5.  The applicant was born in 1938 and lives in Schaan, Liechtenstein. 6.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. 7.  On 24 August 1996 the company Hilti and Hilti Handles AG, owned by the applicant, initiated the liquidation of the Hungarian company S., since the latter had been reluctant to pay its outstanding debts amounting to 1,250,000 German Marks (approximately 639,114.85 euros). 8.  On 17 September 1996 the Budapest Regional Court dismissed the applicant's claim and terminated the liquidation proceedings, since the debtor had contested both the existence and the amount of its debts and the applicant had not been able to prove that company S. was insolvent. 9.  On appeal, on 7 November 1997 the Supreme Court, acting as a second-instance court, quashed the first-instance decision and remitted the case to the Regional Court. 10.  On 10 March 1998 the Budapest Regional Court held a hearing and invited the applicant to submit all relevant documents proving the insolvency of company S. Upon the applicant's request, the Regional Court extended the time-limit. On 6 May 1998 the applicant submitted the information requested. 11.  On 2 November 1998 the Regional Court ordered the liquidation of the company S. On 7 January 1999 the latter merged with company C. 12.  On 8 January 2001, under the same file-number, the Supreme Court, acting as a second-instance court, quashed the first-instance decision. It observed that the debtor had merged with company C. and held that, without the examination of the latter's solvency, its liquidation should not have been ordered. 13.  On 13 March 2001 the Regional Court invited the applicant to declare whether his company wished to maintain its claim. The suit was maintained. 14.  In the resumed proceedings, on 18 April 2001 the Budapest Regional Court found that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the case and transferred it to the Zala County Regional Court. 15.  On 8 October 2001 the Regional Court ordered the liquidation of company C. Subsequently, the Regional Court withdrew this decision because of procedural shortcomings. 16.  On 30 May 2002 the Regional Court again ordered the liquidation of company C. and appointed a liquidator. The company appealed. 17.  On 1 April 2003 the Supreme Court, acting as a second-instance court, dismissed the appeal. On 9 September 2003 the Regional Court accepted the liquidator's closing balance sheet. 18.  On 29 April 2005 the Regional Court ordered, in simplified proceedings (egyszerűsített felszámolási eljárás), the liquidation of company C. It established that the debtor's assets were insufficient to cover the expenses of the liquidation proceedings and the applicant's claim. 19.  On 28 May 2005 the Regional Court dissolved company C., which was consequently deleted from the company register on 18 July 2005.