LESNINA VELETRGOVINA DOO v. THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA - 37619/04 [2010] ECHR 1515 (14 October 2010)

JUDGMENT STRASBOURG 14 October This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision . In the case of Lesnina Veletrgovina Doo v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of: Rait Maruste, President, Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Zdravka Kalaydjieva, judges, and Stephen Phillips , Deputy Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 21 September 2010, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE The case originated in an application (no. 37619/04) against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a company, Lesnina Veletrgovina Doo (“the applicant company”) incorporated in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 8 October 2004. The applicant company was represented by Mr M. Popeski, a lawyer practising in Ohrid. The Macedonian Government (“the Government”) are represented by their Agent, Mrs R. Lazareska Gerovska. On June 2009 the President of the Fifth Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. On 2 March 2010 the Court rejected the Government’s objection concerning an abuse of friendly settlement proceedings and declared the application admissible. On 12 April 2010 and 24 July 2010, respectively, the parties confirmed that they were still willing to settle the case on the basis of the signed friendly settlement declarations. In accordance with Protocol No. 14, the application is assigned to a Committee of three Judges. THE LAW On 23 April and 6 May 1992 respectively, the applicant company instituted proceedings for enforcement of three final judgments given in its favour against private debtors. On 25 and 27 May 1992 respectively, the then Skopje District Commercial Court granted two of the enforcement requests ordering the debtors to pay the debt. The enforcement request of 23 April 1992 remained undecided. The judgments remain unenforced to date. On 14 September 2009 and 15 September 2009 the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicant company agreed to waive any further claims against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay it 7,000 euros to cover any non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, which would be converted into Macedonian Denars at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. This sum would be payable to the personal account of the applicant company within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 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. The payment would constitute the final resolution of the case. 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 or its Protocols (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention and Rule 62 § 3 of the Rules of Court). Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list. FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases; Done in English, and notified in writing on 14 October 2010, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court. Stephen Phillips Rait Maruste Deputy Registrar President BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII