Information Note on the Court’s case-law 205
March 2017
Mitrović v. Serbia - 52142/12
Judgment 21.3.2017 [Section III]
Article 5
Article 5-1
Deprivation of liberty
Detention on the basis of a decision rendered by the Republic of Serbian Krajina: violation
Facts – In 1994 the applicant was sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment for murder by a court under the control of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, an internationally unrecognised self-proclaimed entity established on the territory of the Republic of Croatia during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The entity ceased to exist in 1995 and has never been recognised as a State by Serbia. The applicant complained that his detention in a Serbian prison on the basis of that judgment violated Article 5.
Law – Article 5 § 1: The applicant had been convicted of murder by a court which operated outside the Serbian judicial system. He had then been transferred to a Serbian prison to serve his sentence. The Serbian authorities had not conducted proceedings for the recognition of a foreign decision as required by domestic law. Given that the applicant was detained on the basis of a non-domestic decision which had not been recognised domestically, and in the absence of any other basis in domestic law for the detention, the requirement of lawfulness contained in Article 5 § 1 was not met.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
Article 41: No claim made in respect of damage.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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