Communicated on 19 February 2018

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 32127/07 Gwynneth Antoinette GIRAUD and Olivia Joyce SOLARI against Turkey lodged on 26 July 2007

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the plots of land covering the entire area of the island of Uzunada . The applicants claim that they are the sole heirs in respect of the island, the title of which was last registered under the names of Edward Edwards and Emily Edwards, the applicants ’ ancestors. In support of their claim that they are the lawful heirs in respect of the island, they mainly rely on the certificate of inheritance delivered by the Urla Magistrates ’ Court on 9 February 2005 acknowledging the applicants ’ equal entitlement to the shares of the estate of the late Helen Alfieri, the original testator who allegedly acquired the island in 1858-1859. Their application concerns the domestic proceedings in which they requested the domestic courts to order the cadastral survey of the island of Uzunada with a view to registering it under their names in the modern land register. The applicants claim that the relevant authorities gave contradictory accounts of the cadastral status of the island without producing official records. In that respect, while some authorities claimed that a cadastral survey had never been carried out, certain other authorities argued that the cadastral survey of the area had actually been completed in 1977, the respective island being left officially unsurveyed ( tespit dışı ). In the various proceedings initiated by the applicants, the domestic courts refused the applicants ’ case, either on jurisdictional grounds or because such a course of action could not be pursued against the State or that it had been the incorrect type of action. The applicants allege that the authorities ’ refusal to disclose documents as to whether the island of Uzunada had ever been subject to a cadastral land survey deprive them of the opportunity to exercise their rights under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. They maintain in that connection that the domestic courts ’ further refusal to determine the dispute as regards the cadastral status of the island infringe their right of access to a court.

QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES

1. Does the dispute in question, that is, a request to have the disputed land surveyed, fall within the ambit of civil rights and obligations, so as to attract the applicability of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?

2. If so, were the applicants ’ right of access to a court, as implied by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, respected when the İzmir Administrative Court (E. 2005/649, K. 2005/421), the Urla Cadastral Court (E.2005/1, K. 2006/19), Court of Jurisdictional Disputes (E. 2007/134, K. 2008/6), and the Urla Civil Court of First Instance (E. 2008/120, K. 2009/321) refused to hear the dispute on its merits? In that connection, were the judgments and decisions delivered by the domestic courts pursuant to the actions brought by the applicants interfered with their right under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention to obtain a judicial examination of their claim with respect to the cadastral status of Uzunada ?

The parties are requested to submit examples of domestic decisions on the interpretation and application of provisional section 4 of the Land Registry Act (Law no. 3402).

3. What remedies are available to persons regarding the determination of their property claims akin to the applicants (i.e., reliance on Ottoman land registry records without being in possession of the property)? In particular where no cadastral survey has been carried out in the vicinity or the area in question, what course of action is available for such individuals to pursue their claims with a view to request registration or obtain title to such property? If a cadastre survey is carried out but the property in question is not surveyed ( tespit dışı ) , how is this fact documented? Finally, is there such a document in respect of Uzunada ?

The Government is requested to provide all relevant documents with respect to the legal status of Uzunada , such as the modern land registry records, cadastral records and documents.

The parties are requested to inform the Court about any further developments in the applicants ’ case before the Urla Magistrates ’ Court regarding annulment of their certificate of inheritance (E. 2012/573).

APPENDIX

1. Gwynneth Antoinette GIRAUD is a French, British national who was born in 1922, lives in Ä°zmir and is represented by Mr M.E. Atay .

2. Olivia Joyce SOLARI is an Italian, British national who was born in 1929, lives in Ä°zmir and is represented by Mr M.E. Atay .