FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 50779/07
by Mária PAVLÍKOVÁ and Others
against Slovakia
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 25 May 2010 as a Chamber composed of:
Nicolas Bratza, President,
Giovanni Bonello,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Ján Šikuta,
Päivi Hirvelä,
Ledi Bianku,
Nebojša Vučinić, judges,
and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 14 November 2007,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
PROCEDURE
The application was lodged by four Slovak nationals. The first applicant, Ms Mária Pavlíková, was born in 1928 and lives in Bernolákovo. The second applicant, Ms Mária Pavlíková, was born in 1949 and lives in Bernolákovo. The third applicant, Ms Daniela Džubáková, was born in 1951 and lives in Banská Bystrica. The fourth applicant, Mr Jozef Pavlík, was born in 1954 and lives in Bratislava. They were represented before the Court by Mr R. Hošovský, a lawyer practising in Bratislava. The Slovak Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs M. Pirošíková.
The applicants complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of civil proceedings which started on 13 May 1992 and are still pending. On 16 April 2003 the Constitutional Court found a violation of the applicants' right to a hearing within a reasonable time and awarded the first and second applicants the equivalent at that time of 1,708 euros (EUR) each and the third and fourth applicants EUR 1,220 each as just satisfaction for non-pecuniary damage suffered. It also ordered the responsible court to avoid any further delay in the proceedings. On 23 November 2005 the Constitutional Court again found a violation of the applicants' right to a hearing within a reasonable time and awarded the first and second applicants the equivalent at that time of EUR 517 each and the third and fourth applicants EUR 258 each as just satisfaction for non-pecuniary damage suffered. It also ordered the responsible court to avoid any further delay in the proceedings. The applicants further alleged a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
On 31 March 2010 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Slovakia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay the first and second applicants EUR 6,300 each and the third and fourth applicants EUR 2,300 each to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses. These sums would be free of any taxes that might be applicable. They will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from 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 payments will constitute the final resolution of the case.
THE LAW
The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention).
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.
Lawrence EarlyNicolas Bratza
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy