FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 37751/05 by Ž eljko VARIĆ AK against Croatia

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 29 March 2007 as a Chamber composed of:

Mr C.L. Rozakis , President , Mrs N. Vajić , Mr A. Kovler , Mrs E. Steiner , Mr K. Hajiyev , Mr D. Spielmann , Mr S.E. Jebens, judges , and Mr S. Nielsen , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 12 September 2005,

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, Mr Željko Varićak, is a Croatian national who was born in 1955 and lives in Beograd , Serbia . He was represented before the Court by Mr T. Vukičević , a lawyer practising in Split . The Croatian Government were r epresented by their Agent, Mrs Š. Stažnik .

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

The applicant and his wife are the owners of a flat in Zadar. In 1991 they left Croatia and went to live in Serbia . The applicant submitted that following their departure the flat had been broken into and occupied by unknown persons.

On 9 October 1997 the applicant and his wife brought a civil action against a certain M.A. in the Zadar Municipal Court ( Općinski sud u Zadru ) seeking his eviction or, alternatively, pecuniary damages. Eventually, they also designated certain M.R and I.I. as respondents.

In the period between July 1998 and March 2005 the court held several hearings.

Meanwhile, on 30 July 2003 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court ( Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske ) complaining about the length of the above proceedings. On 23 December 2004 the Constitutional Court found a violation of his constitutional right to a hearing within a reasonable time, awarded him 4,500 Croatian kunas (HRK) in compensation, and ordered the Zadar Municipal Court to give a decision on the merits in the shortest time possible but no later than six months following the publication of the decision in the Official Gazette. The Constitutional Court ’ s decision was published on 17 January 2005 and its correction on 9 February 2005 .

It would appear that the above civil proceedings are still pending before the Zadar Municipal Court.

COMPLAINTS

1. The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings.

2. He also complained under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention that the excessive length of the proceedings had prevented him from enjoying his property for a long period of time.

3. Lastly, the applicant also complained that the Constitutional Court ’ s decision had not been complied with .

THE LAW

By letter of 1 February 2007 the applicant informed the Court that he accepted a proposal for a friendly settlement and waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.

On 13 February 2007 the Government informed the Court that the parties had reached a settlement whereby the Government would pay the applicant 4,900 euros in full and final settlement of the case, costs and expenses included.

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 (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). Accordingly, Article 29 § 3 of the Convention should no longer apply to the case and it sh ould be struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

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

Søren Nielsen Christos Rozakis Registrar President