European Court: Convention on Human Rights violated in Radonjic/Romic case

The Court held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 5 paragraph 3 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and a violation of Article 5 paragraph 4 (right to have lawfulness of detention decided speedily by a court).

It noted that the case concerned the detention on remand for almost three and a half years of two former secret police officers suspected of murdering a well-known Serbian journalist and newspaper publisher. It added that it also concerned the length of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court to review their detention. The criminal trial is still pending in their case, said the Court.

The Court saw no reason to disagree with the Constitutional Court’s findings that the first year and two months of their detention had been justified by, among other reasons, the need to preserve public order if the applicants had been released given the high-profile nature of the case, but that over time, and for the remaining two years and three months of their detention, that reason had no longer been valid, said the press release.

“Although the national courts had acknowledged a breach of the applicants’ rights, the Court noted that they had not been awarded any compensation. Accordingly, it refused to dismiss the case for lack of victim status, and held that there had been a violation of the Article 5 paragraph 3. Lastly, the Court considered that it had taken the Constitutional Court more than two years to rule on the lawfulness of the applicants’ detention and that that could not be regarded as “speedy” within the meaning of Article 5 paragraph 4 of the Convention,” said the Court in Strasbourg.

The European Court of Human Rights held that Serbia was to pay Radonjic and Romic 1,000 euros each in respect of nonpecuniary damage.