Communicated on 6 December 2019

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 55724/19 Milan DRAÄŒA against Croatia lodged on 16 October 2019

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns criminal proceedings against the applicant on charges of making serious threats to an official. The first-instance court found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to 6 months ’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. In an appeal the applicant challenged the factual and legal grounds for his conviction and sentence. The appellate court held a session without informing the applicant of it and upheld the first-instance judgment. The applicant complained to the Constitutional Court, inter alia , that he had not been given an opportunity to be present at the session of the appeal panel. The Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant ’ s constitutional complaint as unfounded.

The applicant complains, relying on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, that in the criminal proceedings against him he was not allowed to be present at the session of the appeal panel.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Was the applicant ’ s absence from the session of the appeal panel in the criminal proceedings against him in compliance with the requirements of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the Convention (see Zahirović v. Croatia , no. 58590/11, §§ 58-64, 25 April 2013; Lonić v. Croatia , no. 8067/12, §§ 94-102, 4 December 2014; and Bosak v. Croatia , no. 40429/14 , §§ 105 ‑ 112, 6 June 2019)?