in the case of

MILAN ANUŠIC v. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (Case No. CH/98/457)

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Mr. Anušic, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, seeks to return to his apartment in Sarajevo which he vacated during the war. On 5 September 1991 he entered into a contract to purchase an apartment located in Sarajevo from the Yugoslav National Army (“JNA”), over which he held an occupancy right. Over the course of more than 4 years, he has applied to various institutions of the Federation to regain possession of his apartment but has not met with success.

FINDINGS OF THE CHAMBER

Admissibility

The Chamber declared the application inadmissible with respect to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the Chamber declared the application admissible with respect to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the applicant could not be further required to pursue domestic remedies. Having pursued them for over 4 years without success, the Chamber concluded that they were shown to be ineffective.

Merits

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights The Chamber found that the interference with the applicant’s right to respect for his home was not in accordance with law and therefore there was a violation of Article 8 of the Convention. In failing to make relevant decisions with respect to proceedings begun in the domestic system, the Federation had violated the rights of the applicant as guaranteed by this provision.

Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention
Similarly, for the same reasons that the Federation did not act in accordance with law with respect to Article 8, the Federation was found by the Chamber to be in violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention as the interference with the applicant’s possession, in this case his apartment, was not justified.

Article 6 (1) of the Convention
The Chamber concluded that the length of the proceedings which the applicant has initiated seeking to regain possession of his apartment had exceeded a “reasonable time” and therefore the Federation had violated the applicant’s rights under that provision.

REMEDIES

The Chamber ordered the Federation, as soon as possible, to reinstate the applicant into possession of his apartment and to register him as its owner. Further, the Chamber awarded him 5,000 Convertible Marks for the damage he suffered, as non-pecuniary compensation up to and including the date of the Chamber’s decision.

Decision delivered 13 October 2000

REQUEST FOR REVIEW

The respondent Party, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed a request for review of the decision of the First Panel of the Chamber on the admissibility and merits of the case. On 7 December 2000, the Plenary Chamber rejected the request for review