THIRD SECTION

Application no. 36140/10 Jozefa SILÁŠOVÁ and O thers against Slovakia lodged on 3 June 2010

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicants are twenty Slovak nationals whose particulars are set out in the appendix. They are represented before the Court by Mr M. Polakovič, a lawyer practising in Bratislava.

A. The circumstances of the case

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

The applicants are owners of land in the area of Žilina. In 1987 a garden colony was established and the applicants ’ land has been used by individual gardeners since then.

Under sections 3 and 4 of Law no. 64/1997 as in force until 31 March 2011, read in conjunction with the relevant regulations, the gardeners were obliged to pay a rent amounting to 0.01 euros (EUR) per square metre per year.

In 2010 an expert, at the applicants ’ request, established that the general rental value of the land was EUR 2.66 per square metre per year.

B. Relevant domestic law and practice

The relevant domestic law and practice is set out in Urbárska obec Trenčianske Biskupice v. Slovakia , no. 74258/01 , §§ 49-65 and 69-79, 27 November 2007; Jenisová v. Slovakia , no. 58764/00 , §§ 42-47, 3 November 2009; Šefčíková v. Slovakia , no. 6284/02, §§ 41-42, 3 November 2009; or Salus v. Slovakia , no. 28697/03, §§ 25-26, 3 November 2009).

In addition, the following amendment to Law no. 64/1997 enacted with effect from 1 April 2011 is relevant in the present case.

Section 4(1) provides for the yearly rent for the use of land in garden colonies to be determined pursuant to Regulation no. 492/2004 on Determination of the General Value of Property unless the owner and the tenant reach a different agreement.

COMPLAINT

Under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 the applicants complain that compulsory letting of their land has been contrary to their right to peaceful enjoyment of their possessions.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Is the interference with the applicants ’ right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions as a result of the compulsory lease of their land under sections 3 et seq. of Law no. 64/1997 as in force until 31 March 2011 compatible with the requirements of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1?

Appendix