CASE OF COPECHIM TRADING AG v. SERBIA

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF COPECHIM TRADING AG v. SERBIA

(Application no. 39219/22)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

24 October 2024

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Copechim Trading Ag v. Serbia,

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

 Anne Louise Bormann, President,
 Sebastian Răduleţu,
 Mateja Đurović, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 3 October 2024,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1.  The case originated in an application against Serbia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 27 July 2022.

2.  The applicant company was represented by Mr O. Glišić, a lawyer practising in Belgrade.

3.  The Serbian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the application.

THE FACTS

4.  The applicant company’s details and information relevant to the application are set out in the appended table.

5.  The applicant company complained of the non-enforcement of a domestic decision.

THE LAW

6.  The applicant company complained of the non-enforcement of a domestic decision given in its favour. It relied on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

7.  The Court reiterates that the execution of a judgment given by any court must be regarded as an integral part of a “hearing” for the purposes of Article 6. It also refers to its case-law concerning the non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of final domestic judgments (see Hornsby v. Greece, no. 18357/91, § 40, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997‑II).

8.  In the leading cases of EVT Company v. Serbia, no. 3102/05, 21 June 2007, and Mijatović and Others v. Serbia [Committee], nos. 50117/13 and 6 others, 23 October 2018, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

9.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Notably, the Court has noted that on 17 August 2020 the Commercial Court in Novi Sad stayed the enforcement of the domestic decision under consideration pending the outcome of a constitutional appeal against that decision. However, the constitutional appeal at issue has so far been pending for more than four and a half years (since 23 January 2020) which is excessively long (see, for example, Milovanović v. Serbia, no. 56065/10, §§ 84-90, 8 October 2019). Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the authorities did not deploy all necessary efforts to enforce fully and in due time the decision in the applicant company’s favour.

10.  These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

11.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, EVT Company, and Mijatović and Others, both cited above), the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

12.  The Court further notes that the respondent State has an outstanding obligation to enforce the decision which remains enforceable.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

(a)  that the respondent State is to pay the applicant company, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 24 October 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

 Viktoriya Maradudina Anne Louise Bormann
 Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

Application 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 applicant.

[2] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.