FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 35120/03
by Josip ZEC
against Croatia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 11 May 2006 as a Chamber composed of:
MrC.L. Rozakis, President,
MrL. Loucaides,
MrsF. Tulkens,
MrsN. Vajić,
MrA. Kovler,
MrsE. Steiner,
MrK. Hajiyev, judges,
and Mr S. Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 26 September 2003,
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 formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case.
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Josip Zec, is a Croatian national who was born in 1947 and lives in Zagreb. He is represented before the Court by Mr B. Spiz, a lawyer practising in Zagreb. The Croatian Government (“the Government”) are represented by their Agent, Mrs Š. Stažnik.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
In 1993 the applicant instituted, in the context of a traffic accident, civil proceedings in the Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) against an insurance company (“the company”) seeking compensation for pecuniary damage, and against a certain D.M. seeking compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
At the hearing held on 5 May 1998 the applicant withdrew his claim in respect of D.M. The next hearing was held on 7 May 2000.
On 7 May 2001 the court gave judgment awarding the applicant some compensation. Both parties appealed.
On 4 December 2002 the applicant filed a constitutional complaint concerning the length of the proceedings.
On 25 March 2003 the Zagreb County Court quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case.
On 16 May 2003 the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) dismissed the applicant’s complaint as inadmissible, since the County Court had meanwhile given its decision in the case.
On 16 June 2004 the court gave judgment granting the applicant’s claim in part.
The proceedings are still pending before the second-instance court.
COMPLAINTS
The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings. He also complains under Article 13 of the Convention about the lack of an effective remedy in this respect.
THE LAW
By letter of 25 November 2005 the Government informed the Court that they accepted the proposal for a friendly settlement and that the Government would pay the applicant 4,200 euros in full and final settlement of his claim under the Convention, costs and expenses included.
On 12 December 2005 the applicant’s representative informed the Court that the parties had reached a settlement whereby the applicant waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.
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.
Søren NielsenChristos Rozakis
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy