Published on 6 December 2021

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 1061/20 Ljiljana JURČEVIĆ against Croatia and 2 other applications (see list appended) communicated on 17 November 2021

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applications concern the administrative courts’ refusal to reimburse the applicants’ costs of judicial review (administrative-dispute) proceedings.

In particular, the applicants brought actions for judicial review in administrative courts with a view to forcing the relevant administrative authorities to comply with their statutory obligation to decide on the applicants’ appeals within 60 days. Shortly after the institution of those judicial review proceedings the relevant administrative authorities decided on the applicants’ appeals. The applicants therefore withdrew their actions but sought reimbursement of costs of proceedings.

Their claims for costs were dismissed on the grounds that there was no causal link between the applicants’ actions and the administrative authorities’ subsequent compliance with their statutory obligation, or on the grounds that the relevant legislation provided that each party had to bear its own costs in the event judicial review proceedings were discontinued.

In the decisions no. U-III-2291/2018 of 19 June 2019, no. U ‑ III ‑ 559/2019 of 19 July 2019 and U-III-4420/2019 of 17 September 2020 the Constitutional Court quashed such decisions on costs adopted in cases similar to those of the applicants as being contrary to the right of access to a court guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Was the domestic authorities’ refusal to reimburse the applicants’ costs of judicial review proceedings in breach of their right of access to a court under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see Zustović v. Croatia , no. 27903/15, §§ 96-111, 22 April 2021, and Černius and Rinkevičius v. Lithuania , nos. 73579/17 and 14620/18, §§ 65-74, 18 February 2020)?

APPENDIX

No.

Application no.

Case name

Lodged on

Applicant Year of Birth Place of Residence Nationality

Represented by

1.

1061/20

Jurčević v. Croatia

16/12/2019

Ljiljana JURČEVIĆ 1970 Karlovac Croatian

Renata DOZET DASKAL

2.

1082/20

Ručević v. Croatia

16/12/2019

Slavko RUČEVIĆ 1954 Karlovac Croatian

3.

17951/20

Banović v. Croatia

07/04/2020

Mira BANOVIĆ 1968 Karlovac Croatian