FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 9434/04
by Ljubica VLAŠIĆ
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 9 March 2006 as a Chamber composed of
MrC.L. Rozakis, President,
MrsF. Tulkens,
MrP. Lorenzen,
MrsN. Vajić,
MrA. Kovler,
MrD. Spielmann,
MrS.E. Jebens, judges,
and Mr S. Quesada, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 12 November 2003,
Having regard to the decision to apply the procedure under 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 deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mrs Ljubica Vlašić, is a Croatian national who was born in 1962 and lives in Zagreb. She was represented before the Court by Mr B. Spiz, a lawyer practising in Zagreb. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms Š. Stažnik.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
On 3 March 1992 the applicant brought a civil action in the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) against the insurance company C.O. seeking damages for injuries sustained in a traffic accident.
On 12 December 1994 the Municipal Court accepted the applicant’s claim and awarded her the damages sought.
Following the respondent’s appeal, on 11 March 1997 the Zagreb County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu) quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case.
In the resumed proceedings, on 12 June 2000 the Municipal Court gave judgment accepting the applicant’s claim and awarded her non-pecuniary damages in the amount of 354,300 Croatian kunas (HRK) and a monthly rent of HRK 900 as pecuniary damages. Both parties appealed.
On 23 July 2002 the Zagreb County Court partly upheld and partly reversed the first-instance judgment by awarding the applicant non-pecuniary damages in the amount of HRK 296,200 and a monthly rent of HRK 600 as pecuniary damages.
Following the respondent’s appeal on points of law (revizija), on 16 March 2004 the Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud Republike Hrvatske) partly upheld and partly reversed the second-instance judgment. It awarded the applicant non-pecuniary damages in the amount of HRK 300,000 and a monthly rent of HRK 600 as pecuniary damages.
Meanwhile, on 4 December 2002 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint about the length of the proceedings. On 24 September 2003 the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) dismissed the applicant’s complaint.
COMPLAINT
The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings.
THE LAW
By her letter of 14 December 2005 the applicant informed the Court that she accepted a proposal for a friendly settlement and waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.
On 13 January 2006 the Government informed the Court that the parties had reached a settlement whereby the Government would pay the applicant 2,200 euros in full and final settlement of the case, costs and expenses included.
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 (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). Accordingly, Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it should be struck out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Santiago QuesadaChristos Rozakis
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy