SECOND SECTION

DECISION

AS TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF

Application no. 40037/98 by S.B. against Italy

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section) , sitting on 4 October 2001 as a Chamber composed of

Mr C.L. Rozakis , President , Mr A.B. Baka , Mr L. Ferrari Bravo , Mr P. Lorenzen , Mrs M. Tsatsa-Nikolovska , Mr E. Levits , Mr A. Kovler, judges ,

and Mr E. Fribergh , Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application introduced with the European Commission of Human Rights on 20 January 1998 and registered on 27 February 1998,

Having regard to Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, by which the competence to examine the application was transferred to the Court,

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, born in 1960 and living in Florence.

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

The applicant is the owner of an apartment in Florence, which she had let to M.M.

In two registered letters of 12 July 1986 and 25 June 1987, the applicant informed the tenant that she intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1987 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date.

In a writ served on the tenant on 22 March 1989, the applicant reiterated her intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Florence Magistrate.

By a decision of 7 June 1989, which was made enforceable on 31 December 1990, the Florence Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 31 December 1991.

On 20 January 1992, the applicant served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises.

On 31 January 1992, she served notice on the tenant informing him that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 27 March 1992.

On 7 December 1992, the applicant made a statutory declaration that she urgently required the premises as accommodation for herself.

Between 27 March 1992 and 1 October 1997, the bailiff made ten attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicant was never granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession.

On 15 January 1998, the applicant recovered possession of the apartment because the tenant spontaneously vacated the premises.

THE LAW

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

The applicant further complains under Article 6 of the Convention that the duration of the eviction proceedings resulted in a denial of her right of access to a court

The Government argue that the arrangements for staggering the police assistance were an administrative issue, entirely separate from and independent of the judicial process and therefore outside the scope of Article 6.

The Court recalls that it has already held that Article 6 of the Convention is applicable to the tenants’ eviction proceedings (see the judgment Immobiliare Saffi v. Italy [GC], no. 22774/93, §§ 62-63, 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 interference with the applicant’s property rights was not disproportionate.

As to the length of the enforcement proceedings, the Government maintain that the delay in providing the assistance of the police is justified by the protection of the public interest.

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