issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 042 (2026)
17.02.2026
Judgments of 17 February 2026
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing six judgments1:
two Chamber judgments are summarised below;
a separate press release has been issued for the Chamber judgment in the case of Green Alliance
v. Bulgaria (application no. 6580/22);
three Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been submitted to the Court, can
be consulted on Hudoc and do not appear in this press release.
The judgments summarised below are available only in English.
Koffi v. Bulgaria (application no. 95/24)
The applicant, Leon François d’Assises Koffi, is a British national who was born in 1970 and lives in
Sheffield.
On 29 September 2018 teams from the two biggest football clubs in Bulgaria played a match at the
National Stadium in Sofia. The case concerns an assault on Mr Koffi which occurred following the end
of the football match when fans were leaving the stadium, and which he alleges was prompted by
racist motives.
Relying, in particular, on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European
Convention on Human Rights, the applicant complains, firstly, that the authorities had failed to put in
place adequate regulations and operational measures with a view to preventing the assault on him
and, secondly, that the authorities had not effectively investigated the assault.
No violation of Article 3 (ill-treatment)
Violation of Article 3 (investigation)
Violation of Article 14 taken in conjunction with Article 13
Just satisfaction:
non-pecuniary damage: 18,500 euros (EUR)
costs and expenses: EUR 4,500
Đaković v. Serbia (no. 30749/22)
The applicant, Vilko Đaković, is a Croatian national who was born in 1957 and lives in Lovas, Croatia.
On 10 October 1991, in the context of war that followed the dissolution of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav People’s Army, together with a certain number of locally recruited
“territorial defence” forces, local police and volunteer forces, shelled and subsequently captured the
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Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber
judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel
of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a
final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,
judgments delivered by a Committee are final.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution
Croatian village of Lovas. The case concerns the death of Mr Đaković’s father, who was shot and killed
during the assault.
Relying on Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention the applicant complains that the Serbian
authorities have failed to carry out an effective investigation into the killing of his father.
Violation of Article 2 (investigation)
Just satisfaction:
non-pecuniary damage: EUR 12,000
costs and expenses: EUR 1,730
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,
judgments and further information about the Court can be found on www.echr.coe.int.
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The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe member
States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.
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