Resolution CM/ResDH(2021)213

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Two cases against Croatia

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 7 October 2021

at the 1413 th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

Application No.

Case

Judgment of

Final on

23444/12

ARPS

25/01/2017

30375/16

KLIBA

18/04/2019

18/04/2019

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”),

Having regard to the final judgments transmitted by the Court to the Committee in these cases concerning the violation of the applicant’s right to defend herself in person on account of the domestic court’s failure to inform her or her lawyer of the appeal hearing held within the context of criminal proceedings against her (violation of Article 6, paragraphs 1 and 3(c) in Arps ), and the breach of the principle of equality of arms and the lack of adversarial proceedings before the second instance court which failed to communicate to the applicant a submission made by the State Attorney’s Office (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1, in Kliba );

Recalling the respondent State’s obligation, under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to abide by all final judgments in cases to which it has been a party and that this obligation entails, over and above the payment of any sums awarded by the Court, the adoption by the authorities of the respondent State, where required:

- of individual measures to put an end to violations established and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum ; and

- of general measures preventing similar violations;

Having invited the government of the respondent State to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with the above-mentioned obligation;

Having examined the action plan provided by the government indicating the individual measures adopted to give effect to the judgments including the information provided regarding the payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court (see document DH-DD(2021)174 );

Considering that the question of individual measures was resolved, given that in Arps the impugned criminal proceedings were reopened and in the fresh proceedings the initial shortcomings identified by the Court were rectified by summoning the applicant’s lawyer at the appeal hearing, while in Kliba no further individual measure was possible since the applicant did not request the reopening of the impugned criminal proceedings within the imparted deadline;

Recalling that the question of general measures required in response to the shortcomings found by the Court in the present judgments continues to be examined within the framework of the Zahirović group of cases and that the closure of these cases therefore in no way prejudges the Committee’s evaluation of the general measures

DECLARES that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases as regards the individual measures and

DECIDES to close the examination of these cases.