Communicated on 29 June 2015

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 68516/14 Sandra FERGEC and Neven FERGEC against Croatia lodged on 13 October 2014

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicants, Ms Sandra Fergec and Mr Neven Fergec , are Croatian nationals, who were born in 1971 and 1972 respectively and live in Sesvete . They are represented before the Court by Mr K. Canjuga , a lawyer practising in Sesvete .

The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.

On 12 December 1996 one D.M., a member of the Croatian army, exploded a bomb in a bar in Zagreb, as a result of which D.M. and one other person died and the second applicant was gravely injured. The first applicant, who worked in a near-by flower shop, came to the scene and found the second applicant lying on the floor, all in blood.

On the site inspection of the crime scene was carried out by the military police. The report drawn up by them indicates that D.M. was dressed in civil clothes.

In 1998 the applicants brought a civil action against the State in the Zagreb Municipal Court, seeking damages in connection with the event of 12 December 1996. The applicants argued that D.M. had been on duty at the time when he had exploded the bomb, that he had been dressed in his military uniform and that his mother had obtained invalidity pension after him by a decision which stated that he had died on duty, more precisely “on work”. During the proceedings four witnesses stated that D.M. wore his military uniform on the critical occasion.

Their claim was twice granted at the first instance. However, on 5 April 2011 the Zagreb County Court, upon an appeal lodged by the defendant, reversed the judgment and dismissed the applicants ’ claim.

The applicants ’ subsequent constitutiona l complaint was dismissed on 17 June 2014.

COMPLAINT

The applicants complain that in the civil proceedings they instated against the State in connection with the wounding of the second applicant all facts were not adequately established and the State withheld some relevant information.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Having regard to the procedural protection of the right to life, was the manner in which the legal mechanisms were applied in the present case by the domestic authorities in breach of Article 2 of the Convention?

The Government are invited to submit all case-files related to the investigation into the event at issue as well as a copy of the entire civil case-file.