THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 57180/19
Tsvetan Tsenov DAMYANOV
against Bulgaria
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 14 December 2023 as a Committee composed of:
Darian Pavli, President,
Ioannis Ktistakis,
Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 18 October 2019,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Tsvetan Tsenov Damyanov, was born in 1942. His application with the Court was lodged on 18 October 2019. On 18 November 2021 he sent an additional letter, inquiring about the progress of the application.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, concerning the failure of the national authorities to comply with final court judgments in his favour and the resulting interference with his property rights, were communicated to the Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) on 26 September 2022. A letter in that sense was sent to the applicant’s address. Further letters were sent on 4 January, 22 March and 2 June 2023, concerning the different stages of the procedure before the Court, and in particular forwarding the Government’s observations on the admissibility and merits of the case. In the latter letter the applicant was given a deadline until 13 July 2023 to comment in reply, and to submit any claims for just satisfaction under Article 41 of the Convention. As no response was received within the time-limit given, on 11 September 2023 the Registry of the Court sent a registered letter to the applicant, asking him to state whether he wished to maintain his application.
On 20 September 2023 the Government informed the Court that they had received information that the applicant had died. The same was stated when the registered letter of 11 September 2023 returned to the Court unclaimed. The date of the applicant’s death has not been specified.
No heirs of the applicant have contacted the Court to express a wish to pursue the application in his stead.
THE LAW
In the light of the foregoing, the Court concludes that the applicant’s heirs do not wish to pursue the application within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. The Court has sent numerous letters to the applicant’s address concerning the communication of the application, the first of which in September 2022, meaning that the applicant’s heirs must have had sufficient time and possibility to contact the Court. Nothing has been received in that regard, the latest communication to the Court being the applicant’s own letter of 18 November 2021.
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 18 January 2024.
Viktoriya Maradudina Darian Pavli
Acting Deputy Registrar President