Bernáth and Others v. Hungary

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 2366/25 Imréné BERNÁTH and Others against Hungary and 4 other applications

(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 9 April 2026 as a Committee composed of:

Stéphane Pisani , President , Juha Lavapuro, Hugh Mercer , judges ,

and Attila Teplán, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications against Hungary lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table,

Having regard to the declarations submitted by the respondent Government requesting the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases, and the applicants’ replies to these declarations,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

The list of applicants and their representatives is set out in the appended table.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings were communicated to the Hungarian Government (“the Government”).

After unsuccessful friendly-settlement negotiations, the Government submitted declarations with a view to resolving the issues raised by these complaints. They further requested the Court to strike out the applications.

The Government acknowledged the excessive length of civil proceedings. They offered to pay the applicants the amounts detailed in the appended table and invited the Court to strike the applications out of the list of cases in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. The amounts would be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and would be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertook to pay simple interest on them, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

The payment will constitute the final resolution of the cases.

The applicants informed the Court that they agreed to the terms of the declarations.

Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

The Court finds that, following the applicants’ express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government, the cases should be treated as a friendly settlement between the parties.

It therefore takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify the continued examination of the applications.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 13 May 2026.

Attila Teplán Stéphane Pisani Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention

(excessive length of civil proceedings)

No.

Application no. Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Date of receipt of Government’s declaration

Date of receipt of applicant’s acceptance

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non ‑ pecuniary damage and costs and expenses

per applicant

(in euros) [1]

2366/25

17/12/2024

(22 applicants)

Imréné BERNÁTH

1947

Vilmosné BIHARI

1948

Ferencné BUDAI

1938

Lászlóné CSALÁDI

1964

Noémi Mariann ESKULICS

1967

Szilvia FARKASNÉ PRESZTER

1979

Nándor FORSTNER

1950

Sándor GULYÁS

1952

Zsanett HORVÁTH

1988

Gábor KISS

1962

Tibor KISS

1962

Beatrix KÖRMENDI

1980

Istvánné KOZMA

1955

Tamás LÓDERER

1952

István MÁNDICS

1951

Jánosné MARKÓ

1938

Antal Andrásné MOLNÁR

1964

János NEMES

1978

József NYIKOS

1949

Tibor László RIBB

1967

Ferencné SIPOS

1950

Istvánné SZABÓ

1943

Váczi Péter

Győr

16/02/2026

26/02/2026

200

6456/25

21/02/2025

István STUMPF

1950

Váczi Péter

Győr

17/02/2026

19/02/2026

200

9458/25

13/03/2025

(10 applicants)

Sándor Lajos KERTÉSZ

1945

Sándor BALLA

1948

Ferenc BARABÁS

1948

Miklós BOGNÁR

1954

Sándor CSIZMADIA

1944

Győző IMRE

1963

László JAKAB

1948

Zsolt KOVÁCS

1970

Gábor RUFF

1954

Jánosné TETZL

1948

Váczi Péter

Győr

09/12/2025

26/02/2026

200

12619/25

16/04/2025

János KAISER

1959

Váczi Péter

Győr

16/02/2026

26/02/2026

200

12620/25

16/04/2025

(7 applicants)

Mária SZÉP

1957

Lajos BALLA

1951

Jenő Lajos BERTALAN

1950

Ferencné BÍRÓ

1951

Árpád BOGNÁR

1964

Zsigmond NAGY

1955

Zoltán OTT

1975

Váczi Péter

Győr

08/12/2025

26/02/2026

200

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.