issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 118 (2025)
13.05.2025
Judgments of 13 May 2025
The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing five judgments1:
two Chamber judgments are summarised below;
three Committee judgments, concerning issues which have already been examined by the Court, can
The judgments summarised below are available only in English.
The applicant, Dražen Radelić, is a Croatian national who was born in 1973 and lives in Split (Croatia).
Following the bankruptcy of Mr Radelić’s company in 2010, he was indicted in 2011 for business fraud
and forgery of documents. The case concerns a confiscation order in that connection to recover from
Mr Radelić personally the proceeds of crime in the amount of 854,743.39 Croatian kunas (equivalent
to 113,440 euros) he acquired for his company.
Relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr Radelić
complains that the decision to confiscate the proceeds of crime from him lacked any basis in law.
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
Just satisfaction: please see the operative part of the judgment.
Spiteri v. Malta (no. 37055/22)
The applicant, Patrick Spiteri, is a Maltese national who was born in 1964 and lives in Swieqi (Malta).
In 2008 Mr Spiteri was charged with fraud, misappropriation of funds and forgery of public documents.
A European arrest warrant was issued as he failed to appear at several hearings. The case concerns
his subsequent detention following his extradition from the United Kingdom, and the restriction, in
particular, on his leaving the Maltese islands.
He relies on Articles 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) and 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European
Convention and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom of movement) to the Convention.
No violation of Article 5 § 1
No violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 4
No violation of Article 6 § 1
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,
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
