Resolution CM/ ResDH (2020)216

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Three cases against Bulgaria

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 21 October 2020

at the 1386 th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

Application No.

Case

Judgment of

Final on

17705/05

ILIEVA AND OTHERS

03/02/2015

03/05/2015

37857/05

KARAIVANOVA AND MILEVA

17/06/2014

17/11/2014

44103/05

NEDYALKOV AND OTHERS

02/06/2015

02/09/2015

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 unjustified delays in completing the restitution proceedings concerning the applicants’ rights under the legislation governing the restitution of agricultural and forestry land nationalised during the communist era, where the restitution claims concerned land acquired by private law companies in parallel privatisation procedures (violations of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1);

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 report 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(2020)167 );

Considering that the question of individual measures was therefore resolved, given that the applicants have either received compensation in lieu of restitution at national level or chosen not to seek such compensation, and that the European Court awarded them damage for the delays in the restitution proceedings;

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 Sivova and Koleva group of cases and that the closure of these cases therefore in no way prejudges the Committee’s evaluation of the general measures required;

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.