ABSTRACT
The enforcement of a court judgment had to be considered as an integral part of the proceedings for the purposes of A 6. If the authorities refused or omitted to enforce judgment or delayed in doing so, the guarantees under A 6 would become purposeless. Furthermore, the principle of the rule of the law and the notion of fair trial precluded any interference by the legislature with the administration of justice designed to influence the judicial outcome of a dispute in which the State was a party. The refusal of the State General Accounting Department to comply with the judgment of the Court of Audit infringed the applicant’s right to effective judicial protection. The judgment of the Court of Audit had given rise to a debt in the applicant’s favour and not a contingent right as argued by the Government. The applicant’s inability to enforce that judgment amounted to interference with their property right. The new law had upset the fair balance between the protection of a property right and the demands of the general interest. In addition, the State General Accounting Department’s refusal to pay the sum owed to the appellants after the Court of Audit had declared the new law unconstitutional was a further interference with the applicants’ right to respect for peaceful enjoyment of their possessions.
