Serbia
ENTRY INTO FORCE of the European Convention on Human Rights
3 March 2004
Number of implemented cases*
408
Examples
New measures to prevent and monitor prison violence after innocent man’s rape ordeal
Fabian Gjini, an innocent man, suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of his cellmates during his month-long detention. The European court ruled that Serbia had failed to detect, prevent or monitor the violence against Fabian. By the time of the judgment in his case, Serbia had taken tough measures to tackle prison violence and to improve human rights protections for detainees.
Serbia
Protection for victims of hate crime after abuse of Hare Krishna follower
Života Milanović, a member of a religious minority, was the target of a hate campaign that lasted for years. Police seemed more interested in Života’s beliefs and his appearance than in finding his attackers. After the European court ruled that the authorities had failed to prevent and properly investigate the attacks because of Života’s religion, Serbia made hate crime a serious criminal...
Thousands of people win right to recover ‘old’ foreign-currency savings
Thousands of people could not access their ‘old’ foreign currency savings for decades after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The European court ruled that Serbia and Slovenia’s delay in enabling savers to recover their funds had breached their rights. It ordered both countries to make changes to allow depositors to access their savings. Serbia and Slovenia then set up successful repayment schemes.
Slovenia
Justice for man made to pay huge fine for publishing criticism of a public official
Zoran Lepojić wrote an article saying that a mayor had wasted public money. The mayor successfully brought defamation charges, and Zoran was fined more than eight average monthly salaries. The European court ruled that this had been unreasonable, violating Zoran's right to free speech. The Supreme Court of Serbia took steps to protect freedom of expression in such circumstances.
Reforms made after pensioner given unreasonable punishments
Sofija Tešić received a monthly pension equivalent to €170 euros. After she lost a defamation case, two-thirds of her monthly pension was taken to pay off her debt – leaving her without money for medication. The European court ruled that this had been disproportionate. The Serbian courts changed their case law to limit defamation awards, and enforcement proceedings were also overhauled.
* This figure includes all judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights (including friendly settlements) concerning which the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has decided that all necessary follow-up measures have been taken. Source: the database of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECHR, HUDOC-EXEC.