Published on 6 December 2021
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 55588/18
Juraj MUCKO
against Croatia
lodged on 22 November 2018
communicated on 17 November 2021
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns the domestic authorities’ refusal to reimburse the applicant’s costs of administrative proceedings.
In particular, a local authority issued an administrative enforcement order against the applicant with a view to collecting unpaid communal charges. After the applicant hired an advocate who lodged an appeal, the enforcement order was quashed, and the proceedings discontinued because the local authority’s claim for communal charges became statute barred. However, the applicant’s claim for costs of proceedings was dismissed with an explanation that the relevant legislation did not provide for reimbursement of fees for legal representation by an advocate in administrative proceedings.
QUESTION TO THE PARTIES
Was the domestic authorities’ refusal to reimburse the applicant’s costs of administrative proceedings, even though the proceedings ended in his favour, in breach of his right of access to a court under Article 6 § 1 (see Zustović v. Croatia, no. 27903/15, §§ 96-111, 22 April 2021, and Černius and Rinkevičius v. Lithuania, nos. 73579/17 and 14620/18, §§ 65‑74, 18 February 2020)?