Published on 4 March 2024
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 43201/22
Zlatan KAROVIĆ against Bosnia and Herzegovina
and 7 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 15 February 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications concern the non-enforcement of nine domestic decisions against the Sarajevo Canton. The writs of execution were issued between 2014 and 2022. On 12 January 2022 the Constitutional Court found a breach of Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 in the cases of Ms Čaldarević and Mr Šabanović, ordered the Sarajevo Canton to enforce the domestic decisions at issue and to pay them 300 convertible marks[1] each for non-pecuniary damage. On 13 January 2022 the Sarajevo Canton adopted an enforcement plan for all domestic decisions against the Sarajevo Canton (see the Official Gazette of the Sarajevo Canton no. 4/22). The plan provides that those who renounce their claims for default interest and/or legal costs will be paid their principal claims without delay. As regards those who do not agree to that, such as the present applicants, it is provided that the decisions in their favour will be enforced in a chronological order in the period from 2022 until 2026 and that 0.8% of the total budget will be designated for those purposes. Unlike the enforcement plans of other cantons, it appears that the enforcement plan adopted by the Sarajevo Canton does not indicate the year of enforcement for each non-enforced domestic decision against that Canton. The present applicants, like all others in their situation, thus still do not know when the decisions in their favour will be enforced. It is further provided that the Canton reserves the right not to stick to the plan if it is allocated less funds in the future. In the course of 2022, the Constitutional Court rejected the cases of Mr Karović, Mr Zametica, Ms Bukva and Mr Pecirep on the grounds that the enforcement plan of the Sarajevo Canton was acceptable. The remaining two applicants, Mr Kršlak and Ms Bradarić, did not lodge a constitutional appeal. The applicants complain that the domestic decisions at issue have not yet been enforced. In this connection, they rely on Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. The applicants claim that the Sarajevo Canton gives priority to those who renounce their claims for default interest and/or legal costs, leaving them in legal limbo and effectively putting pressure on them to also renounce a part of their claims.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Has there been a breach of Article 6 of the Convention and/or Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention arising from the non-enforcement of domestic decisions in the applicants’ favour against the Sarajevo Canton (see Spahić and Others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, nos. 20514/15 and 15 others, 14 November 2017; Kunić and Others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, nos. 68955/12 and 15 others, 14 November 2017; and Muhović and Others v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (dec.), nos. 40841/13 and 12 others, 15 September 2020)?
The Government are required to indicate how many domestic decisions against the Sarajevo Canton were included in that Canton’s enforcement plan and how many of them were enforced in 2022 and 2023 (by year) in respect of those who had renounced their claims for default interest and/or legal costs and in respect of those who, like the present applicants, had not done so (by category).
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
43201/22
Karović v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
11/08/2022
Zlatan KAROVIĆ
1987
Sarajevo
BIH
ZAJEDNIČKA ADVOKATSKA KANCELARIJA GALIJATOVIĆ & PECIKOZA
2.
50968/22
Zametica v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
19/10/2022
Midhat ZAMETICA
1963
Sarajevo
BIH
Amela ZAMETICA-AKŠAMIJA
3.
555/23
Kršlak v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
15/12/2022
Tarik KRŠLAK
1979
Sarajevo
BIH
Nedim MUHIĆ
4.
735/23
Bukva v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
23/12/2022
Sabina BUKVA
1971
Sarajevo
BIH
5.
5241/23
Bradarić v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
20/01/2023
Vanja BRADARIĆ
1976
Sarajevo
BIH
Dejan ARNAUT
6.
11223/23
Pecirep v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
06/03/2023
Neven PECIREP
1967
Sarajevo
BIH
7.
23675/23
Čaldarević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
02/06/2023
Amela ČALDAREVIĆ
1977
Vogošća
BIH
8.
23976/23
Šabanović v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
02/06/2023
Osman ŠABANOVIĆ
1967
Ilidža
BIH
[1] The convertible mark uses the same fixed exchange rate to the euro that the German mark has (1 convertible mark = 0.51129 euros).