VELKOVA v. NORTH MACEDONIA

2026-05-21T00:00:00
  SECOND SECTION DECISION Application no. 34492/21 Verica VELKOVA against North Macedonia (see appended table) The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 21 May 2026 as a Committee composed of:  Stéphane Pisani, President,  Juha Lavapuro,  Hugh Mercer, judges, and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to the above application against the Republic of North Macedonia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on 24 June 2021, Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case, Having deliberated, decides as follows: FACTS AND PROCEDURE The applicant’s details are set out in the appended table. The applicant was represented by Ms D. Veljanovska, a lawyer practising in Skopje. The application concerns the alleged lack of legal certainty in civil proceedings in which the applicant, a former bailiff, was held liable for unpaid membership fees to the Chamber of Bailiffs in her personal capacity, although she had previously been found by the domestic courts not to be liable in that capacity. The applicant’s complaint under Article 6 of the Convention concerning the alleged lack of legal certainty was communicated to the Government of North Macedonia (“the Government”). The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicant agreed to waive any further claims against North Macedonia in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay her the amount detailed in the appended table. This amount will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay this amount within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, 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 payment will constitute the final resolution of the case. THE LAW The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention. Done in English and notified in writing on 11 June 2026.    Viktoriya Maradudina Stéphane Pisani  Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIX Application raising complaints under Article 6 of the Convention (Legal certainty) Application no. Date of introduction Applicant’s name Year of birth   Date of receipt of Government’s declaration Date of receipt of applicant’s declaration Amount awarded for non‑pecuniary damage (in euros)[1] 34492/21 24/06/2021 Verica VELKOVA 1960   01/04/2026 12/02/2026 2,300   [1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.