Information Note on the Court’s case-law 53
May 2003
Šoć v. Croatia - 47863/99
Judgment 9.5.2003 [Section I]
Article 35
Article 35-1
Exhaustion of domestic remedies
Effective domestic remedy
Effective remedy in respect of length of proceedings
Facts: The case concerns the length of five sets of civil proceedings, three of which are still pending.
Law: Government’s preliminary objection (non-exhaustion of domestic remedies) – As far as the pending proceedings are concerned, the Court saw no reason to depart from its finding in earlier admissibility decisions (see Slaviček v. Croatia, no. 20862/02, decision of 4 July 2002, and Nogolica v. Croatia, no. 77784/01, decision of 5 September 2002) to the effect that a constitutional complaint under Section 63 of the Constitutional Court Act 2002 is an effective remedy in respect of a complaint about the length of proceedings. However, the same is not true where proceedings have ended. Firstly, the wording of the provision is not sufficiently clear to leave no doubt as to its applicability to such proceedings. Secondly, the Government had not supplied any case-law showing that the Constitutional Court deals with complaints about the excessive length of terminated proceedings. On the contrary, the decisions of the Constitutional Court clearly indicate that it has taken the view that Section 63 does not apply to such proceedings. The Government’s objection with regard to the two sets of proceedings which had ended was therefore dismissed.
Article 6 § 1 – The Court concluded that there had been no violation in respect of the two sets of proceedings which had ended.
Article 13 – Referring to its above reasoning, the Court concluded that there had been a violation of this provision.
Article 41 – The Court considered that the finding of a violation constituted sufficient just satisfaction in respect of non-pecuniary damage. It made an award in respect of costs and expenses.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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