issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 124 (2024)
21.05.2024
Judgments of 21 May 2024
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing three judgments1:
one Chamber judgment is summarised below;
two Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been examined by the Court, can
The judgment below is only available in English.
Mandev and Others v. Bulgaria (applications nos. 57002/11, 61872/11,
46024/12, 6430/13, and 67333/13)
The applicants are 11 Bulgarian nationals born between 1940 and 1978 who live in Sliven, Plovdiv,
Shumen and Pernik (all Bulgaria), and three Bulgarian companies based in Plovdiv.
The case concerns the forfeiture of the applicants’ assets as proceeds of crime. It also concerns the
allegedly excessive court fees that they had to pay in the forfeiture proceedings.
Relying on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on
Human Rights and Articles 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the
European Convention, the applicants complain that the forfeiture of their assets was unfair and
unjustified, and that the court fees in the forfeiture proceedings were too high.
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning applications nos. 57002/11, 46024/12, 6430/13,
and 67333/13) on account of the forfeiture of the applicants’ assets as proceeds of crime
No violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 concerning application no. 61872/11 on account of the
forfeiture of the applicants’ assets as proceeds of crime
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 in all cases on account of the high level of court fees paid by
the applicants.
Just satisfaction: For the details of the amounts awarded to the applicants for pecuniary and non-
pecuniary damage, as well as costs and expenses, please see the operative part the judgment.
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,
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1
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
