Published on 30 January 2023

FOURTH SECTION

Applications nos. 47610/16 and 47613/16 Zoran ĐORĐEVIĆ against Serbia and Zoran STANISAVLJEVIĆ against Serbia lodged on 28 July 2016 and 28 July 2016 respectively communicated on 13 January 2023

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

These two applications concern the inconsistent case-law of the domestic courts.

Specifically, the applicants had been reservists who had been drafted by the Yugoslav Army in connection with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s intervention in Serbia in 1999. In 2011 they brought civil proceedings seeking non-pecuniary damages for the harm which they had allegedly suffered as a consequence of their military service. The applicants’ claims, however, were dismissed as time-barred, even though identical claims lodged by others were accepted by the domestic judiciary. On 14 April and 12 May 2016 the Constitutional Court found violations of the applicants’ right to legal certainty, as an element of the right to a fair trial, but did not award them any compensation.

The applicants complain before this Court, under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, about the divergent case-law of the national courts.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Can the applicants still claim to be victims of a violation of the Convention, within the meaning of Article 34, regard being had to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of 14 April and 12 May 2016? If so, has there been a violation of the applicants’ right to a fair hearing, as guaranteed under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, on account of the inconsistent case-law of the domestic courts (see, for example, Lupeni Greek Catholic Parish and Others v. Romania [GC], no. 76943/11, § 116, 29 November 2016, and Mirković and Others v. Serbia , nos. 27471/15 and 12 others, § 134, 26 June 2018)?