4. On 10 May 1995 the applicant was dismissed by his employer for work-related irregularities. 5.  On 16 June 1995 the applicant claimed annulment of his dismissal and his reinstatement. 6.  On 15 February 1996 the Delčevo Municipal Court (“the first-instance court”) annulled the dismissal decision and ordered the employer to reinstate the applicant to a post commensurate to his qualifications. On 19 September 1996 the Štip Court of Appeal quashed this decision and remitted the case for a fresh consideration. 7.  On 11 November 1996 the first-instance court terminated the proceedings because insolvency proceedings had been launched against the employer on 24 April 1996. 8.  On 19 November 1996 the applicant requested the court to resume the proceedings for a number of reasons, including the fact that the employer's receiver (стечаен управник) appointed in the insolvency proceedings had not requested termination of his proceedings. 9.  On 13 January 1997 the first-instance court declared itself incompetent to decide the applicant's case and transferred it to the Kočani Court of First Instance. 10.  On 7 November 1997 the Kočani Court of First Instance dismissed the applicant's claim relying on the latter's criminal conviction of 19 July 1995 for work-related offences. On 10 February 1998 the Štip Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant's appeal and upheld the lower court's decision. 11.  On 29 December 1998 the Kočani Court of First Instance stayed the insolvency proceedings in respect of the employer and noted that they had no bearing on dismissal decisions. 12.  On 2 December 1999 the Supreme Court upheld the applicant's appeal on points of law (ревизија) and quashed the lower courts' decisions of 7 November 1997 and 10 February 1998. 13.  On 22 March 2000 the Kočani Court of First Instance declared itself incompetent ratione loci to decide the applicant's case. 14.  On 22 December 2000 the Supreme Court dismissed the employer's request that the first-instance court be declared incompetent to deal with the applicant's case. 15.  On 17 April 2001 the first-instance court annulled the dismissal decision and dismissed the applicant's claim for his reinstatement finding that the employer's insolvency had entailed ipso jure termination of all employment agreements, including the applicant's. This decision was upheld by the Štip Court of Appeal's and the Supreme Court's decisions of 27 December 2001 and 7 May 2003, respectively. This latter decision was served on the applicant on 9 July 2003. 16.  On 28 July 2003 the applicant brought a civil action against the employer claiming employment emoluments (надомест на штета од работен однос). His claim referred to compensation for unpaid salary and an allowance for provisional unemployment that he should have received from the State Employment Bureau (Биро за вработување) pending the employer's insolvency proceedings. 17.  On 1 March 2004 the first-instance court ruled partly in favour of the applicant. This decision became final on 5 April 2004.