THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 39189/98 by K. R. against Poland

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section) , sitting on 21 March 2002 as a Chamber composed of

Mr G. Ress , President , Mr I. Cabral Barreto , Mr L. Caflisch ,

Mr J. Makarczyk ,

Mr R. Türmen , Mr B. Zupančič , Mrs H.S. Greve , judges , and Mr V. Berger , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 19 July 1997,

Having regard to Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, by which the competence to examine the application was transferred to the Court,

Having regard to the written submissions of the parties,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, K. R., is a Polish national , born in 1958 and living in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki , Poland.

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

The applicant had been registered as a candidate for a member of a housing co-operative since 1974 and had been contributing certain sums each month which were to be counted later towards the price of an apartment as required. In 1984 she was granted the status of a member of the co-operative and apparently since 1988 she had been submitting successive requests to be granted a flat, to no avail.

On 14 June 1991 the applicant sued the Nowy Dwór housing co-operative before the Nowy Dwór District Court.  She requested the co-operative be ordered to declare that she had been granted the membership in 1981, instead of 1984, submitting that at that time, she had already complied with all the requirements laid down in respect of the membership in the co-operative. The applicant complained that in consequence of the refusal to admit her as a member of the co-operative in 1981, she had been deprived of the opportunity of having been allocated a flat between 1985 and 1986.

On 1 June 1992 the Warsaw Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s claim, considering that the applicant had not complied with the rules of membership laid down in the resolution of the co-operative of 7 December 1981, having failed to register her savings bank book with the co-operative ( dokonać winkulacji wkładu ). The applicant lodged an appeal against this judgement.

On 2 December 1992 the Warsaw Court of Appeal quashed the contested judgement and remitted the case to the court of first instance. The lower court was ordered to re-examine whether the applicant had complied with the rules of membership laid down in the resolution of the co-operative of 16 March 1983 as well as in other relevant legal acts.

On 16 December 1993 the Warsaw Regional Court ruled that in 1981 the applicant was eligible to be granted the status of the member of the co-operative since she had gathered the necessary savings on her savings bank book. The fact that she had not registered her savings with the co-operative was not a matter of importance since the act of registering is a formality without legal consequences. The co-operative legal representative lodged a complaint against this judgement.

Apparently on 28 April 1994 the Warsaw Court of Appeal quashed the contested judgement and remitted the case to the court of first instance. The Court of Appeal held that the lower court should establish the exact content of the claim and find out whether the applicant had any legal interest while submitting her claim.

On 24 November 1994 the Warsaw Regional Court stayed the proceedings on the ground that the applicant failed to produce satisfactory clarification concerning the value of her claim. The applicant requested to resume the proceedings on 23 January 1995 and she submitted several letters in order to indicate the value of the claim.

On 27 May 1996 the Warsaw Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s claim, considering that even assuming that the applicant had been eligible to be granted the membership in the co-operative in 1981, she could not request that a flat be allocated to her since this would be to the detriment of the other members of the co-operative who had been waiting in the established order for their turn to have their flats allocated. The applicant lodged an appeal against this judgement.

On 21 January 1997 the Warsaw Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The Court pointed out that the act of registering a candidate’s savings bank book with a co-operative is a prerequisite for the membership and the fact that the applicant failed to comply with this requirement was unquestionable.

On 29 April 1997 the Warsaw Court of Appeal rejected the applicant’s appeal as it was not lodged by a lawyer, as required. On the same date the Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s request for free legal aid. On 3 July 1997 the Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s request to be exempted from court fees. On 1 August 1997 the Court of Appeal rejected the applicant’s appeal against the decision of 29 April 1997. On 16 October 1997 the Ombudsman refused to lodge an appeal on the applicant’s behalf.

COMPLAINT

The applicant complains under Article 6 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings.

THE LAW

On 17 May 2001 the Court decided to communicate the application to the respondent Government.

On 2 November 2001 the Court received the following declaration from the respondent Government:

“I declare that the Government of the Republic of Poland offer to pay to Mrs K. R. a sum of 10 000 (ten thousand) PLN with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the application no. 39189/98 pending before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This sum shall cover any eventual pecuniary and non- pecuniary damage as well as costs, and it will be payable to the applicant after signing the declarations by the parties concerned, however not later than three months after the notification of the decision delivered by the Court pursuant to Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

I declare at the same time that the offer of the above-mentioned amount has been made in connection with duration of the proceedings in the applicant’s case before the organs of the Polish judiciary.

This declaration does not entail any acknowledgement by the Government of a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the present case.

...”

On 14 November 2001 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:

“I note hereby that the Government of the Republic of Poland are prepared to pay to me a sum of 10 000 (ten thousand) PLN covering any eventual pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the application no. 39189/98 pending before the European Court of Human Rights. This payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

...”

The Court takes note of the agreement reached between the parties and considers that the matter has been resolved (Article 37 § 1 (b) of the Convention). Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine , the Court finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols which require the examination of the application to be continued. Accordingly, the case should be struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court,

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

Vincent Berger Georg Ress Registrar President