24 September 2008 the applicant instituted enforcement proceedings against the company T. in the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) with a view to enforcing the judgment of 25 April 2008. It would appear that the proceedings are still pending.
2. The proceedings before the Constitutional Court
Meanwhile, on 25 May 2005 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint about the length of the above proceedings. On 12 October 2006 the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) found a violation of her constitutional right to a hearing within a reasonable time. It awarded her 13,600 Croatian kunas in compensation and ordered the Zabok Municipal Court to give a decision in the case in the shortest time possible but no later than six months following the publication of its decision in the Official Gazette. The Constitutional Court’s decision was published on 22 November 2006.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained under Articles 3 and 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the above civil proceedings.
THE LAW
By letter of 18 May 2009 the applicant’s representative informed the Court that she accepted a proposal for a friendly settlement and waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.
By letter of 24 June 2009 the Government informed the Court that the parties had reached a settlement whereby the Government would pay the applicant 2,450 euros in full and final settlement of the case, costs and expenses included.
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 its Protocols (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
André WampachAnatoly Kovler
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy