CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 20 octobre 2025

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s379BC09C { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s339D85E6 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s665E407E { margin-top:66pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s10950C61 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5FFF0A75 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:7pt } .s75A32C27 { border-collapse:collapse } .sBA3864EC { height:72.4pt } .s3695F815 { border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#dfdfdf } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .sEECE831 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; color:#474747 } .sE8934522 { border:0.75pt solid #949494; padding:1.02pt 5.03pt; vertical-align:top } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sDF237D91 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:8pt } Published on 10 November 2025   THIRD SECTION Application no. 48646/21 Dževad KOLDŽIĆ against Serbia and 2 other applications (see list appended) communicated on 20 October 2025 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE The applications concern the decisions of the Constitutional Court finding violation of applicants’ rights but refusing to award them the costs of their legal representation. In particular, in applications nos. 48646/21 and 8821/22 the Constitutional Court awarded the applicants 400 euros and 600 euros, respectively, in compensation for the excessive length of the administrative and judicial review proceedings which concerned their requests for a family disability allowance following the death of their immediate family members in the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, at the same time, that court refused their requests for reimbursement of the costs for drafting their constitutional complaints, referring to section 6 of the Constitutional Court Act, which provides that, unless the court decides otherwise, each participant in proceedings before it has to bear their own costs. The costs for drafting their constitutional complaints amounted to approximately 750 euros and exceeded the amounts of awarded compensation. The representative of the applicant in application no. 8821/22 informed the Court that the applicant had passed away on 4 May 2022. The applicant’s legal heir (son) expressed his interest in pursuing the application authorising the same representative to represent him in the proceedings before the Court. In application no. 32884/24 the Constitutional Court found a breach of the obligation to investigate under Article 25 § 1 of the Constitution (the right to physical and moral integrity) regarding the incident in which the applicant had been hit by a stray bullet and has been paralysed since. The Constitutional Court ordered the re-opening of a criminal investigation and awarded the applicant 5,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage. However, the Constitutional Court refused to award the applicant the legal costs in those proceedings in the amount of approximately 2,300 euros referring to the same reasons as in the case of the aforesaid two applicants. The applicants complain under Articles 6 § 1 of the Convention that the Constitutional Court’s refusal to award them the costs of their legal representation had a deterrent effect on the exercise of their right of access to a court. In respect of application 48646/21, the applicant also complains under Article 6 of the Convention about the length of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court, which lasted 4 years and 4 months and, in his view, involved a matter of particular importance, were not complex in nature; nor did his conduct impact their length. The constitutional appeal was lodged on 25 May 2020 and the decision of the Constitutional Court was rendered on 24 September 2024. QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES 1.     Has there been a breach of the applicants’ right of access to a court on account of the Constitutional Court’s refusal to award them the costs of their legal representation before that court (see, for example, Moskalj v. Croatia , no. 60272/21, §§ 79-82, 15 October 2024; and Dragan Kovačević v. Croatia , no. 49281/15, §§ 67-85, 12 May 2022)? 2.     With regard to application no. 48646/21, was the length of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court which had been initiated on 25   May 2020 in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? (see, for example, Milovanović v. Serbia, no. 56065/10 , §§   87-90, 8 October 2019 and, for illustrative purpose, Grubić v. Croatia , (dec.) [Committee], no. 33602/17, §§ 34-41, 18 March 2021)?     APPENDIX No. Application no. Case name Lodged on Applicant Year of Birth Place of Residence Nationality Represented by 1. 48646/21 Koldžić v. Serbia 28/09/2021 Dževad KOLDŽIĆ 1979 Novi Pazar Serbian Mihailo PAVLOVIĆ 2. 8821/22 Pecikoza v. Serbia 07/02/2022 Rasim PECIKOZA 1933 Died in 2022 Sarajevo Serbian Mihailo PAVLOVIĆ 3. 32884/24 Perišić v. Serbia 27/10/2024 Nikola PERIŠIĆ 2003 Priboj Serbian Snežana SELAKOVIĆ     Heir in application no. 8821/22   Decedent Heir Rasim PECIKOZA Died in 2022 Idriz PECIKOZA Born in 1968