SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 3627/21
CROATIAN RADIO-TELEVISION
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 29 June 2023 as a Committee composed of:
Frédéric Krenc, President,
Diana Sârcu,
Davor Derenčinović, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 8 January 2021,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Croatian Radio-Television, is national radio and television broadcasting institution.
Its complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning divergent case-law and access to the Constitutional Court were communicated to the Croatian Government (“the Government”), together with twenty other similar applications lodged by the applicant institution.
The Government submitted observations on the admissibility and merits. Their observations were forwarded to the applicant institution, which was invited to submit its own observations. While the applicant institution submitted its observations in reply in respect of the above-mentioned twenty other applications, no reply was received to the Registry’s letter in the present case.
By letter dated 24 November 2021, sent by registered post, the applicant institution was notified that the period allowed for submission of its observations in the present case had expired on 29 October 2021 and that no extension of time had been requested. The applicant institution’s attention was drawn to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, which provides that the Court may strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that the applicant does not intend to pursue the application. The applicant institution received that letter on 29 November 2021. However, no response has followed.
On 2 March 2023 the Court delivered its judgment in respect of the twenty other related applications. It held that that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention on account of divergent case-law and declared inadmissible the complaint concerning access to the Constitutional Court (see Croatian Radio-Television v. Croatia, nos. 52132/19 and 19 others, §§ 122‑66, 2 March 2023). The judgment became final on 2 June 2023.
THE LAW
In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application.
Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Done in English and notified in writing on 20 July 2023.
Viktoriya Maradudina Frédéric Krenc
Acting Deputy Registrar President