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    European Court of Human Rights


    You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> Veneta Kirilova DIMITROVA-MIHOVA v Bulgaria - 8250/05 [2012] ECHR 882 (10 May 2012)
    URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2012/882.html
    Cite as: [2012] ECHR 882

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    FOURTH SECTION

    DECISION

    Application no. 8250/05
    Veneta Kirilova DIMITROVA-MIHOVA against Bulgaria
    and 9 other applications
    (see list appended)

    The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 10 May 2012 as a Committee composed of:

    Päivi Hirvelä, President,
    Ledi Bianku,
    Nebojša Vučinić, judges,
    and Fatoş Aracı, Deputy Section Registrar,

    Having regard to the applications listed in the table below, communicated as part of the group of Dimitrova-Mihova and 13 other applications (no. 8250/05 and others),

    Having regard to the pilot judgment in the case of Finger v. Bulgaria, no. 37346/05, § 135, 10 May 2011,

    Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,

    Having deliberated, decides as follows:

    PROCEDURE

    The applicants are Bulgarian nationals whose names and dates of birth are specified in the table below. Some of the applicants were legally represented. The legal representatives involved were Mr P. Vasilev, Mr V. Stoyanov, Mr M. Ekimdzhiev, Ms K. Boncheva and Mr Y. Grozev. The Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr V. Obretenov, of the Ministry of Justice.

    The essential information as to the length of the proceedings in which the applicants were involved is indicated in the attached table.

    On 18 October 2011 the President of the Fourth Section decided to communicate the applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the length of civil proceedings and in some cases the complaints under Article 13 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the Convention concerning the lack of effective remedies in relation to the length and the impact of the length of the proceedings on property rights.

    THE LAW

    The Court considers that in accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the applications should be joined, given their common legal background.

    On various dates (see table below) the Court received friendly settlement declarations signed by the parties under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Bulgaria in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications against an undertaking by the Government to pay them various sums, which would cover any and all damage, as well as costs and expenses, and would be free of any taxes that may be applicable, to be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment. The sums would be payable 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 these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them 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. This payment would constitute the final resolution of the cases.

    The Court takes note of the friendly settlements reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlements are 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 applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.

    For these reasons, the Court unanimously


    Decides to join the applications;

    Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.

    Fatoş Aracı Päivi Hirvelä
    Deputy Registrar President


    No.

    Application no.

    Lodged on

    Applicant’s name, year of birth, place of residence

    Beginning and end of the domestic proceedings

    Subject matter of domestic proceedings

    Length of proceedings and instances concerned

    Communicated complaints

    Date of applicant friendly settlement declaration

    Date of Government’s friendly settlement declaration

    Friendly settlement sums (in euros)

    1.

    8250/05

    26/02/2005

    Veneta Kirilova DIMITROVA-MIHOVA

    1954

    Novi Iskur

    1)First set of proceedings 02/1999 – 30/08/2004


    2)Second set of proceedings 02/1999 – 15/06/2006

    1)Labour dispute


    2)Proceedings concerning certification of inability to work

    1) 5 years and 6 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)


    2) 7 years and 4 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)

    15 November 2011

    4 April 2012

    1,500

    2.

    40163/05

    02/11/2005

    Kosyo Todorov KATELIEV

    1953

    Varna


    Yovka Nikolova KOYCHEVA

    1936

    Varna


    Simeonka Nikolova ANDREEVA

    1945

    Varna


    Simeon Ivanov SIMEONOV

    1950

    Varna

    03/07/1995 – 29/03/2010

    Partitioning of property proceedings

    14 years and 8 months (3 levels of jurisdiction) in respect of the first applicant


    13 years and 11 months (3 levels of jurisdiction) in respect of the other applicants who joined the proceedings on 26 April 1996

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)


    Art. 13 (lack of effective remedies in respect of length)


    Art. 1 of Protocol No. 1 (impact of length on property rights)


    27 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    6,300

    (first

    applicant)


    5,500 per person (the other applicants)

    3.

    381/06

    12/12/2005

    Dolores Dimitrova KRASTANOVA

    1952

    Sofia

    06/1993 – 26/06/2007

    Civil proceedings for nullification of a contract

    14 years (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)


    Art. 13 (lack of effective remedies in respect of length)


    Art. 1 of Protocol No. 1 (impact of length on property rights)

    12 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    6,900

    4.

    15630/06

    28/02/2006

    Nikolay STOYANOV

    1965

    Plovdiv

    02/03/2001 (date on which the applicant joined the criminal proceedings as civil claimant) – 11/03/2008

    Civil claim for damages in criminal proceedings for theft

    7 years (2 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)


    Art. 13 (lack of effective remedies in respect of length)

    10 November 2011

    4 April 2012

    2,900

    5.

    23603/06

    07/06/2006

    Ivan Peychev IVANOV

    1938

    Chirpan

    06/2002 – 25/07/2008

    Labour dispute

    6 years and 1 month (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)

    2 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    1,000

    6.

    25452/06

    15/06/2006

    Lazarina Arangelova PAVLINA

    1946

    Madzhare


    Galya Ilieva PAVLINA

    1969

    Madzhare


    Vasilka Ilieva PAVLINA

    1977

    Madzhare

    5/11/1996 – 16/12/2005

    Civil proceedings for declaring the death of the applicants’ ancestor as an accident at work

    9 years and 1 month (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)

    22 November 2011

    4 April 2012

    3,000

    7.

    32647/06

    25/07/2006

    Kalina Dimitrova TSVETKOVA

    1973

    Sofia

    11/05/2000 – 13/02/2006

    Labour dispute

    5 years and 9 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)

    21 November 2011

    4 April 2012

    1,000

    8.

    18088/07

    27/12/2006

    Stanka Manasieva MIHAYLOVA

    1951

    Gorna Oryahovitsa

    07/07/2000 – 06/12/2006

    Labour dispute

    6 years and 5 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)

    8 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    1,000

    9.

    18749/07

    05/04/2007

    MTS IZGREV EOOD

    Svilengrad

    23/03/1997 – 30/10/2006

    Rei-vindicatio proceedings

    9 years and 7 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)


    Art. 13 (lack of effective remedies in respect of length)

    8 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    3,700

    10.

    18849/07

    03/04/2007

    Yordanka Stoyanova VELKOVA

    1952

    Sofia

    03/2001 – 5/10/2006

    Labour dispute

    5 years and 6 months (3 levels of jurisdiction)

    Art. 6 § 1 (length of proceedings)


    Art. 13 (lack of effective remedies in respect of length)

    12 December 2011

    4 April 2012

    1,500


     



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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2012/882.html