FIFTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 19434/04 by Sofka IVANOVA and Others against Bulgaria

The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 4 May 2010 as a Chamber composed of:

Peer Lorenzen , President, Renate Jaeger , Karel Jungwiert , Rait Maruste , Mark Villiger , Isabelle Berro-Lefèvre , Zdravka Kalaydjieva , judges, and Claudia Westerdiek, Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 15 May 2004,

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

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

PROCEDURE

The application was lodged by Ms Sofka Petkova Ivanova, Mr Nikolay Hristov Kasnakov, Ms Rumyana Hristova Kasnakova and Ms Stanislava Stoyanova Ivanova, Bulgarian nationals who were born i n 1949, 19 73, 1974 and 1985 respectively and live in K a rd zh ali. The applicants were represented before the Court by Mr M. Ekimd zh iev and Ms K. Boncheva , lawyers practising in Plovdiv . The Bulgarian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Ms M. Kotseva , of the Ministry of Justice .

The applicants complained of the State ' s continued failure to provide the first applicant, Ms Sofka Ivanova, with compensation for her property expropriated in 1987.

On 10 September 2008 the Court communicated to the Government the first applicant ' s complaints.

On 8 April 2009 and 25 February 2010 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 this application against an undertaking by the Government to pay to the first applicant 8,500 euros to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses . This sum would be converted into Bulgarian levs at the rate applicable on the date of payment and would be free of any taxes that might be chargeable to the first applicant. It 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 this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undert ook 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 parties agreed that this payment w ould constitute the final resolution of the case.

In a letter of 1 April 2009 the first applicant expressed preferences as to the repartition of the above amount between her and he r legal representatives.

THE LAW

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 and finds no public policy reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention).

As to the expressed preferences concerning the repartition of the amount offered by the Government between the first applicant and the applicants ' legal representatives, the Court considers this to be an internal matter between them.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

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

             Claudia Westerdiek Peer Lorenzen Registrar President