CASE OF ČOVIĆ v. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Violation of Article 5 - Right to liberty and security (Article 5-4 - Review by a court)
Carlo Ranzoni;Ganna Yudkivska;Iulia Motoc;Marko Bošnjak;Paulo Pinto De Albuquerque;Vincent A. De Gaetano
5. The applicant was born in 1953 and lives in Hadžići. 6. On 22 November 2011 the applicant was arrested and detained on suspicion of having committed war crimes against the civilian population and against prisoners of war during the 1992-95 war. 7. On 23 November 2011 the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“the State Court”) reviewed and extended his detention based on the risk of his obstructing the course of justice by exerting pressure on witnesses and co-accused or by destroying evidence. On 1 December 2011 that decision was upheld by the Appeals Chamber of the State Court. 8. On 21 December 2011 the State Court further extended the applicant’s detention on the same grounds as before. On 5 January 2012 that decision was upheld by the Appeals Chamber of the State Court. 9. On 29 December 2011 the State Prosecutor issued an indictment against the applicant and seven other co-suspects, which was confirmed by the State Court on 10 January 2012. 10. Thereafter, the applicant’s detention was regularly examined and extended every two months by the State Court. In addition to those automatic reviews, the applicant repeatedly challenged his detention before the Appeals Chamber of the State Court. 11. On 23 February 2012 the applicant lodged a constitutional appeal, relying on Article II § 3.(d) of the Constitution (see paragraph 16 below) and Article 5 of the Convention. He alleged, in particular, that his detention had been arbitrary and excessive, and that it had not been based on relevant and sufficient reasons. 12. On 13 July 2012 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“the Constitutional Court”), in a formation of eight judges, rejected the applicant’s appeal since it could not reach a majority on any of the proposals. The court’s reasoning included all the views expressed at the session on the issues raised in the case. Pursuant to Article VI § 4 of the Constitution (see paragraph 16 below) that decision was final. 13. On 1 November 2012 the State Court held that the grounds for the applicant’s continued detention had ceased to apply and released the applicant. By the same decision, the court imposed preventive measures on the applicant which included the following: a prohibition on leaving his place of residence without the prior approval of the State Court save for the purpose of appearing before that court; the duty to report once a week to the Hadžići police; a prohibition on associating with other co-accused and on associating or having contact with the witnesses. Furthermore, the applicant’s passport was seized. 14. The preventive measures were reviewed and extended every two months. On 16 December 2015 they were revoked. 15. At the date of the latest information available to the Court (22 July 2016), the criminal proceedings against the applicant were still ongoing.