Nada PERISIC against Serbia

On March 7, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: the Court) made, and on March 28, 2024, announced the decision in the casePerisic against Serbia (number 8648/21).

The decision was made by a three-member Board.

In the petition, the applicant complained about the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time from Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Convention, due to the delayed execution of the domestic decision.

The Government made claims that the applicant did not inform the Court that in 2020 and 2022 the domestic courts found a violation of the indicated right and awarded her the amount of 800 euros (EUR) in the name of compensation for non-material damage. Therefore, the Government proposed that the Court reject the application in question due to abuse of the right to an individual application.

Bearing in mind that the applicant did not inform the court of the said fact before the Government received notification of the submitted petition, which represents the very essence of the petition, the Court accepted the Government's defense and found that such behavior of the applicant contradicts the purpose of the right to an individual petition.

The Court also noted that lawyers must understand that, taking into account the Court's duty to investigate allegations of human rights violations, they must also demonstrate high professional prudence and meaningful cooperation in working with the Court, saving it from frivolous complaints. Therefore, lawyers must diligently inquire into all the details of the case, carefully following all relevant rules of procedure, and encourage their clients to do the same, both before and after the commencement of proceedings. Otherwise, intentional or negligent misuse of the Court's resources may jeopardize the credibility of the work of lawyers in the eyes of the Court, and even if it occurs systematically, it may lead to a situation where certain lawyers are prohibited from representing applicants.

Consequently, the Court made a decision to declare the application inadmissible due to abuse of the right to an individual application, in accordance with the provisions of Article 35, para. 3(a) and 4 of the Convention.