ĐORĐEVIĆ v. CROATIA JUDGMENT
29
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right
except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society
in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the
country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals,
or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
A. Admissibility
1. The parties’ submissions
(a) The Government’s submissions
81. The Government maintained that Articles 2 and 3 were not
applicable to the circumstances of the present case. As regards Article 2,
they argued that the applicants’ lives had never been put at risk in any way.
As regards Article 3 of the Convention, the Government submitted that the
requisite level of severity had not been reached since the harassment
complained of had mostly been verbal while the injuries the first applicant
had sustained on 4 April 2009 had been of a mild nature. They also
submitted that the fact that the first applicant had expressed a wish to walk
around showed that he had not been traumatised by the events in issue.
82. The Government also argued that the applicants had not exhausted
all available domestic remedies. In the Government’s view the applicants
should have brought a civil action for damages against the children
concerned and their parents and also against the school the children were
attending, or other authorities. Furthermore, they could have instituted
minor-offences proceedings against the children’s parents. They could also
have brought an “action against an unlawful act” against the relevant
authorities under the Administrative Disputes Act. In the proceedings
instituted upon such an action the competent court was obliged to act
urgently. In a judgment upholding the action, the court would forbid any
further unlawful act. The judgment had to be enforced within three days
after it had been served on the parties.
83. As regards the events of 10 April and 13 May 2010, the Government
submitted that the alleged perpetrators, P.B. and Z.B., were 14 at the time
and that they could be held criminally responsible. Since the criminal
inquiry was still ongoing, any complaint relating to these incidents was
premature.
(b) The applicants’ submissions
84. The applicants maintained in reply that they had been submitted to
ongoing harassment which also included acts of physical violence against
the first applicant and verbal violence against both applicants. Such
harassment had disrupted their daily lives and caused them a significant