THIRD SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 43488/07
Rajko VASILJEVIĆ
against Serbia
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 26 April 2016 as a Committee composed of:
Helena Jäderblom, President,
Dmitry Dedov,
Branko Lubarda, judges,
and Stephen Phillips, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 19 September 2007,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Rajko Vasiljević, was a Serbian national, who was born in 1943. On 20 October 2013 the applicant died.
According to the Court’s case-law when the direct victim dies after the application was lodged with the Court, the applicant’s heirs may pursue the application provided that they have legitimate interest in maintaining the request on behalf of the deceased (for, mutatis mutandis: Ergezen v. Turkey, no. 73359/10, § 28-30, 8 April 2014). In the present case the applicant’s widow, legal heir of the applicant, showed such interest which gives her the requisite standing under Article 34 of the Convention to pursue this application. For practical reasons, however, the term "applicant" will be used while referring to Mr Rajko Vasiljević.
The Serbian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms V. Rodić.
The applicant complained that the Supreme Court’s refusal to consider his appeal on points of law had been in breach of his right of access to a court as guaranteed under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
On 11 September 2015 and 7 December 2015 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against Serbia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay him EUR 2,050 (two thousand fifty euros) to cover any and all non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant, which will be converted into national currency at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on it, 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 payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.
THE LAW
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 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 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 19 May 2016.
Stephen PhillipsHelena Jäderblom
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy