Tomanovic & Ors v The Foreign And Commonwealth Office

Tomanovic & Ors v The Foreign And Commonwealth Office

The claimants were not within the jurisdiction of the UK for purposes of Article 1 ECHR, Mr Ratel's conduct as Head of SPRK is not attributable to the UK, and the claim constitutes an abuse of process due to re-litigation of matters that could and should have been raised in prior proceedings. There is no real prospect of success and no compelling reason for trial.

Parties
Claimant: Verica Tomanovic; Claimant: Snezana Milenkovic; Claimant: Vesna Kontic; Claimant: Danijela Todorovic; Claimant: Olga Milovanovic; Claimant: Zlata Veselinovic; Claimant: Zivorad Jovanovic; Claimant: Marika Peric; Defendant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
05 December 2019
Procedural Posture
Civil / Summary Judgment
Outcome
summary judgment for the defendant
Legal Topics
ECHR Article 2, ECHR Article 3, Human Rights Act 1998, Jurisdiction, Attribution, Immunity, Abuse of Process, Res Judicata, Extraterritoriality
Human Rights Public International Law Civil Procedure ECHR Article 2 ECHR Article 3 Human Rights Act 1998 Jurisdiction Attribution +4 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Verica Tomanovic

Claimant

Snezana Milenkovic

Claimant

Vesna Kontic

Claimant

Danijela Todorovic

Claimant

Olga Milovanovic

Claimant

Zlata Veselinovic

Claimant

Zivorad Jovanovic

Claimant

Marika Peric

Claimant

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Summary Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the claimants were within the jurisdiction of the UK for purposes of Article 1 ECHR
  2. 2 Whether Mr Ratel's conduct as Head of SPRK is attributable to the UK
  3. 3 Whether the Human Rights Act 1998 applies to deaths/disappearances before its commencement

Ratio Decidendi

The claimants were not within the jurisdiction of the UK for purposes of Article 1 ECHR, Mr Ratel's conduct as Head of SPRK is not attributable to the UK, and the claim constitutes an abuse of process due to re-litigation of matters that could and should have been raised in prior proceedings. There is no real prospect of success and no compelling reason for trial.

Court Disposition

summary judgment for the defendant

Orders

  • Claim dismissed against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • No order for trial; proceedings concluded