FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 15716/04
by Žarko TODORIĆ
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 24 May 2007 as a Chamber composed of:
MrC.L. Rozakis, President,
MrL. Loucaides,
MrsN. Vajić,
MrA. Kovler,
MrsE. Steiner,
MrK. Hajiyev,
MrD. Spielmann, judges,
and Mr S. Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 20 April 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 observations submitted by the respondent Government,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Žarko Todorić, is a Croatian citizen who lives in Vojnić. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs Š. Stažnik.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
Following the applicant’s departure from Croatia in the summer of 1995 due to the military actions in the area where he had hitherto lived, the applicant’s house was temporarily allocated to a third person.
Upon his return to Croatia in 1997, the applicant applied to the competent authorities for the return of his house.
The applicant repossessed his house on 7 July 2005 when the occupant left it on his own motion.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained that the prolonged inability to repossess his house in Vojnić had violated his rights under Article 6 § 1 and Article 8 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
The applicant also complained that he had no effective remedy in respect of the length of the enforcement proceedings contrary to Article 13 of the Convention
THE LAW
The Court recalls that notice of the application was given to the Government on 26 September 2006. The Government submitted their observations on the admissibility and merits of the applicants’ complaint on 21 December 2006. The applicant failed to submit observations in reply. Moreover, he failed to respond to the communications from the Court, the last of which was a registered letter dated 13 March 2007 warning the applicant of the possibility that his case might be struck out of the Court’s list if he failed to respond.
Having regard to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, the Court concludes that the applicant does not intend to pursue the application. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the further examination of this case. Accordingly, the application of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention to the case should be discontinued and the application struck off the list of cases.
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