FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 10544/05
by Boris COC
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 8 March 2007 as a Chamber composed of:
MrC.L. Rozakis, President,
MrL. Loucaides,
MrsN. Vajić,
MrA. Kovler,
MrsE. Steiner,
MrK. Hajiyev,
MrD. Spielmann, judges,
and Mr S. Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 24 February 2005,
Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together.
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case.
Having regard to the partial decision of 28 November 2006,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Boris Coc, is a Croatian national who was born in 1947 and lives in Zagreb. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms Š. Stažnik.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 3 September 1998 the applicant, together with fifty-five other plaintiffs, instituted civil proceedings against his employer before the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu), seeking payment of their salaries.
On 19 February 2004 the applicant filed a constitutional complaint about the length of proceedings.
At the hearing held on 14 September 2004 in the Zagreb Municipal Court the trial was concluded and on 16 September 2004 the judgment was pronounced.
On 29 September 2004 the plaintiffs filed an appeal against the first instance judgment.
The proceedings are currently pending before the Zagreb County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu) as the appellate court.
On 25 November 2004 the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) dismissed the applicant’s complaint as being manifestly ill-founded.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of proceedings.
THE LAW
By letter of 15 December 2006 the applicant informed the Court that he had accepted the proposal for a friendly settlement whereby the applicant waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.
On 5 February 2007 the Government also informed the Court that they accepted the proposal for a friendly settlement and that the Government would pay the applicant 4,700 euros in full and final settlement of his claim under the Convention, 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 and finds no public policy reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). Accordingly, Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Søren NielsenChristos Rozakis
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy