FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 26633/02
by Tatyana Stepanovna YEFREMOVA
against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 1 April 2008 as a Chamber composed of:
Christos Rozakis, President,
Nina Vajić,
Anatoly Kovler,
Elisabeth Steiner,
Khanlar Hajiyev,
Dean Spielmann,
Sverre Erik Jebens, judges,
and André Wampach, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 11 June 2002,
Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together.
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Ms Tatyana Stepanovna Yefremova, is a Russian national who was born in 1940 and lives in the town of Zarechnyy in the Sverdlovsk Region. The Russian Government were initially represented by Mr P. Laptev, the former Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights, and subsequently by their Representative, Mrs V. Milinchuk.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
The applicant, a Chernobyl pensioner, sued the local welfare authority for readjustment of her monthly compensation and arrears.
On 16 May 2000 the Beloyarskiy District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region approved a settlement between the parties under the terms of which the respondent had undertaken to pay the applicant 109,693.81 Russian roubles (RUB) and to fix her monthly payments in the amount of RUB 5,901.80. It appears that the judgment was enforced in full in July 2002.
On 6 April 2004 the Zarechnyy District Court of the Sverdlovsk Region awarded the applicant RUB 340,182.17 and set her monthly payments in the amount of RUB 13,852.67. The judgment was executed in full on 20 December 2005.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained under Article 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 that the final judgments in her favour had not been enforced in good time.
THE LAW
On 15 September 2006 the Government informed the Court that the applicant and the local Social Security Committee had reached a settlement. Under the terms of the agreement dated 31 August 2006, submitted by the Government, the Committee undertook to pay the applicant 2,875 euros as compensation in respect of the non-pecuniary damage caused by the delay in the enforcement of the judgment of 16 May 2000. That sum would constitute full and final resolution of the case and should be paid to the applicant within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision under Article 39 of the Convention. The applicant undertook to withdraw her application lodged with the Court.
On 25 September 2006 a copy of the Government’s letter of 15 September 2006 and the settlement agreement were sent to the applicant.
On 13 October 2006 the applicant confirmed that she wished to withdraw her application.
The Court recalls Article 37 of the Convention which, in so far as relevant, provides as follows:
“1. The Court may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that
(a) the applicant does not intend to pursue his application;
...
However, the Court shall continue the examination of the application if respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto so requires.”
The Court considers that, in these circumstances, the applicant may be regarded as no longer wishing to pursue her application, within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. 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 continued examination of the case. In view of the above, it is appropriate to discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 and to strike the case out of the list under Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
André WampachChristos Rozakis
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy