Published on 3 January 2022

FIFTH SECTION

Application no. 53112/18 Dragan TODOROVSKI against North Macedonia lodged on 2 November 2018 communicated on 7 December 2021

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the absence of the applicant at a hearing held on 18 December 2017 in the presence of the plaintiff who made her submissions before the Skopje Court of First Instance. The date of the hearing in question was fixed following two adjourned hearings and the applicant’s submission for an adjournment of 19 October 2017. According to the applicant this deprived him of the opportunity to submit his arguments and to examine witnesses. Domestic courts at two instances of jurisdiction ruled in favour of the plaintiff and held that the applicant had failed to appear despite having been duly summoned to the hearing of 18 December 2017.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

1. Did the applicant have a fair hearing in the determination of his civil rights and obligations, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, was the applicant afforded the possibility to be present and to effectively participate at the hearing held on 18 December 2017 before the Skopje Court of First Instance (see, for example, Mitrevski v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia , no. 33046/02, § 28, 21 June 2007 and Vardanyan and Nanushyan v. Armenia , no. 8001/07, § 86, 27 October 2016)?