Decision-making within a reasonable time - Commentary on BiH Constitution

AP 1070/05 Ljubas	20060902
AP 1101/04 “H.I.G.A.T.” GmbH, Graz	20051013
AP 1232/05 Karić	20060509
AP 1291/05 “Anuschka” d.o.o. Vićenca	20060929
AP 1410/05 Katalinić	20051109
AP 167/03 M. P. & M. Č.	20041130
AP 2240/05 Kalinić	20051109
AP 2554/05 Đogić	20070116
AP 45/02 A. P.	20040530
AP 505/04 E. Č.	20050515
AP 633/04 D. V.	20050527
AP 769/04 M. B.	20041130
AP 770/04 Babičić	20050913
AP 922/06 Čađo	20060412
AP 962/04 Mukić	20051013
CH/00/4259 Vujić	20061004
CH/00/5548 Pehlić	20050706
CH/00/6399 Veledar	20060406
CH/00/6423 Vujasinović	20050404
CH/004295-A&M Osmanagić	20021204
CH/01/6930-A&M “Kompas” Međugorje	20030110
CH/01/7080 Miljković	20060607
CH/01/7912 et al.-A&M Landžo et al.	20031107
CH/01/8054-A&M Pilipović	20021105
CH/01/8066 Marčeta	20060405
CH/01/8110 D. R.	20030307
CH/01/8121-A&M Janković	20031010
CH/01/8529 Marijanović	20030205
CH/01/8529-A&M Marjanović	20030207
CH/01/8582-A&M M. J.	20031010
CH/02/8667-A&M Harbaš	20030905
CH/02/8770-A&M “Dobojputevi” d.d.	20031205
CH/02/9270 Ganibegović	20060705
CH/02/9794-A&M Demiri	20030407
CH/03/13051 S. S.	20031008
CH/03/13051-A&M S. S.	20031107
CH/03/13601 Đedović	20060913
CH/03/14008 Jakšić	20050510
CH/03/14803 Bašić	20060913
CH/03/14807 Vučković	20050510
CH/03/14934 Papić	20060705
CH/03/14992 Numić	20061108
CH/96/2 et al.-A&M Podvorac et al.	19980612
CH/97/54 D. Mitrović	19980610
CH/97/62-A&M Malčević	20000908
CH/97/77-A&M Šehić	19991105
CH/98/1018-A&M Pogarčić	20010406
CH/98/1019-A&M Sp. L. et al.	20010406
CH/98/1169-A&M R. M.	20030606
CH/98/1171-A&M Čuturić	19991008
CH/98/1221-A&M Okulić	20000908
CH/98/1251-A&M Softić	20030306
CH/98/126 et al.-A&M Marić et al.	19990310
CH/98/271-A&M Filipović	19991210
CH/98/367-A&M Janković	20000512
CH/98/457-A&M Anušić	20001013
CH/98/565-A&M M. K.	20031222
CH/98/603-A&M R. T.	20021108
CH/98/617-A&M Lončar	20010309
CH/98/640-A&M S. J.	20030509
CH/98/660-A&M Babić	20010208
CH/98/688-A&M Muftić	20021108
CH/98/698-A&M Jusufović	20000609
CH/98/724-A&M Matović	20000520
CH/98/774-A&M Karamehmedović	20000706
CH/98/835-A&M Suljović	20031107
CH/98/916-A&M Tomić	20020111
CH/99/1713 Vanovac	20041105
CH/99/1714-A&M Vanovac	20021108
CH/99/1757-A&M Sekulić	20031010
CH/99/1905-A&M Tanasić	20030905
CH/99/1951-A&M Spremo	20021206
CH/99/1972-A&M M. T.	20030905
CH/99/2007-A&M Rakita	20030309
CH/99/2233-A&M Čivić	20000512
CH/99/2239 partial decision-A&M Cipot-Stojanović	20000609
CH/99/2289-A&M M. G.	20031010
CH/99/2386-A&M Dragičević	20030905
CH/99/2627-A&M Jusufović	20031010
CH/99/2696-A&M Brkić	20010112
CH/99/2743 Sarač	20030704
CH/99/3050-A&M Mujagić	20010309
CH/99/3227-A&M Milisavljević	20030606
CH/99/3375-A&M E. Ž.	20031205
CH/99/3546-A&M Tuzlić	20010208
U 14/99 “Hoteli Bosna”	20001231 OG of BiH, No. 36/00
U 22/01 Kušec	20011230 OG of BiH, No. 33/01
U 23/00 Vrhovac	20010416 OG of BiH, No. 10/01
U 24/00 Avdić	20020130 OG of BiH, No. 01/02
U 25/03 V. S.	20040121
U 6/00 Dolinić et al.	20020524 OG of BiH, No. 10/02

Article 6, paragraph 1 of the ECHR grants everyone the right for his/her dispute concerning a certain right to be completed within a reasonable time. This right is particularly significant for the proper functioning of the judiciary.¹²⁴⁶It exists and is applicable irrespective of the guarantees for the right to a fair trial.¹²⁴⁷Reasons to guarantee this right are multiple: first and foremost, in criminal proceedings, it is necessary to make sure that the defendant is not exposed to the indictment for too long before a decision is reached as to his/her guilt; also, it is necessary to avoid overly long exposure of the defendant to uncertainty regarding his/her fate; and finally, this right protects one from unjustified delays of the proceedings, which may threaten the effectiveness and credibility of a strong judiciary.¹²⁴⁸From the perspective of the Convention, the only relevant matter is the length of the proceedings which apparently and without special cause gives reasons for concern, for the Convention, in principle, does not provide protection from deviations from the ideal state of affairs, but only from the fundamental violations of human rights.¹²⁴⁹On the other hand, the right to proceedings within a reasonable time protects one from unreasonably lengthy proceedings, yet it does not protect an individual from the proceedings being completed “too quickly”, even in a situation when it is in the interest of an individual to have the proceedings last for a certain period of time.¹²⁵⁰

Footnotes

CH/97/54-A, paragraph 10, in connection with the ECtHR, Guincho v. Portugal, 10
July 1984, Series A no. 81, paragraph 38; CH/01/7912 et al.-A&M, paragraph 164. CH/02/11108 et al.-A&M, paragraph 189, in connection with the ECtHR, Eckle v.
Germany, 21 June 1983, Series A no. 65; CH/02/11108 et al.-A&M, paragraph 189. CH/02/11108 et al.-A&M, paragraph 189, in connection with the ECtHR, Wemhoff v. Germany, of 2 June 1969, Series A no. 7, paragraph 64; Stogmüller v. Austria, 10 November 1969, Series A no. 9, paragraph 62; and Guincho v. Portugal, 10 July 1984, Series A no. 81, paragraph 80; CH/99/1713, paragraph 57.
CH/01/7912 et al.-A&M, paragraph 166, in connection with the ECtHR, Eckle v. Germany, 21 June 1983, Series A no. 65, paragraph 80.
Compare with AP 922/06, paragraphs 4, 9.