FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 42860/11
Krzysztof WALECZKO
against Poland
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 8 April 2014 as a Committee composed of:
Nona Tsotsoria, President,
Paul Mahoney,
Krzysztof Wojtyczek, judges,
and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 27 June 2011,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 21 January 2014 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant’s reply to that declaration,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The applicant, Mr Krzysztof Waleczko, is a Polish national, who was born in 1960 and lives in Kędzierzyn-Koźle.
The Polish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms J. Chrzanowska, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the breach of his right of access to a court in that the amount of court fees he had been asked to pay for lodging his civil action had been excessive.
The application was communicated to the Government.
After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, by letter dated 21 January 2014 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a declaration with a view to resolving the issues raised by the application.
They acknowledged a violation of the applicant’s rights guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. They undertook to pay the applicant PLN 15,000 (fifteen thousand Polish zlotys) to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, which will be free of any taxes that may be applicable. It 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 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. They further requested the Court to strike out the application.
On 26 February 2014, the Court received a letter from the applicant informing the Court that he had agreed to the terms of the Government’s declaration.
THE LAW
The Court finds that following the applicant’s express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government the case should be treated as a friendly settlement between the parties.
It therefore 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 pursuant to Article 39 of the Convention.
Fatoş AracıNona Tsotsoria
Deputy RegistrarPresident
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