About 955,000 kuna has been paid under verdicts handed down by the Strasbourg court, while 725,000 kuna has been paid under settlements the state reached with the plaintiffs.
The Strasbourg court has considered 171 claims filed by Croatian citizens, 89 of which have been closed. Verdicts have been handed down in 20 cases, including 18 in which the court has established that at least one right was violated, while 29 claims have been dismissed as unacceptable.
The state has reached a settlement in 40 cases, binding itself to pay about 725,000 kuna. The Justice Ministry has said the payment of some 400,000 kuna is under way. The money comes from the national budget.
When the state and a plaintiff reach a settlement, the European Court of Human Rights is bound to hand down a special verdict or decision within three months. Only then are the damages paid, also within a three-month period.
So far damages in individual cases have not exceeded 10,000 euros because the compensation has generally referred to non-material damage.
Settlements have mostly been reached in cases in which citizens complained about the violation of their right to access courts, according to Stefica Staznik, assistant justice minister and Government representative before the Strasbourg court.
She says these citizens sought compensation for damage caused by terrorist acts or by members of the Croatian armed or police forces. Proceedings in such cases were discontinued in 1996 after Parliament repealed a provision under which the state was responsible for this type of material and non-material damage. New legislation which enabled the resumption of proceedings was adopted only in July 2003.
In early 2002 the European Court of Human Rights handed down the first verdict which established that Croatia violated a citizen's right to access courts. The case referred to the Kutic family from Bjelovar, whose house, which was beyond the war zone, was mined in 1992.
In the wake of that verdict, Croatia decided to settle in similar cases in the future given the risk of facing a higher number of negative and likely more expensive verdicts, according to Staznik.
The claims filed with the Strasbourg court have also referred to the non-execution of verdicts, unreasonably long proceedings, property restitution, and tenancy rights.
In one case Croatia is not the defendant but on the side of the plaintiff -- an action three Croatians filed against Slovenia.
The Justice Ministry Office for Cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights says it does not have data on the total number of actions filed against Croatia because not all are submitted to Croatia for a reply, particularly those which the Strasbourg court dismisses as unacceptable.
Croatian citizens may seek the protection of their rights before the Strasbourg court since late 1997, when Croatia was admitted to the Council of Europe.
(EUR1 = 7.5 kuna)