SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 759/25
Gábor Józsefné KARDOS and Others against Hungary
and 3 other applications
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 7 May 2026 as a Committee composed of:
Stéphane Pisani, President,
Juha Lavapuro,
Hugh Mercer, judges,
and Attila Teplán, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications against Hungary lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDUREThe list of applicants and their representatives is set out in the appended table.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”).
THE LAWHaving regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.
The Government acknowledged the excessive length of civil proceedings. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and would 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 undertook 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 applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations.
The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if:
“... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”.
Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see, in particular, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75‑77, ECHR 2003-VI).
The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the excessive length of civil proceedings (see, for example, Gazsó v. Hungary, no. 48322/12, 16 July 2015 and Csatári and Others v. Hungary [Committee], no. 18514/24, 20 May 2025).
Noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)).
In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine).
Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008).
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;
Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 28 May 2026.
Attila Teplán Stéphane Pisani
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention
(excessive length of civil proceedings)
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth /
Date of registration
Representative’s name and location
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of applicant’s comments, if any
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant
(in euros)[1]
759/25
16/12/2024
(6 applicants)
Gábor Józsefné KARDOS
1957
Gábor BAKAITY
1976
Attila LÁSZLÓ
1976
Szabolcs NÉMETH
1981
Sándor SZALAI
1969
Ilona VARGA
1946
Incze Gergely
Budapest
16/02/2026
13/03/2026
200
2360/25
16/12/2024
(10 applicants)
Eszter CSÁNYINÉ PATAKI
1974
Józsefné DOBRIK
1946
Kristóf Gergely EINSPACH
1983
Olivér EINSPACH
1984
Ferenc GASZT
1968
Nándorné GUNYHÓ
1944
Istvánné HORVÁTH
1955
Pálné ISTVÁN
1975
Judit MARÓTI
1976
Bernadett SZABÓNÉ HORVÁTH
1976
Kodela Viktor
Budapest
02/02/2026
06/03/2026
200
9775/25
12/03/2025
(9 applicants)
Gábor FERENCSÁK
1974
Lajos LENGYEL
1956
Tibor MATTYASOVSZKY
1953
Csaba Egon MIHÁLYI
1971
Béla NAGY
1958
Zoltán PAP
1971
Ferenc RÖNKÖS
1955
László VADAS
1965
Gyula VERES
1964
Váczi Péter
Győr
10/12/2025
200
19296/25
17/06/2025
(9 applicants)
Éva BUSI
1957
Nándor György BLATNYÁK
1942
Mihályné DÉR
1952
Zoltán Béla EGRI
1945
HILLTOP LOGISZTIKAI KFT
2001
Gábor KROPOK
1966
Erzsébet Emese MELEGHNÉ SZKLADÁNYI
1951
SALDO ZRT
1993
TRANS-SPED KFT
1998
Kovács N. Réka
Budapest
05/02/2026
05/03/2026
200
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.