The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 54 (art. 54) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"),
Having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Vereniging Weekblad Bluf! case delivered on
9 February 1995 and transmitted the same day to the Committee of Ministers;
Recalling that the case originated in an application
(No. 16616/90) against the Netherlands, lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 4 May 1988 under Article 25 (art. 25) of the Convention by the association, Vereniging Weekblad Bluf!, whose seat is in Amsterdam, and that the Commission declared admissible the complaint concerning the seizure of one of the issues of the applicant association's periodical;
Recalling that the case was brought before the Court by the Commission on 9 December 1993;
Whereas in its judgment of 9 February 1995 the Court unanimously:
- held that there had been a breach of Article 10 (art. 10) of the Convention;
- held that the respondent state was to pay the applicant association, within three months, 60 000 Dutch guilders for costs and expenses;
- dismissed the remainder of the claim for just satisfaction;
Having regard to the Rules adopted by the Committee of Ministers concerning the application of Article 54 (art. 54) of the Convention;
Having invited the Government of the Netherlands to inform it of the measures which had been taken in consequence of the judgment of 9 February 1995, having regard to the Netherlands' obligation under Article 53 (art. 53) of the Convention to abide by it;
Whereas, during the examination of the case by the Committee of Ministers, the Government of the Netherlands gave the Committee information about the measures taken in consequence of the judgment, which information appears in the appendix to this resolution;
Having satisfied itself that on 4 May 1995, within the
time-limit set, the Government of the Netherlands paid the applicant the sum provided for in the judgment of 9 February 1995,
Declares, after having taken note of the information supplied by the Government of the Netherlands, that it has exercised its functions under Article 54 (art. 54) of the Convention in this case.
Appendix to Resolution DH (96) 101
Information provided by the Government of the Netherlands
during the examination of the Vereniging Weekblad Bluf! case
by the Committee of Ministers
The attention of the Netherlands' authorities has been drawn to the requirements of Article 10 (art. 10) of the Convention in situations comparable to the one at issue in the present case, inter alia, through the publication of a translation of the Court's judgment in the Nederlands Juristenblad, year 70 (1995),
pp. 207-208.
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