Resolution CM/ ResDH ( 2021)129

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Six cases against Serbia

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 30 June 2021

at the 1408 th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

Application No.

Case

Judgment of

Final on

36937/06

HAJNAL

19/06/2012

19/09/2012

3363/08

LAKATOÅ  AND OTHERS

07/01/2014

07/04/2014

19072/08

HABIMI AND OTHERS

03/06/2014

03/09/2014

40485/08

PETROVIĆ

15/07/2014

15/10/2014

34661/07

MUČIBABIĆ

12/10/2016

19796/14

KRSMANOVIĆ

19/12/2017

19/03/2018

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 and to the violations established on account of: ill-treatment in police custody (substantive violations of Article 3 in Hajnal and Lakatoš and Others ); lack of effective investigations in this respect (procedural violations of Article 3 in Habimi and Others , Hajnal , Lakatoš and Others and Krsmanović ); lack of effective investigations into the deaths of the applicants’ sons who died in an accident involving the State Intelligence Service ( Mu čibabić ) or while in police custody when the applicant’s son reportedly fell from a window ( Petrovi ć ) ( procedural violations of Article 2) ; use of applicant’s confession following his ill-treatment as evidence during criminal proceedings conducted against him (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1, in Hajnal ); breach of the right to presumption of innocence (violation of Article 6, paragraph 2, in Hajnal ); and excessive length of pre-trial detention (violation of Article 5, paragraph 3, in Lakato š and Others ) ;

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)102 );

Having noted with regret that the criminal investigations in the above cases were terminated either because the respective Public Prosecutor Offices established that the statute of limitations had expired prior to the European Court’s judgments (in Habimi and Others , Hajnal , Krsmanović and Petrović ) or given that after a new investigation it had not been possible to collect evidence that could confirm the applicants’ allegations of ill-treatment, despite all reasonable investigatory steps taken and measures adopted to remedy the shortcomings identified by the Court (in Lakato š and Others ), and given that all necessary individual measures have also been taken in respect of other violations found by the Court in these cases following the acquittal of the applicant in the reopened proceedings (in Hajnal ) or termination of the applicant’s pre-trial detention (in Lakato š and Others ) ; having also noted that in Mu čibabić where the Court found a procedural violation of Article 2 on account of excessive length of criminal proceedings into the death of the applicant’s son , still pending at the time of European Court ’s judgment, these criminal proceedings were brought to an end;

Considering thus that no further individual measures are required;

Recalling that the general measures required in response to the violation of the right to presumption of innocence (Article 6, paragraph 2) in Hajnal have been taken within the context of the Matija šević case ( see Final Resolution CM/ ResDH (2007)95 ), while the general measures required in response to the violation of the right to liberty on account of excessive length of pre-trial detention (Article 5, paragraph 3) in Lakato š and Others have been taken within the context of the Vrenčev group of cases ( see Final Resolution CM/ ResDH (2018)52 );

Recalling that the question of further 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 Stanimirović group of cases and that the closure of these cases therefore in no way prejudges the Committee’s evaluation of the general measures in relation to the issue of ill-treatment or death caused by State agents and lack of effective investigations (violations of Articles 2 and 3) as well as to the issue of use in criminal proceedings of confessions obtained through ill-treatment (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1);

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.