FIFTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 76776/01 by Neli Nikolova MOMEKOVA against Bulgaria

The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting on 4 December 2007 as a Chamber composed of:

Mr P. Lorenzen , President , Mrs S. Botoucharova , Mr K. Jungwiert , Mr R. Maruste , Mr J. Borrego Borrego , Mrs R. Jaeger , Mr M. Villiger, judges , and Ms C. Westerdiek , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 30 July 2001,

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, Mrs Neli Nikolova Momekova , is a Bulgarian national who was born in 1971 and lives in Sofia . She is represented before the Court by Ms D. Bankova , a lawyer practising in Sofia .

The respondent Government were represented by their Agent, Ms M. Kotzeva , of the Ministry of Justice.

The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

On an unspecified date prior to 25 October 1994 a relative of the applicant initiated an action before the Sofia District Court against her and another forty persons in order to partition three properties (two apartments and a shop), which they had jointly inherited from an ancestor.

In the course of the proceedings the Sofia District Court conducted twenty five hearings, commissioned three expert ’ s reports, included another five properties (an apartment, a shop, a cellar, a yard and a field) in the partitioning, allowed three parties to join the proceedings and replaced six of the original respondents who had passed away with a total of twenty seven successors. The proceedings were suspended for unspecified periods of time on two occasions in 2000 and 2001 while the court ascertained the successors of parties which had passed away.

The proceedings concluded on 8 January 2002 when the Sofia District Court terminated the proceedings because the original claimant failed to provide the addresses of eighteen successors of a respondent party which had passed away.

COMPLAINT

The applicant complained that as a result of the alleged excessive length of the civil proceedings to which she was party, the court negated to rule on the merits of the action and her petitions to allow her provisional use of one of the properties, thereby infringing her right to peaceful enjoyment of her possessions.

THE LAW

On 26 July 2007 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant ’ s counsel:

“I, Dobromira Bankova , lawyer, note that the Government of Bulgaria are prepared to pay the sum of 2,400 euros (EUR) to Mrs Neli Nikolova Momekova with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, EUR 2,200 of which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and EUR 200 is for costs and expenses, will be converted into Bulgarian levs at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. These amounts will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the judgment by the Court pursuant to Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Bulgaria in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case.”

On 14 November 2007 the Court received the following declaration from the Government, which had been approved by the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria with a Decision of 8 November 2007 and had been signed by their Agent, Ms M. Kotzeva , of the Ministry of Justice:

“The Government of Bulgaria hereby offer to pay 2,400 euros (EUR) to Mrs Neli Nikolova Momekova with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, EUR 2,200 of which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and EUR 200 is for costs and expenses, will be converted into Bulgarian levs at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. These amounts will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the judgment by the Court pursuant to Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the said three-month period, the Government undertake 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. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.”

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement agreement reached between the parties (Article 39 of the Convention). It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention or its Protocols and finds no public policy reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention and Rule 62 § 3 of the Rules of Court).

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 unanim ously

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

Claudia Westerdiek Peer Lorenzen Registrar President