KÜÇÜK AND OTHERS v. TURKEY
Doc ref: 46852/09 • ECHR ID: 001-189937
Document date: January 15, 2019
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Communicated on 15 January 2019
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 46852/09 Bahattin KÜÇÜK and others against Turkey lodged on 17 August 2009
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application mainly concerns the domestic authorities ’ refusal to return the applicants ’ land, which had been expropriated in 1944 for the purposes of an airport construction and which had not been used in line with that purpose afterwards.
During the proceedings they brought for the annulment of the expropriation decision and to obtain compensation, the applicants argued that they had never been informed in any way about the expropriation procedure and that the land in question had never been used for purposes which constituted the basis of the expropriation. Their case was dismissed by the Supreme Administrative Court on procedural grounds.
The applicants complain of a violation of their rights under Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES
1. Did the applicants have a "legitimate expectation" for the restitution of their property, taking into account Articles 22 or 23 of the Expropriation Act No. 2942, as interpreted by the courts? ( see , mutatis mutandis , Kemp and Others v. Luxembourg , no. 17140/05, 24 April 2008)?
2. Have the applicants been deprived of their possessions in the public interest, and in accordance with the conditions provided for by law, within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1?
(a) Did the applicants receive compensation for the expropriation of their properties? If not, did this situation place an undue burden on them (see Vistiņš and Perepjolkins v. Latvia [GC], no. 71243/01, § 110, 25 October 2012)?
(b) Given the use currently being made of the property, was the expropriation based on a public interest ground within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (see Keçecioğlu and Others v. Turkey , no. 37546/02, 8 April 2008)?
(c) Having regard to the State ’ s positive obligation to ensure in its domestic legal system that property rights are sufficiently protected by law, were the applicants afforded a reasonable opportunity of challenging effectively the measures depriving them of their right to property (see Société Anonyme Thaleia Karydi Axte v. Greece , no. 44769/07, 5 November 2009)?
(d) Taking account of the reasoning of the domestic courts in dismissing their case, were the applicants provided with adequate procedural guarantees for their rights under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (see Gereksar and Others v. Turkey , nos. 34764/05 and 3 others , 1 February 2011)?
3. In view of the applicants ’ inability to challenge the expropriation decision before the repeal of Law no. 3887 and the domestic court ’ s decision regarding the use of the expropriated land in 1998, has there been a violation of the applicants ’ right of access to a court within the meaning of Article 6 of the Convention on account of the Supreme Administrative Court ’ s dismissal of their case on procedural grounds (see Société Anonyme Thaleia Karydi Axte , cited above) ?
The Government are invited to provide the Court with case-law examples in this matter.
4. Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of their civil rights and obligations, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, did the Supreme Administrative Court provide sufficient reasoning, taking account of the applicants ’ arguments as regards the applicability of Law no. 2942 in their case (see Moreira Ferreira v. Portugal (no. 2) [GC] , no. 19867/12, §§ 83-84, 11 July 2017)?
The parties are invited to provide the Court with an expert report, preferably judicial, on the value of the property at issue. The report should point out all the objective criteria it relies on in reaching its conclusions.
LIST OF APPLICANTS
No.
Firstname LASTNAME
Birth year
Nationality
Place of residence
Representatives
Bahattin KÜÇÜK
1947Turkish
İzmir
Denizer ÅžANLI
Erol SARAÇOĞLU
Murat YAVUZ
Melek AVCI
1950Turkish
İzmir
Mürüvet Şenay ÇINAROĞLU
1944Turkish
İzmir
Orhan ERSANLI
1931Turkish
İzmir
Emine GAYIR
1937Turkish
İzmir
İsmet GÜLDEMİR
1950Turkish
Bolu
Ayhan İZMİR
1939Turkish
İzmir
Cengiz İZMİR
1957Turkish
İzmir
Nursel KARA
1960Turkish
İzmir
Havva KARADAÄž
1953Turkish
İzmir
Fatma KAYA
1923Turkish
İzmir
Ayten KAYAKUÅž
1941Turkish
İzmir
Nesrin KOCAORMAN
1964Turkish
İzmir
Hatice KÜÇÜK
1925Turkish
İzmir
Mehmet KÜÇÜK
1943Turkish
İzmir
Hacer BELHAN
1975Turkish
İzmir
Mehmet MERMERCİOĞLU
1977Turkish
İzmir
Ayşe ÖNDER
1948Turkish
İzmir
Mehmet SARGIN
1936Turkish
İzmir
Şerefnaz SÖNMEZ
1953Turkish
İzmir
Aligalip TUÄžAN
1942Turkish
İzmir
Nilgün TUĞAN
1947Turkish
İzmir