FIRST SECTION

DECISION

AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF

Application no. 63514/00 by Salvatore GIUNTA against Italy

The European Court of Human Rights (First Section) , sitting on 10 October 2002 as a Chamber composed of

Mr C.L. Rozakis , President , Mrs F. Tulkens , Mr P. Lorenzen , Mrs N. Vajić , Mr E. Levits , Mr A. Kovler , Mr V. Zagrebelsky , judges ,

and Mr E. Fribergh , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 27 July 2000,

Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant is an Italian national, living in Terni . He is represented before the Court by MM. A. and C. Mancuso , lawyers practising in Salerno .

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

The applicant is the owner of an apartment in Scala ( Salerno ), which he had let to G.C. and R.F.

In a writ served on the tenants on 17 January 1991, the applicant informed them that he intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1991 and asked them to vacate the premises by that date.

He summoned the tenants to appear before the Salerno Magistrate.

By a decision of 14 June 1991, which was made enforceable on the same day, the Salerno Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 30 April 1993.

On 2 August 1993, the applicant served notice on the tenants requiring them to vacate the premises.

On 7 October 1993, he served notice on the tenants informing them that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 21 October 1993.

On 21 October 1993, the bailiff made one attempt to recover possession, which proved unsuccessful, as the applicant was not granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession.

After that date and until the 29 February 2000, the bailiff did not make any attempt to recover possession because the applicant was never granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession.

On 29 February 2000, the applicant, reaching a friendly agreement with the tenants, recovered possession of the apartment.

THE LAW

The applicant complains under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention that his inability to recover possession of his apartment amounted to a violation of the right to property.

The applicant further complains under Article 6 of the Convention about the duration of the eviction proceedings and about the denial of his right of access to a court.

The Government argue that the applicant has not exhausted domestic remedies on the grounds that he failed to challenge the refusal of police assistance before the administrative courts.

The Court recalls that it has already dismissed this objection in the Immobiliare Saffi case (see the judgment Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy [GC], no. 22774/93, §§ 40-42, ECHR 1999-V). The Court sees no reason to depart from its previous finding. This objection should therefore be rejected.

The Government maintain that the measures in question amount to a control of the use of property which pursues the legitimate aim of avoiding the social tensions and troubles to public order that would occur if a considerable number of orders for possession were to be enforced simultaneously. In their opinion, the interference with the applicant’s property rights was not disproportionate; therefore, there is no violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

As to the length of the enforcement proceedings, the Government submit that the delay in granting police assistance is justified on grounds of the order of priorities established according to public-safety requirements. In any event, the Government stress that following the entry into force of Law no. 431 of 9 December 1998, the Prefect is no longer competent to determine the order of priority for the enforcement of the evictions. The date of enforcement should now be set by the District Court.

The Court considers that the application raises complex and serious issues, which require a determination on the merits. It follows that it cannot be considered manifestly ill founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. No other ground for declaring the application inadmissible has been established.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Declares the application admissible, without prejudging the merits of the case.

Erik Fribergh Christos Rozakis Registrar President