There is no political will to implement the Strasbourg court ruling in the Fata Orlovic case, concerning a church built by the Serbian Orthodox Parish on Orlovic's land after the family fled their home during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, warned Bosnia's Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Dzevad Mahmutovic.
According to him, the implementation of the ruling is “continuously obstructed” by political representatives of the Republika Srpska, Bosnia's Serb-majority entity where Orlovic's land is located.
“Using the coronavirus pandemic as a reason not to implement the ruling is only an empty talk that offends the common sense and it is a failed attempt to deceive the public and further delay the implementation of this moral and international obligation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Mahmutovic.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in October 2019 in favour of Orlovic, saying that Bosnian authorities failed to comply with the rulings from 1999 and 2001 ordering full repossession of the land by the applicant. Related news
The case against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina was launched by a family of 14 Bosnian nationals, including the first applicant Fata Orlovic.
In 1998, the Drinjaca Serbian Orthodox Parish built a church on the land, following expropriation proceedings in favour of the parish, without the applicants ever being informed about those proceedings.
Following the provisions of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended the Bosnian war, and its Annex 7 which guarantees a free return of refugees, Bosnia's Serb-dominated region, Republika Srpska, where the land is located, enacted the Restitution of Property Act in 1998.
The applicants brought the restitution proceedings for their property in line with the Act and were granted full restitution in 1999, followed by the return of their property except for a plot where the church was built.
The owners sought full repossession in the following years, but without success.
In March 2018, they lodged an appeal with the ECHR, relying on the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, guaranteeing the protection of property and the right to a fair trial.
After reviewing the facts related to the facts, the ECHR's chamber concluded that the applicants were still being prevented from full repossession of their property 17 years after the ratification of the Convention and its protocols by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The Government had not given any justification for the authorities’ inaction. The Court considered that such a long delay clearly amounted to a refusal to enforce the decisions, which had left the applicants in a state of uncertainty,” said the court, noting that the applicants “had suffered a serious frustration of their property rights and had been made to bear a disproportionate and excessive burden.”
The Court held, unanimously, that Bosnia and Herzegovina was to pay 5,000 euros (EUR) to the first applicant and EUR 2,000 to each of the remaining applicants in respect of pecuniary damage.
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