Suljagic v Bosnia and Herzegovina - 18804/04 [2011] ECHR 1252 (8 June 2011)

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The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Having regard to the judgment transmitted by the Court to the Committee once it had become final;

Recalling that the violation of the Convention found by the Court in this case concerns the applicant’s right to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions ("old" foreign currency savings) due to the the deficient implementation of the domestic legislation (violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1) (see details in Appendix);

Having invited the government of the respondent state to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with its obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgment;

Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;

Having satisfied itself that, within the time-limit set, the respondent state paid the applicant the just satisfaction provided in the judgment (see details in Appendix),

Recalling that a finding of violations by the Court requires, over and above the payment of just satisfaction awarded by the Court in its judgments, the adoption by the respondent state, where appropriate:

- of individual measures to put an end to the violations and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and

DECLARES, having examined the measures taken by the respondent state (see Appendix), that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in this case and

The case concerns the violation of the applicant’s right to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions as a result of the deficient implementation of the domestic legislation on “old” foreign currency savings (foreign currency savings deposited prior to the dissolution of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia) (violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1).

The applicant deposited the foreign currency savings in a local bank prior to the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. He was unable to withdraw his deposit from the bank when the war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the respondent state and its constituent entities assumed liability for “old” foreign currency savings. A special law envisaged that the debt in respect of “old” foreign currency savings, including the accrued interest, would be reimbursed through the issue of government bonds to the depositors and introduced a repayment scheme. These depositors had to obtain verification certificates beforehand to verify the amounts to be paid to them. They were entitled to a limited initial cash payment, while the remaining amount was to be reimbursed in government bonds. Those bonds are to be amortised in the Republika Srpska by 2013 and in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the “Federation”) and the Brčko District by 2015. Those who are unable or unwilling to wait until the end of the amortisation period may opt for early cash payment by selling their bonds on the Stock Exchange.

This legislation was implemented without any problem in the Republika Srpska. However, in the Brčko District, government bonds, although due on 31/03/2008, were issued only on 30/06/2009. Likewise, in the Federation, it appears that bonds, also due on 31/03/2008, had not been issued when the Court rendered its judgment. As a result, the applicant was unable to sell them on the Stock Exchange and obtain early cash payments. Moreover, the instalments due under the current legislation on 27/09/2008 were paid almost three months later in the Brčko District and almost eight months later in the Federation. Similarly, the instalment due on 27/03/2009 was paid almost three months later in the Brčko District and had not been paid in the Federation. The Brčko District and the Republika Srpska also undertook to pay default interest in the event of late payment of any forthcoming instalment, while the Federation failed to do so.

1) General measures to solve the problems at the basis of the repetitive violations: The Court noted that the violation in the present case affected many people. According to the International Monetary Fund, more than a quarter of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina had “old” foreign-currency savings. Moreover, at the time this judgment was rendered, there were already more than 1350 similar applications, submitted on behalf of more than 13 500 applicants, pending before the Court. This represented a serious threat to the future effectiveness of the Convention machinery. The Court therefore considered it appropriate to apply the pilot-judgment procedure in the present case.

In view of the systemic situation which it had identified, the Court observed that general measures at national level were undoubtedly called for in execution of the present judgment. In particular, the Court considered that government bonds had to be issued and any outstanding instalments had to be paid in the Federation within six months from the date on which the present judgment became final. Within the same time-limit, the Federation undertook to pay default interest at the statutory rate in the event of late payment of any forthcoming instalment. As regards the past delays, the Court did not find it necessary to order that adequate redress should be awarded to all persons affected. If, however, the respondent state were to fail to adopt the general measures indicated above and continued to violate the Convention, the Court might reconsider the issue of redress in an appropriate future case.

2) Regarding the similar applications pending before the Court: The Court decided to adjourn adversarial proceedings for six months from the date on which the present judgment became final in any cases pertaining to “old” foreign-currency savings in the Federation and the Brčko District in which the applicants have obtained verification certificates.

The Court also decided that it might declare inadmissible any cases pertaining to “old” foreign-currency savings in which the applicants have not obtained verification certificates, because it had found a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 only with respect to delays in the implementation of the current legislation, and those who have not obtained a verification certificate cannot be considered to be affected by those delays. However, the Court ordered that the respondent state must ensure that the relevant deadlines were extended for at least six months from the date on which the present judgment became final to enable everyone to obtain a verification certificate.

Lastly, the Court decided that it might declare inadmissible any cases pertaining to “old” foreign-currency savings in the Republika Srpska, even if the applicants have obtained verification certificates, because no delays in the implementation of the current legislation occurred in that Entity.

No other individual measure apart from the payment of just satisfaction was considered necessary by the Committee of Ministers.

The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina have taken the following measures in order to execute this pilot judgment:

1) The Federation issued government bonds intended for the repayment of the “old” foreign currency savings, which have been covered by verification certificates. The Federation government took decisions ordering the first issue of those bonds on 21/10/2009 and the second issue on 24/03/2010. Those decisions have been published in the Federation Official Gazette, Nos. 67/2009 and 17/2010.

2) The Federation government also took a decision ordering the payment of the outstanding instalments due on 27/03/2009 and 27/09/2009. The decision was published in the Federation Official Gazette No. 17/2010. These instalments concerned the payment of interest on the bonds. The actual payment of the instalments took place on 16/07/2010.

3) The relevant deadlines have been extended to enable those who have not yet obtained a verification certificate in respect of their “old” foreign savings to obtain it. The deadline has been extended in Republika Srpska to 31/12/2010, in the Federation to 03/08/2010 and in the Brčko District to 15/10/2010. The respective decisions have been published in the official gazettes of both entities and the Brčko District.

4) On 29/04/2010 the Federation government adopted a decision to the effect that the Federation should pay default interest at the statutory rate in the event of late payment of any forthcoming instalment.

5) The Court’s judgment has been translated into all official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina No. 17/10 of 08/03/2010 and on the Internet page of the Government Agent (http://www.mhrr.gov.ba/ured_zastupnika/Default.aspx). The judgment was also forwarded to a number of relevant judicial and governmental authorities.

In view of the foregoing measures taken by the authorities of the respondent state, on 16/11/2010 the Court decided to close the pilot-judgment procedure applied in respect of the applications concerning “old” foreign currency savings in the present case (see decision in the case of Zadrić, Application No. 18804/04).

The government considers that the measures adopted have fully remedied the consequences for the applicant of the violation of the Convention found by the European Court in this case, that these measures will prevent similar violations and that Bosnia and Herzegovina has thus complied with its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

1 Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 8 June 2011 at the 1115th Meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies

Pecuniary damage	Non-pecuniary damage	Costs and expenses	Total
-	5000 EUR	729 EUR	5729 EUR
Paid on 06/04/2010

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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> Suljagic v Bosnia and Herzegovina - 18804/04 [2011] ECHR 1252 (8 June 2011) URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2011/1252.html Cite as: [2011] ECHR 1252