THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 66175/01 by Hakkı GÜRBEY and Others against Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 7 March 2002 as a Chamber composed of

Mr G. Ress , President , Mr I. Cabral Barreto , Mr L. Caflisch , Mr R. Türmen , Mr B. Zupančič , Mrs H.S. Greve , Mr K. Traja , judges , and Mr V. Berger , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 16 February 1998,

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

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case submitted by the applicants  and the Government on 8 November 2001  and 28 January 2002 respectively,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicants, who names are listed in the appendix, are Turkish nationals. They are represented before the Court by Mr Mehmet N. Terzi, a lawyer practising in Ä°zmir.

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

The applicants are the co-owners of a shop in Ä°stanbul, which was expropriated by the Ä°stanbul Municipality in 1993. A committee of experts assessed the value of the plot of land belonging to the applicants, who received payment when the expropriation took place.

Following the applicants’ request for increased compensation, on 16 June 1994, the Kadıköy Civil Court of General Jurisdiction awarded them additional compensation plus an interest at the statutory rate of 30 % per annum. This decision was quashed by the Court of Cassation on 7 March 1995 and the case was remitted to the Kadıköy Civil Court of General Jurisdiction. On 18 October 1996 the first instance court revised its decision and awarded 1,894,875,000 Turkish Liras to the applicants. The Court of Cassation upheld this judgment on 6 May 1997 and the due amount was paid to the applicants in 1998.

All the details about the date of final decision delivered by the Court of Cassation, the amount of additional compensation awarded, and the date and amount of payment are indicated in the table below.

DATE OF FINAL DECISION DELIVERED BY THE COURT OF CASASATION AS REGARDS ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION

AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION (INTERESTS AND LEGAL COSTS ARE NOT INCLUDED)

(In Turkish liras)

DATE OF PAYMENT

AMOUNT OF PAYMENT (INCLUDING STATUTORY INTEREST AT THE RATE OF 30 % PER ANNUM AND COSTS)

(in Turkish liras)

06.05.1997

1,894,875,000

09.10.1998

5,286,065,000

(upon the applicants’ request 627,545,000 TL of this amount was reduced from the final sum paid to the applicants in exchange of a debt they owed to the municipality)

COMPLAINTS

1. The applicants complain under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention that at a time when the annual rate of inflation in Turkey had been very high, they had been paid insufficient interest on additional compensation received following the expropriation of their land and the authorities had delayed in paying them the relevant amounts.

2. The applicants further invoke Article 13 of the Convention in that they did not have an effective remedy before domestic authorities to obtain reparation for their loss resulting from the delay in the payment of the additional compensation.

THE LAW

Following informal contacts between the applicants’ and the Government’s representatives, the Section Registrar was asked to assist the parties in reaching a solution to the matter. As a result, the Registrar addressed draft declarations to the parties.

The Court received the following declaration from the Government:

“I declare that the Government of Turkey offer to pay 9,000 (nine thousand) United States dollars to Mr Hakkı Gürbey, Ms Saide Gürbey, Mr Muhammet Hüseyin Gürbey, Ms Berrin Gürbey, Ms Didem Gürbey, Ms Ülkem Gürbey, Ms Elif Gürbey (Güney) and Ms Sinem Gürbey with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the application registered under no. 66175/01. This sum shall cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs, and it will be payable within three months from the date of delivery of the decision by the Court pursuant to the Article 39 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

This sum shall be paid in US dollars to a bank account named by the applicants, free of any taxes and charges that may be applicable. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case...”

The Court received the following declaration from the representative of the applicants:

“I note that the Government of Turkey are prepared to pay the sum of 9,000 (nine thousand) United States dollars covering pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs to Mr Hakkı Gürbey, Ms Saide Gürbey, Mr Muhammet Hüseyin Gürbey, Ms Berrin Gürbey, Ms Didem Gürbey, Ms Ülkem Gürbey, Ms Elif Gürbey (Güney) and Ms Sinem Gürbey with a view to securing a friendly settlement of application no. 66175/01 pending before the Court.

I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Turkey in respect of the facts of this application. I declare that this constitutes a final settlement of the case.

This declaration is made in the context of a friendly settlement, which the Government and the applicants have reached...”

The Court takes note of the agreement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention or its Protocols and considers that there is no reason which would justify the continuation of the examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention and Rule 62 § 3 of the Rules of the Court).

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Vincent Berger Georg Ress Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of the applicants

1. Hakkı Gürbey, who was born in 1932, resides in İstanbul.

2. Saide Gürbey, who was born in 1941, resides in İstanbul.

3. Muhammet Hüseyin Gürbey, who was born in 1977, resides in İstanbul.

4. Berrin Gürbey, who was born in 1971, resides in İstanbul.

5. Didem Gürbey, who was born in 1974, resides in İstanbul.

6. Ülkem Gürbey, who was born in 1969, resides in İstanbul.

7. Elif Gürbey (Güney), who was born in 1967, resides in İstanbul.

8. Sinem Gürbey, who was born in 1980, resides in İstanbul.