In June 2006, the Ombudsperson Institution received a complaint submitted by a citizen from Lypjan about length of court proceedings before the Municipal Court in Lypjan in a case involving labor dispute. The complainant alleged that the competent court involved in his case had unnecessarily delayed the proceedings and did not execute final decision of 2001. The Municipal Court in Lypjan issued a judgment in favour of the complainant and ordered the defendant ( Lypjan Municipality) to permit her to return to her old working position.
After having assessed this case, and based on requirements of Article 6 para 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Ombudsperson concludes that there has been a violation of the complainant’s right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time. The failure to execute valid court judgments is in opposition to the need for due process, good governance and respect for human rights.
As a consequence of hesitation of Lypjan Municipality to execute final court judgment of the Municipal Court in Lypjan, the Ombudsperson notes that this constitutes a negative impact to the level of good administration of the municipality, principle of legality and the rule of law. Having in mind failure to take action in executing final court decision, the Ombudsperson also concludes that such processes have negative impact and do not serve to increase and improve rule of law standards but it also seriously violate court authority, whose final decision have not been executed for year. It creates a negative image of the good-governance of the country and considerably decreases the citizen’s trust on the mechanism implementing justice.
In order to resolve the instant case and avoid the above mentioned consequences, the Ombudsperson recommends to Lypjan Municipality to take all necessary measures to execute final court decision and permit the complainant to return to her old working position
In case if the Lypjan Municipality refuses to execute the above-mentioned court decision, the Ombudsperson recommends to the Municipal Court in Lypjan to make continuous efforts as foreseen by applicable law to execute the judgment issued by the court itself.