ECHR finds Moldova guilty in a new case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on January 8 ruled against Moldova in the case of “Bulava versus Moldova”. This is the first case lost by Moldova at the ECHR in 2008. The plaintiffs Elena and Nicolai Bulava appealed to the national courts in 2003 complaining that they did not receive their salaries. In 2004, the court ordered that the given company pay the salaries. The decisions have been implemented only in 2005. The Court in Strasbourg held that there had been violations of Articles 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) and Article 1 of Protocol No.1 (protection of property), and awarded about 2,700 euros in damages to the plaintiffs. To date, the ECHR found Moldova guilty in over 100 cases, obliging it to pay damages totaling approximately 1.8 million euros.