Published on 12 July 2021

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 52609/19 Ivan BENETA against Croatia lodged on 3 October 2019 c ommunicated on 24 June 2021

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The case raises the same issue as the case of Morović v. Croatia (application no. 22567/18, communicated on 23 May 2019). In particular, it concerns the impossibility by the applicant to challenge before a court the decision of a State agency concerning his request to be awarded funding for his agricultural project. The denial of the right of access to a court was a result of the domestic provision setting out that the State agency ’ s decisions were not administrative acts and could thus not be challenged before the Administrative Court.

The applicant complains, under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, that the denial of the right of access to a court was not justified.

Meanwhile, by its decision no. U-I-4220/2020 of 20 October 2020, the Constitutional Court quashed as unconstitutional the provision setting out that the State agency ’ s decisions on awarding funding were not administrative acts. On 12 May 2021 the Croatian Parliament introduced the possibility that those decisions be challenged before the Administrative Court.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Did the applicant have access to a court to contest the decision concerning his request to be awarded funding for his agricultural project?

2. In the negative, was the denial of access to a court justified in the applicant ’ s case? In particular, did it pursue a legitimate aim, and was there a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the aim sought to be achieved?