Published on 28 November 2022
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 20644/20
Bahrije KRASNIĆI against Serbia
and 7 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 10 November 2022
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
These applications concern the suspension of pensions paid by the Serbian Pension Fund to applicants whose entitlements had been granted/paid by this fund’s branch office in Kosovo[1] before Kosovo’s placement under international administration in 1999.
Under Article 6 of the Convention the applicants complain about the length of the related and still ongoing administrative and judicial review proceedings.
Under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 they also complain about not being paid or fully paid their pensions since 1999, as well as the continuing absence of effective redress domestically.
The applicants in these cases, however, all passed away after having lodged their applications and their spouses and/or children, respectively, intend to continue with the applications in their stead.
QUESTIONS TO TE PARTIES
1. Can the heirs of the original applicants in the present cases continue with the applications before this Court in their stead respectively (see, mutatis mutandis, Marčić and Others v. Serbia, no. 17556/05, §§ 29 and 35-40, 30 October 2007; Adamović v. Serbia, no. 41703/06, §§ 23-26, 2 October 2012; Mijanović v. Montenegro, no. 19580/06, §§ 55, 17 September 2013; and Ghavalyan v. Armenia, no. 50423/08, § 59, 22 October 2020)?
2. Should the answer to the above question be in the affirmative, can the applicants, respectively and in connection with their complaints about the length of proceedings raised under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, still be considered as victims of a violation thereof within the meaning of Article 34 given the decisions adopted by the Constitutional Court in this respect (see Cocchiarella v. Italy [GC], no. 64886/01, §§ 69-107, ECHR 2006-V)?
3. Have the applicants respectively, regarding their complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, exhausted all effective domestic remedies as required under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, could a separate civil claim for damages, administrative and judicial review proceedings or a constitutional appeal be considered effective within the meaning of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention and in the specific circumstances of the present cases (see, mutatis mutandis, Vučković and Others v. Serbia (preliminary objection) [GC], nos. 17153/11 and 29 others, § 61, 25 March 2014; Grudić v. Serbia, no. 31925/08, § 48, 17 April 2012; Skenderi and Others v. Serbia (dec.), no. 15090/08, §§ 7-22, 68-70, 100 and 109, 4 July 2017; Aquilina v. Malta [GC], no. 25642/94, § 39, ECHR 1999-III; Jasinskis v. Latvia, no. 45744/08, §§ 50, 53 and 54, 21 December 2010; and Story and Others v. Malta, nos. 56854/13 and 2 others, § 80, 29 October 2015)?
4. Was the length of the respective pensions-related administrative and judicial review proceedings in the present cases in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement contained in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see, mutatis mutandis, Živaljević v. Montenegro, no. 17229/04, §§ 72-78, 8 March 2011)?
5. Has there been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention? In particular, was there a breach of this provision in that the respondent State had first suspended the payment of the applicants’ pensions, respectively, and then did not afford them “a reasonable opportunity of putting” their claims “to the responsible authorities for the purpose of effectively challenging” this interference (see Grudić and Others, §§ 77-83, cited above; Skenderi and Others, §§ 92-101, cited above; and Jokela v. Finland, no. 28856/95, § 45, ECHR 2002-IV, with further references)? Lastly, in this context, have the domestic authorities taken into account the relevant pensions-related regulations adopted in Kosovo?
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
1.
20644/20
Krasnići v. Serbia
14/04/2020
Bahrije KRASNIĆI
1934
Prizren
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
2.
22103/20
Redžepi v. Serbia
14/04/2020
Redžep REDŽEPI
1949
Berlin
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
3.
22111/20
Franca v. Serbia
27/04/2020
Smail FRANCA
1943
Peć
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
4.
22597/20
Đota v. Serbia
03/04/2020
Hajri ĐOTA
1927
Peć
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
5.
25955/20
Ašani v. Serbia
15/06/2020
Džavir AŠANI
1939
Prizren
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
6.
42957/20
Krasnići v. Serbia
10/09/2020
Ljiman KRASNIĆI
1933
Prizren
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
7.
14820/21
Ljecaj v. Serbia
05/03/2021
Nesibe LJECAJ
1951
Prizren
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
8.
21075/21
Škoza v. Serbia
12/04/2021
Selim ŠKOZA
1938
Prizren
Serbian
Refija GARIBOVIĆ
[1] All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.