FIFTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 19203/03
by Dela DECHEVA
against Bulgaria
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 10 June 2008 as a Chamber composed of:
Peer Lorenzen, President,
Rait Maruste,
Karel Jungwiert,
Volodymyr Butkevych,
Isabelle Berro-Lefèvre,
Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska,
Zdravka Kalaydjieva, judges,
and Claudia Westerdiek, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 3 June 2003,
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 deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Ms Dela Decheva, is a Bulgarian national who was born in 1946 and lives in Pazardzhik. She was represented before the Court by Mr M. Ekimdzhiev and Ms K. Boncheva, lawyers practising in Plovdiv. The Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms M. Dimova, of the Ministry of Justice.
The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 12 November 1998 the applicant was dismissed from her employment due to a reduction in the payroll.
On 25 November 1998 the applicant brought an action for a declaration that the dismissal was unlawful and demanded reinstatement and damages. In a judgment of 28 April 2000 the Pazardzhik District Court declared the dismissal unlawful, awarded the applicant compensation and reinstated her to her position. In a judgment dated 12 January 2001 the Pazardzhik Regional Court reversed.
In a judgment of 8 April 2002 the Supreme Court of Cassation reversed the judgment of 12 January 2001 and referred the case back to the Regional Court.
On 18 July 2002 the Regional Court upheld the District Court’s judgment whereby the applicant’s action was allowed.
In a final judgment of 7 July 2005 the Supreme Court of Cassation, having held an oral hearing on 12 April 2005, upheld the District Court’s judgment thus affirming that the dismissal was illegal.
COMPLAINTS
1. The applicant complained under Articles 6 § 1 of the Convention of the excessive length of the civil proceedings.
2. The applicant also complained under Article 13 about the lack of effective remedies in respect of length of the civil proceedings.
THE LAW
On 20 September 2007 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:
“I, Mihail Ekimdzhiev, lawyer, note that the Government of Bulgaria are prepared to pay the sum of 2,200 euros to Ms Dela Decheva with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into Bulgarian lev at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Bulgaria in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case.”
In his letter accompanying the above declaration the applicant expressed a preference concerning a particular repartition of the amount between her and her legal representative Ms Boncheva. The Court considers, however, that this is an internal matter between them.
On 4 March 2008 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“The Government of Bulgaria offer to pay 2,200 euros to Ms Dela Decheva with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into Bulgarian lev at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from 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 case.”
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). In view of the above, it is appropriate to discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 and to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Claudia WesterdiekPeer Lorenzen
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy