SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 23224/17
Čedomir ČUTOVIĆ against Serbia
and 14 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 25 March 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Carlo Ranzoni, President,
Branko Lubarda,
Pauliine Koskelo, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The applicants were represented by Ms D. Janković, a lawyer practising in Čačak. The applicant in application no. 65457/17, Mr Sretenović, died on 13 April 2020. The Government accepted his widow, Ms Radmila Sretenović, as the applicant’s legal heir.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning the delayed enforcement of domestic decisions given against socially/State-owned companies were communicated to the Serbian Government (“the Government”).
The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants/heir of the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Serbia in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
The Court takes note of the death of Mr Sretenović and of the wish of his widow to pursue the proceedings. The Court reiterates that where an applicant dies during the examination of a case his or her heirs may in principle pursue the application on his or her behalf (see Ječius v. Lithuania, no. 34578/97, § 41, ECHR 2000-IX; Shiryayeva v. Russia, no. 21417/04, §§ 8-9, 13 July 2006; and Horváthová v. Slovakia, no. 74456/01, § 26, 17 May 2005). Nothing suggests that the rights the applicant sought to protect through the Convention mechanism were eminently personal and non-transferable (see Malhous v. the Czech Republic [GC], no. 33071/96, § 1, 12 July 2001). The Government did not contend that Ms Sretenović had no standing to pursue the case. Therefore, the Court considers that the applicant’s widow has a legitimate interest in pursuing the application.
The Court further 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 the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Decides that in respect of application no. 65457/17 Ms Sretenović has standing to continue the proceedings in her late husband’s stead;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 15 April 2021.
Viktoriya MaradudinaCarlo Ranzoni
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
(delayed enforcement of domestic decisions given against socially/State-owned companies)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for
non-pecuniary damage
per applicant (in euros)[1] 2
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application (in euros)3
23224/17
20/03/2017
Čedomir ČUTOVIĆ
1945
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
65183/17
25/08/2017
Mišo MARKOVIĆ
1964
10/09/2020
25/06/2020
1,000
250
65189/17
25/08/2017
Gordana SRETENOVIĆ
1972
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
65455/17
25/08/2017
Darko DUKIĆ
1956
10/09/2020
25/06/2020
1,000
250
65457/17
25/08/2017
Dragan SRETENOVIĆ
Year of birth: 1951
Date of death: 13/04/2020
Pursued by heir:
Radmila Sretenović
1957
10/09/2020
09/12/2020
1,000
250
69395/17
15/09/2017
Mirjana FILIPOVIĆ
1954
10/09/2020
25/06/2020
1,000
250
71595/17
29/09/2017
Milomir TUBA
1962
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
71598/17
29/09/2017
Uroš ĆUBOVIĆ
1940
10/09/2020
25/06/2020
1,000
250
71907/17
29/09/2017
Veroljub MASLAĆ
1958
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
71931/17
29/09/2017
Petar ĐUROVIĆ
1949
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
71938/17
29/09/2017
Radoš ŽIVKOVIĆ
1962
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
73023/17
29/09/2017
Olga ĆUBOVIĆ
1951
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
75578/17
19/10/2017
Zoran MILIĆEVIĆ
1954
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
75607/17
19/10/2017
Miloš TANASKOVIĆ
1958
10/09/2020
24/06/2020
1,000
250
75861/17
19/10/2017
Milka TERZIĆ
1956
10/09/2020
25/06/2020
1,000
250
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
2 Less any amounts which may have already been paid in that regard at the domestic level.
3 Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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