Published on 2 November 2022

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 37630/19 Aleksandar BOÅ NJAÄŒKI against Serbia lodged on 25 June 2019 communicated on 13 October 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the applicant’s right of access to a court.

A penalty notice and a fine of 42 euros were issued against the applicant for a traffic offence. Following the instructions provided in the notice, the applicant submitted a signed request for judicial review to the competent misdemeanour court disputing his liability and seeking a hearing. The request was accompanied by the penalty notice.

The domestic courts at two levels of jurisdiction rejected the applicant’s request stating that he had failed to sign the penalty notice as required by section 174 of the Misdemeanour Act. On 18 April 2019 the Constitutional Court held that the applicant had not suffered a significant disadvantage and rejected his constitutional appeal.

The applicant complains, under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, that he was deprived of his right of access to a court as his request for judicial review was rejected by the domestic courts, although it was signed and accompanied by the penalty notice in accordance with the instructions given in the notice.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has the applicant been denied, in breach of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, the “right to a court” in the determination of a criminal charge against him (see, mutatis mutandis , Evaggelou v. Greece , no. 44078/07, §§ 17-24, 13 January 2011; and, for the relevant principles, Zubac v. Croatia [GC], no. 40160/12, §§ 96-99, 5 April 2018, and Nowiński v. Poland , no. 25924/06, §§ 31-34, 20 October 2009)?