Communicated on 6 February 2019
THIRD SECTION
Application no. 26944/13
Dejan POPOVIĆ against Serbia
and 3 other applications
(see list appended)
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications primarily concern under Article 14 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12, the alleged discrimination by the respondent State in the provision of disability benefits.
Specifically, the applicants, being classified as civilian beneficiaries (civilni invalidi), maintain that they were awarded fewer and, in absolute amounts, almost seven times lower benefits than those classified as military beneficiaries (vojni invalidi), despite having exactly the same paraplegic disability. The applicants brought civil proceedings in this respect, alleging discrimination, but were ultimately unsuccessful, including before the Constitutional Court at the highest level domestically.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has already, in the context of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, considered this issue. It was concerned, inter alia, with the existence of different legal entitlements for persons with the same disabilities depending on whether or not their impairment was war-related, and recommended that the countries in question develop and apply harmonized criteria, procedures and entitlements for assessing the degree of impairment for all persons with disabilities regardless of the cause of the impairment (see the question below for a reference to these reports).
QUESTION tO THE PARTIES
Have the applicants suffered discrimination in the enjoyment of their disability benefits, respectively, contrary to Article 14 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, or Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 (see, mutatis mutandis, United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Concluding observations on the initial report of Croatia, CRPD/C/HRV/CO/1, paragraphs 7 and 8, of 15 May 2015, and Concluding observations on the initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina, CRPD/C/BIH/CO/1, paragraphs 10 (b) and 11 (b), of 2 May 2017)?
APPENDIX
Nos.
Application nos.
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Nationality
1
26944/13
01/04/2013
Dejan POPOVIĆ
08/08/1983
Novi Sad
Serbian
2
14616/16
09/03/2016
Josip VLČEK
25/11/1947
Novi Sad
Serbian
3
14619/16
09/03/2016
Miroslav HOMA
04/04/1959
Novi Sad
Serbian
4
22233/16
09/03/2016
Zvonko NIKOLIĆ
05/11/1977
Novi Sad
Serbian
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