FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 49199/22
Damijan OVEN
against Slovenia
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 14 September 2023 as a Committee composed of:
Krzysztof Wojtyczek, President,
Lətif Hüseynov,
Ivana Jelić, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 4 October 2022,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant’s details are set out in the appended table.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention concerning the extraordinary measures by national bank cancelling shares and bonds were communicated to the Slovenian Government (“the Government”).
The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Slovenia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay him the amount detailed in the appended table. This amount will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay this amount within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.
THE LAW
The Court notes that the applicant in the present case raised complaints under Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 about the lack of an effective remedy or procedure to challenge the Bank of Slovenia’s measures divesting him of shares. These complaints are similar to those in Pintar and Others v. Slovenia (nos. 49969/14 and 4 others, §§ 68 and 69, 14 September 2021) where the Court decided that this issue should be considered under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties concerning the aforementioned complaint. It further notes that the applicant also complained that the Bank of Slovenia’s extraordinary measures divesting him of his shares, without compensation, had been unjustified. However, in Pintar and Others (cited above, § 110) the Court found it unnecessary to ascertain whether the extraordinary measures were in the general interest and proportionate. It finds no reasons to reach a different conclusion in the present case.
The Court is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 5 October 2023.
Viktoriya Maradudina Krzysztof Wojtyczek
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
Application raising complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
(extraordinary measures by national bank cancelling shares and bonds)
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for non‑pecuniary damage (in euros)[1]
49199/22
04/10/2022
Damijan OVEN
1970
13/02/2023
10/03/2023
1,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.