Communicated on 26 November 2014
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 28493/11
Blaže LAZEV against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and 4 other applications
(see list appended)
The applicants are Macedonian nationals and live in Štip. They are represented before the Court by Ms S. Suleva, a lawyer practising in Štip. A list of applicants with their personal details is available in the appendix.
A. The circumstances of the cases
The facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
The applicants are redundant workers (стечајни работници) from “Makedonka” a former State-owned bankrupted factory, which was transformed and succeeded by few companies (“employers”). In 2008 the Special Allowance for Redundant Workers of Predominantly State-Owned Companies Act (“the Act) was adopted. The Act foresees that the redundant unemployed workers of the predominantly State-owned companies are entitled to a special monthly allowance (“the special allowance”). The Act further specifies that the Government shall compose a List of predominantly State-owned companies (“the List”) and that it shall be communicated to the Employment Office within 15 days after the Act’s entry into force.
In July and August 2008, relying on the Act, the applicants requested the Employment Office in Štip to grant them the special allowance.
Their requests were dismissed by the Employment Office because the applicants’ employers had not been State-owned companies.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy dismissed the applicants’ appeals reiterating the finding of the Employment Office.
The applicants lodged administrative actions before the Administrative Court. Through various documents they tried to substantiate that their employers, having all emerged upon the transformation of “Makedonka”, had been State-owned companies. They had been therefore entitled to obtain the special allowance, as had been the case with their former colleagues from other companies that had also emerged from “Makedonka” and who had already been granted the special allowance.
The Administrative Court dismissed the applicants’ administrative actions finding that the applicants’ employers had not been included in the List.
The applicants appealed claiming inter alia that the List had never been communicated to them and that this particular evidence was simply invoked by the Administrative Court without providing any further details about it.
The Supreme Court and the High Administrative Court (which was in mean time established and became competent to decide the appeals against the decisions of the Administrative Court), on the dates set out in the appendix, dismissed the appeals finding that the Administrative Court had correctly established that the applicants’ employers had not been included in the List and that consequently, the applicants had not been entitled to the special allowance claimed.
COMPLAINT
The applicants complain under Article 6 of the Convention that they had no access to the List and that they therefore could not have effectively argued their cases.
QUESTION to the parties
Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of their civil rights, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, was the principle of equality of arms respected in the impugned administrative proceedings, namely, were the applicants given the opportunity to have knowledge of and comment on the List (see Komanický v. Slovakia, no. 32106/96, § 50, 4 June 2002)?
APPENDIX
No.
Application
no.
Lodged on
Applicant’s name,
date of birth
Case-file number and date of the final decision of the High Administrative/ Supreme Court
28493/11
30/04/2011
Blaže LAZEV
20/03/1949
Ужп.бр. 425/2010 of
27/09/2010
(received by the applicant on 04/11/2010)
65661/12
08/10/2012
Nikola POLAZAROV
15/09/1953
Уж.бр. 679/2012 of
09/04/2012
74018/12
12/11/2012
Lazo TASEVSKI
05/05/1952
Уж.бр. 694/2012 of
09/04/2012
(received by the applicant on 15/05/2012)
5916/13
15/01/2013
Simeon PIKOV
04/10/1952
Уж.бр. 846/2012 of 03/07/2012
7198/13
18/01/2013
Ljupčo MLADENOV
17/09/1953
Уж.бр. 852/2012 of
18/10/2012
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy