European court of human rights

(echr)

Co-Under Secretary General: Rana Elif Taze

Co-Under Secretary General: Mert Halil Bölükbaşı

Agenda Item:

CASE OF CINDRIĆ AND BEŠLIĆ v. CROATIA

(Application no. 72152/13)

Committee Description:

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), established in 1959, functions as the judicial arm of the Council of Europe. Its primary mandate is to ensure that Member States comply with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that signed in 1950 and entering into force in 1953 and protects essential civil and political rights among its Member States by guaranteeing core freedoms such as the right to life, liberty, and a fair trial, and establishes a supranational mechanism. 

This year, during HUTRAIN'25, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will be delivering its judgment on Cindrić & Bešlić v. Croatia. The case arose from the applicants’ long-standing efforts to obtain justice and compensation for the 1992 killing of their parents in the war-affected Krajina Autonomous Region during Yugoslavian Civil Conflict. The Court will evaluate Croatia's potential violation of the applicants’ right of access to a court under Article 6 §1 of the ECHR as well as their right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 by burdens of court expanses. The decision will deliberate on excessive procedural delays and the reclassification of the applicants’ compensation claim as “war-related damage” effectively deprived them of meaningful judicial protection and property rights.