4.  The applicant was born in 1941 and lives in Samobor. 5.  On 8 October 1990 the applicant brought a civil action against his former employer, the company F., challenging his dismissal and seeking his reinstatement and payment of salary arrears for the period of his unemployment. 6.  The Zagreb Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Zagrebu) granted the claim in part in a judgment of 6 December 1991, which was upheld by the Zagreb County Court (Županijski sud u Zagrebu) on 13 April 1993. 7.  In a decision of 2 September 1998 the Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud Republike Hrvatske) quashed the lower courts’ judgments and remitted the case for retrial, upon an appeal lodged by the defendant. 8.  In the fresh proceedings the Zagreb Municipal Court ordered the applicant’s reinstatement and dismissed his claim for payment of salary arrears on 11 May 2000. The applicant lodged an appeal. 9.  On 29 April 2003 the Zagreb County Court upheld the part of the first instance judgment dismissing the claim for payment and quashed it in the part granting the applicant’s claim for reinstatement and in that part remitted the case for a fresh trial. 10.  The applicant did not attend a hearing scheduled for 21 October 2003 before the Zagreb Municipal Court and the proceedings were stayed. On 24 October 2003 the applicant asked that the proceedings be resumed and further hearings were held on 12 February and 6 April 2004. On 2 June 2004 the trial was concluded but the applicant then submitted further evidence and the trial was reopened on 17 June 2004. Further hearings were held on 3 May 2005 and 7 November 2007 when the applicant asked for the exemption of the presiding judge. Hearings were held on 6 February and 10 April 2008 and the proceedings are still pending. 11.  Meanwhile, on 24 January 2003 the applicant also lodged a constitutional complaint about the length of the proceedings. On 27 November 2003 the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) declared the applicant’s constitutional complaint inadmissible because the Zagreb County Court had in the meantime, on 29 April 2003, decided on his appeal.