KAUFMANN AND OTHERS v. HUNGARY

  SECOND SECTION DECISION Application no. 4264/25 Zoltán KAUFMANN and Others against Hungary and 2 other applications (see appended table) The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 18 December 2025 as a Committee composed of:  Stéphane Pisani, President,  Juha Lavapuro,  Hugh Mercer, judges, and Attila Teplán, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table, Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases, Having deliberated, decides as follows: FACTS AND PROCEDURE The list of applicants is set out in the appended table. The applicants were represented by M P. Váczi, a lawyer practising in Győr. The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”). THE LAW Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision. After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make unilateral declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention. The Government acknowledged the excessive length of civil proceedings. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payments will constitute the final resolution of the cases. The applicants were sent the terms of the Government’s unilateral declarations several weeks before the date of this decision. The Court has not received a response from the applicants accepting the terms of the declarations. The Court observes that Article 37 § 1 (c) enables it to strike a case out of its list if: “... for any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application”. Thus, it may strike out applications under Article 37 § 1 (c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the cases to be continued (see, in particular, the Tahsin Acar v. Turkey judgment (preliminary objections) [GC], no. 26307/95, §§ 75‑77, ECHR 2003-VI). The Court has established clear and extensive case-law concerning complaints relating to the excessive length of civil proceedings (see, for example, Gazsó v. Hungary, no. 48322/12, 16 July 2015 and Csatári and Others v. Hungary [Committee], no. 18514/24, 20 May 2025). Noting the admissions contained in the Government’s declarations as well as the amount of compensation proposed – which is consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases – the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 (c)). In the light of the above considerations, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the applications (Article 37 § 1 in fine). Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declarations, the applications may be restored to the list in accordance with Article 37 § 2 of the Convention (Josipović v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369/07, 4 March 2008). In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Decides to join the applications; Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government’s declarations and of the arrangements for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein; Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. Done in English and notified in writing on 22 January 2026.    Attila Teplán Stéphane Pisani  Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIX List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (excessive length of civil proceedings) No. Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth Representative’s name and location Date of receipt of Government’s declaration Date of receipt of applicant’s comments, if any Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1]    4264/25 22/01/2025 (32 applicants) Zoltán KAUFMANN 1957 Móré ANDRÁSNÉ 1952 Mezei BÉLA 1938 Fritz BÉLA KÁROLY 1955 Izsai FERENC 1946 Hézsai FERENCNÉ 1950 Szilágyi FERENCNÉ 1942 Nyevrikel GÁBORNÉ 1964 Hauk GYÖRGYNÉ 1952 Mohai GYULÁNÉ 1945 Neubauerné Csurgó IBOLYA ANNA 1941 Czifra ILONA 1954 Gruber IMRE ERIK 1958 Boldog ISTÁNNÉ 1947 Oláh ISTVÁN 1949 Opra ISTVÁN 1949 Vencli ISTVÁN 1944 Bosánszki ISTVÁNNÉ 1956 Sólya ISTVÁNNÉ 1961 Apor JÁNOS 1949 Kreisz JÓZSEF 1954 Pércsi JÓZSEF 1951 Ragályi JÓZSEF 1954 Zaubek JÓZSEF ANDRÁS 1959 Kovácsi JÓZSEFNÉ 1947 Szauer LAJOS JÁNOS 1935 Lakatos LÁSZLÓ 1949 Polovitzer LÁSZLÓ 1967   Bebiák LÁSZLÓ JÁNOS 1952 Róka LÁSZLÓNÉ 1956 Incze VIKTOR ZOLTÁN 1952 Rábai ZSIGMONDNÉ 1955   Váczi Péter Győr 03/11/2025 17/11/2025 200    6458/25 21/02/2025 Jánosné SZŰCS 1946 Sándorné HORVÁTH 1949   Váczi Péter Győr 03/11/2025 17/11/2025 200    6460/25 21/02/2025 (19 applicants) László ZÓDOR 1978 Béla BÉRTEKI 1957 Pál Győző CSÍK 1955 János FERNYE 1958 József Antal FODOR 1966 Sándor GÖNCZI 1965 Gábor János KRUPPA 1969 Miklós KURDI 1948 Szabolcs MURÁNYI 1950 János NÉMETH 1944 Imre OLÁH 1951 Ilona RÉVÉSZ 1971 Péter ROÓSZ 1965 Mária ROÓSZNÉ SZABÓ 1962 Norbert SIMKÓ 1978 László SIMON 1950 László SZABÓ 1949 Zoltán SZENTGALLAY 1954 Elemér TÖMÖRDI 1943   Váczi Péter Győr 29/10/2025 17/11/2025 200   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.