FIRST SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 16725/02 by Goran MRKONJIĆ and Others against Croatia

The European Court of Human Rights ( First Section ) , sitting on 13 May 2004 as a Chamber composed of:

Mr P. Lorenzen , President , Mr G. Bonello , Mrs F. Tulkens , Mrs N. Vajić , Mrs S. Botoucharova , Mr A. Kovler , Mrs E. Steiner, judges , and Mr S. Nielsen , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 19 March 2002,

Having regard to the decision to apply the procedure under Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together,

Having regard to the respondent Government's letter dated 1 March 2004, and the applicant's representative letter dated 26 January 2004,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicants, Mr Goran Mrkonjić, Ms Emina Gajski, Mr Emin Mrkonjić and Ms Lucija Mrkonjić, are Croatian citizens, who were born in 1973, 1967, 1966 and 1934 respectively and live in Jakovlje, Croatia. They are represented before the Court by Mr B. Spiz, a lawyer practising in Zagreb. The respondent Government are represented by their Agent, Ms L. Lukina Karajković.

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

On 17 December 1993 the applicants brought an action in damages before the Zagreb Municipal Court against the Republic of Croatia and a Zagreb insurance company. They sought compensation for non-pecuniary damage, which resulted from the death of Mr Salem Mrkonjić, who had died in a traffic accident caused by a member of the Croatian Army driving a military vehicle. The late Mr Mrkonjić was the father of the first, second and third applicant and the husband of the fourth applicant.

On 6 November 1999 the Croatian Parliament introduced an amendment to the Civil Obligations Act, which provided that all proceedings against the Republic of Croatia concerning actions for damages resulting from acts of members of the Croatian army and police, when acting in their official capacity during the Homeland War in Croatia, were to be stayed.

On 20 December 2000 the Zagreb Municipal Court stayed the proceedings.

On 10 September 2001 the applicants appealed against the order to stay their case. However, no decision on their appeal has been adopted so far.

On 16 July 2003 the Parliament enacted the Act on the Liability of the Republic of Croatia for Damage Caused by Members of the Croatian Army and Police When Acting in Their Official Capacity During the Homeland War (Official Gazette No. 117/2003 of 23 July 2003).

COMPLAINT

The applicants maintained that the Parliament's enactment of the 1999 legislation interfered with their right of access to court within the meaning of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and their right to an effective remedy within the meaning of Article 13 of the Convention.

THE LAW

By letter of 26 January 2004 the applicants' representative informed the Court that the applicants accepted the proposal for a friendly settlement and waived any further claims against Croatia in respect of the facts of the present application.

On 1 March 2004 the Government informed the Court that the parties had reached a settlement whereby the Government would pay the applicants EUR 18,000 in full and final settlement of the applicants' claim under the Convention, costs and expenses included.

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties (Article 39 of the Convention) and considers that the matter has been resolved within the meaning of Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention. 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 application of Article 29 § 3 of the Convention to the case should be discontinued and the case struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

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

Søren Nielsen Peer Lorenzen Registrar President