FIFTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no . 1154/07 Romano PETEK against Slovenia

The European Court of Human Rights ( Fifth Section ), sitting on 15 April 2014 as a Committee composed of:

Ann Power-Forde , President, Boštjan M. Zupančič , Helena Jäderblom , judges , and Stephen Phillips , Deputy Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 29 December 2006,

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

Having deliberated , decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicant, Mr Romano Petek , is a Slovenian national, who was born in 1966 and lives in Ptuj . He was represented before the Court by Ms R. Krivograd , a lawyer practising in Maribor .

The Slovenian Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr B. Tratar , State Attorney General .

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

On 10 September 1988 D. gave birth to a boy, G.

On 17 May 1989 the applicant submitted a declaration of paternity of G. and asked the Maribor Basic Court to summon D. in order to testify on the issue.

Since D. refused to confirm that the applicant was the father of G., the applicant sought determination of his paternity rights in court proceedings against D., which he instituted on 4 October 1989.

Subsequently, on 3 November 1989, another person, V., submitted a declaration of paternity of G. to the local welfare authority, supported by D. ’ s testimony. Seventeen days later, with V. and D. ’ s consent, G. was freed for adoption.

The proceedings, which concerned the applicant ’ s declaration of paternity, eventually ended in February 2010.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that the proceedings concerning the determination of his paternity had lasted an unreasonably long time.

He further complain ed under Article 13 of the Convention that the remedies available to him in respect of his complaint under Article 6 § 1 had been entirely ineffective.

Lastly, the applicant complain ed that owing to the length of the proceedings, in which he had sought determination of his paternity rights in respect of G., he had been unable to form a relationship with his son. He allege d to have suffered emotional distress during the proceedings on account of the loss of the child who had been adopted despite the uncertainties as to his paternity.

THE LAW

On 10 September 2012 the Court received the following declaration from the Government:

“ I, Boš tjan Tratar , State Attorney, declare that the Governm ent of Slovenia offer to pay ex gratia to Mr Romano Petek , with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above mentioned case pending before the European Court o f Human Rights, 16,100 (sixteen thousand and one hundred) euros to cover any and alt non-pe cuniary damage and 3,900 (three thousand and nine hundred) euros to cover any and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.

These sums will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of ca ses. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undert ake 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 defau lt period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case ”

On 6 August 2012 the Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:

“I, Rija Krivograd , note that the Government of Slovenia are prepared to pay ex gratia to Mr Romano Petek , with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 16,100 (sixteen thousand and one hundred) euros to cover any and all non-pecuniary damage and 3,900 (three thousand and nine hundred) euros to cover any and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.

These sums will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Having consulted my client, I would inform you that he accepts the proposal and waives any further claims against Slovenia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. He declares that this constitutes a final resolution of the case . ”

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 reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.

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 in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Stephen Phillips Ann Power-Forde              Deputy Registrar President