Case No.: CH/98/834
Applicant: O.K.K.
Respondent Party: Republika Srpska
Date Delivered: 9 March 2001

DECISION ON ADMISSIBILITY AND MERITS

Factual Background

The applicant is a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina of Serb descent residing in Germany. She and her daughter are pre-war co-owners of an apartment in Srpsko Sarajevo, municipality Srpska Ilidza. The applicant and her daughter left their apartment due to the war hostilities. The case concerns the applicant's attempts to regain possession of the apartment. She lodged an application to the Commission for Real Property Claims ("CRPC"), which issued a decision recognising her ownership rights. However, that decision was not executed.

Admissibility

Noting that it was still open to the applicant to make further attempts to have her CRPC decision enforced, but that the applicant had already made repeated unsuccessful attempts to remedy her situation, the Chamber found that the applicant could not be required to pursue any further remedy provided by domestic law, and declared the case admissible.

Merits

Article 8 of the Convention

The Chamber found that the result of the inaction of the Republika Srpska was that the applicant could not return to her home and that there was an ongoing interference with the applicant's right to respect for her home. Noting that under the Law on Implementation of the Decisions of the CRPC, the competent administrative organ is obliged to issue a conclusion authorising the execution of the decision within 30 days of the date of the request for such enforcement, but that the applicant had received no decision on her request to have the CRPC decision enforced, the Chamber found that the failure of the competent administrative organ to decide upon the applicant's request was not "in accordance with the law" and thus that there was a violation of Article 8.

Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention

For the same reasons as given in the context of its examination of the case under Article 8, the Chamber found that there was a violation of the right of the applicant to peaceful enjoyment of her possessions as guaranteed by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

Remedies

The Chamber ordered the Republika Srpska to take all necessary steps to enforce the CRPC decision and to enable the applicant to regain possession of her apartment without any further delay. The Chamber ordered the Republika Srpska to pay to the applicant KM 2,000 for non-pecuniary damage; KM 15,600 as compensation for the loss of use of the apartment and for any extra costs during the time the applicant has been forced to live in alternative accommodation; and KM 300 for each further month that she continued to be forced to live in alternative accommodation as from 1 April 2001 until the end of the month in which she would be reinstated.

Decision adopted 6 March 2001
Decision delivered 9 March 2001

DECISION ON REQUEST FOR REVIEW

The respondent Party submitted a request for review disagreeing with the award of monetary compensation in favour of the applicant. The Chamber found that the request did not meet either of the conditions set out in Rule 64(2) and decided to reject the request for review.

Decision adopted 10 May 2001