FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 55200/22
Dušan SUBOTIN
against Serbia
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 9 November 2023 as a Committee composed of:
Faris Vehabović, President,
Anja Seibert-Fohr,
Anne Louise Bormann, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 17 November 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, who was represented by Ms A. Luković, a lawyer practising in Belgrade, died on 22 January 2023. The Government accepted his children, Ms Dušanka Banov, Ms Nada Banov, Mr Željko Subotin and Mr Dejan Subotin, as his legal heirs.
The applicant’s complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning the non-enforcement of domestic decisions given against socially/State-owned companies were communicated to the Serbian Government (“the Government”). Complaints based on the same facts were also communicated under other provisions of the Convention.
The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicant’s heirs agreed to waive any further claims against Serbia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them, jointly, the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, 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 Government also undertake to ensure the enforcement of the domestic decisions under consideration in the case within the same three-month period, and to pay any costs of the domestic enforcement proceedings.
The payment and the enforcement of the domestic decisions concerned will constitute the final resolution of the case.
THE LAW
The Court takes note of the death of Mr Dušan Subotin and of the wish of his heirs to pursue the proceedings. The Court reiterates that where an applicant dies during the examination of a case, his or her heirs may in principle pursue the application on his or her behalf (see Ječius v. Lithuania, no. 34578/97, § 41, ECHR 2000-IX; Shiryayeva v. Russia, no. 21417/04, §§ 8-9, 13 July 2006; and Horváthová v. Slovakia, no. 74456/01, § 26, 17 May 2005). Nothing suggests that the rights the applicant sought to protect through the Convention mechanism were eminently personal and non-transferable (see Malhous v. the Czech Republic [GC], no. 33071/96, 12 July 2001). The Government did not contend that his heirs, Ms Dušanka Banov, Ms Nada Banov, Mr Željko Subotin and Mr Dejan Subotin, had no standing to pursue the case. Therefore, the Court considers that the applicant’s children have a legitimate interest in pursuing the application.
The Court further 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 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 that Ms Dušanka Banov, Ms Nada Banov, Mr Željko Subotin and Mr Dejan Subotin have standing to continue the proceedings in their late father’s stead;
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 30 November 2023.
Viktoriya Maradudina Faris Vehabović
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
Application raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
(non-enforcement of domestic decisions given against socially/State-owned companies)
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1] 2
Amount awarded for costs and expenses per application
(in euros)3
55200/22
17/11/2022
Dušan SUBOTIN
1957
Deceased on
22/01/2023
Pursued by heirs:
Dušanka Banov
1977
Nada Banov
1980
Željko Subotin
2013
Dejan Subotin
2016
Art. 13 - lack of any effective remedy in domestic law in respect of non-enforcement or delayed enforcement of domestic decisions - effectiveness of the constitutional appeal in this particular case in view of the length of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court
12/10/2023
18/10/2023
1,000
30
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable.
2 Less any amounts which may have already been paid in that regard at the domestic level.
3 Plus any tax that may be chargeable.
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