FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 34793/04
by Thomas ROHNER
against Austria
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 15 May 2008 as a Chamber composed of:
Christos Rozakis, President,
Elisabeth Steiner,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
Dean Spielmann,
Sverre Erik Jebens,
Giorgio Malinverni,
George Nicolaou, judges,
and Søren Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 23 September 2004,
Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Thomas Rohner, is an Austrian national who was born in 1965 and lives in Wolfurt. He was represented before the Court by Mr W.L. Weh, a lawyer practising in Bregenz. The Austrian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ambassador F. Tauttmansdorff, Head of the International Law Department at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 11 March 1999 the Landeck District Administrative Authority (Bezirkshauptmanschaft, DAA) informed the applicant that he was suspected of having breached the provisions of the Employment of Foreigners Act (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz) and, on 6 July 1999, the Landeck DAA fined him.
On 3 December 1999 the Independent Administrative Panel (Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat, IAP) quashed the fine order, as the Landeck DAA had not been competent to conduct the proceedings.
On 13 July 2000 the Bregenz DAA, to which the case had been transferred, imposed a fine on the applicant for a breach of the Employment of Foreigners Act.
On 19 December 2000 the IAP dismissed the appeal.
On 25 February 2004 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s complaint.
The decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 24 September 2004.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained under Article 6 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings.
Under the same provision he complained about the unfairness of the proceedings.
THE LAW
On 14 March 2008 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:
“I declare that the Government of Austria offer to pay ex gratia the sum of EUR 3,500 to Thomas Rohner with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable and 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 this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, 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 payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”
On 18 March 2008 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:
“I note that the Government of Austria are prepared to pay ex gratia the sum of EUR 3,500 to Thomas Rohner with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
This sum, which is to cover any non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be free of any taxes that may be applicable and 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. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Austria in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case.”
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 public policy 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 discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 and 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.
Søren NielsenChristos Rozakis
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy