Pravo na suđenje u razumnom roku
Right to Trial Within a Reasonable Time

Author(s): Ivanka Marković
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Reasonable deadline;Request to expedite the proceedings;A lawsuite to establish a violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time;Fair satisfaction;
Summary/Abstract: The Law on Protection of the Right to Trial within a Reasonable Time has the intention to provide effective legal protection of the right to trial within a reasonable time within the domestic judicial system to each citizen whose right has been violated before the judicial institutions of Republika Srpska. Instead of appealing to the Constitutional Court of BiH within a system of protection of the right to fair trial before the CC BIH, citizens will use the legal means provided by this Law. However, by prescribing legal remedies for the protection of the right to a trial within a reasonable time,the level of protection of this right expected from the Republika Srpska has not yet been reached. In order to reach that goal it is necessary to ensure adequate application of European standards, i.e. criteria for determining the violation of the right to trial within a reasonable time. In this regard, we note that Article 2 (3) of the Law explicitly provides that “a violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time shall be determined in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.”Anyone who considers that his civil rights and obligations or a criminal charge against him has not been decided within a reasonable time has the right to the judicial protection within the above mentioned protection system. Remedies that ensure protection of the right to trial within a reasonable time are a request to expedite the proceedings and a lawsuit to establish a violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time and to just satisfaction due to a violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time.It follows that the legislator accepted the combined system of protection of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, which seeks to speed up the procedure on the one hand, and fair compensation of the party on the other hand due to inconveniences caused by the excessive duration of the procedure. In order to unify the case law when determining the amount of monetary compensation, the legislator has determined that monetary compensation in the amount of 300 KM to 3,000 KM per case, and exceptionally, inspecial cases when several persons are injured in court proceedings where a violation of rights at trial within a reasonable time occurred, damages may amount up to 20,000 KM per case.The central question that arises in the application of this Law is the question when a violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time occurs,i.e. what a “trial within a reasonable time” practically means? In answering this question, the courts will have at their disposal the large EctHR’s and Constitutional Court of BiH’s case law what leads us to the conclusion that there should be no significant problems in its application. The responsibility of a judge whose negligence violated the right to a trial within a reasonable time remained outside the scope of this Law. In our opinion, regulation of this kind of responsibility should have been an integral part of this Law. Such regulations together with the existing ones, would greatly contribute to the establishment of more efficient court proceedings in the Republic of Srpska.

• Details
• Contents