REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
CONSTITUTIONAL
COURT
FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application Number: 2013/711
Date of Decision: 3/4/2014
FIRST SECTION
DECISION
President
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:
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Serruh KALELİ
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Members
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:
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Nuri NECİPOĞLU
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Hicabi DURSUN
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Erdal TERCAN
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Zühtü ARSLAN
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Rapporteur
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:
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Murat AZAKLI
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Applicants
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:
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1. Kenan YILDIRIM
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2. Turan YILDIRIM
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Counsel
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:
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Att. Yusuf İzzettin DOĞAN
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I. SUBJECT
OF APPLICATION
1. The
applicants alleged that their rights to property and to a fair trial were violated
by indicating that the price ruled upon by the Court at the end of the case for
the payment of the price of immovable property confiscated without
expropriation, which they had filed against the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt
Municipality, was not paid, that the enforcement proceedings they undertook
against the Municipality remained inconclusive and requested compensation.
II. APPLICATION
PROCESS
2. The
application was lodged on 11/1/2013 via the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance
of Küçükçekmece. As a result of the preliminary examination of the petition and
annexes thereof as conducted in terms of administrative aspects, it was found
out that there was no deficiency that would prevent referral thereof to the
Commission.
3. It was
decided by the Second Commission of the First Section on 31/10/2013 that the
examination of admissibility be conducted by the Section and the file be sent
to the Section.
4. In
accordance with the interim decision of the First Section dated 14/11/2013, it
was decided that the examination of admissibility and merits of the application
be carried out together.
The opinion
letter of the Ministry of Justice dated 27/12/2013 was notified to the
applicants on 13/1/2014, the counsel of the applicants alleged in his petition
with the referral date of 15/1/2014 that the rights to property and to a fair
trial were violated.
III. FACTS
AND CASES
A. Facts
6. As
expressed in the application form and the annexes thereof, the facts are
summarized as follows:
7. The immovable
property with the plot number 190 and parcel number 15 in Esenyurt village,
Büyükçekmekce district, Istanbul province was registered at the title deed
office in the names of the applicants with 1/2 share ratio each on 21/8/1991
upon the sale made by Esenyurt Municipality to the applicants.
8. In the
case they filed on 14/5/2008 against the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt
Municipality at the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance of Büyükçekmece, the
applicants alleged that the defendant had converted the entirety of the
immovable property with the plot number 190 and parcel number 15 into a park
area with a modified zoning plan, that it had actually confiscated the
immovable property, that it charged a second Layout Arrangement Partnership
Share (LAPS) through the zoning amendment that was undertaken and requested the
payment of 7.000 TL as the price for the immovable property, which was
confiscated without expropriation.
9. It was
decided by the Court with the decision dated 26/11/2008 and numbered M.2008/519,
D.2008/1438 that 7.000 TL, non ultra petita,
out of the total value of the immovable property of 158.012 TL be collected
from the defendant and paid to the applicants in equal proportion along with
its legal interest starting from the date of the case, that the title deed
registry of the immovable property in the names of the plaintiffs be annulled
and that it be registered at the title deed office in the name of the defendant
Municipality with the justification that the immovable property had been set aside
as a park area through a change in the zoning plan and that an annotation was
affixed to the title deed registry of the immovable property by the defendant
by means of making an expropriation decision, that the applicants were
inhibited from utilizing the immovable property, that the immovable property
was confiscated without expropriation.
10. Upon
appeal, the judgment was approved with the decision of the 5th Civil Chamber of
the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 14/12/2009 and numbered M.2009/10244, D.
2009/17487.
11. The
request for correction was rejected with the writ of the 5th Civil Chamber of
the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 8/4/2010 and numbered M.2010/5515, D.
2010/6076.
12. Based on
the aforementioned Court decision, the applicants initiated, on 4/2/2010, an
enforcement proceeding based on a writ against Esenyurt Municipality with the
purpose of the collection of 10.058,77 TL, composed of the main receivable of
7.000 TL, accumulated interest, counsel fee, interest and trial expenses, with
9 % interest to be applied to the main receivable in the file of the 1st
Enforcement Office of Küçükçekmece numbered M.2011/3809 and an enforcement
order was sent to Esenyurt Municipality.
13. In the
case they filed on 11/5/2010 against Esenyurt Municipality at the 3rd Civil
Court of First Instance of Büyükçekmece, with the claim that the defendant had
confiscated without expropriation the immovable property with the plot number
190 and parcel number 15, the defendants requested the set-off of the
confiscation without expropriation price of 7.000 TL, which was ruled upon by
the Court with the decision dated 26/11/2008 and numbered M.2008/519,
D.2008/1438, from 158.012 TL that was calculated in the first decision and the
collection of the balance 151.012 TL.
14. With the
decision dated 15/9/2010 and numbered M.2010/687, D.2010/959, the Court decided
on accepting the case, the collection of the balance immovable property price
of 151.012 TL from the defendant along with its legal interest starting from
14/5/2008 and its payment to the applicants in equal parts with the
justification that the defendant had confiscated the immovable property without
expropriation, that the value of the immovable property was 158.012 TL and that
it had been decided in the first decision to collect 7.000 TL from the
defendant and to register the immovable property at the title deed office in
the name of the Municipality.
15. Upon
appeal, the judgment was approved with the decision of the 5th Civil Chamber of
the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 29/9/2011 and numbered M.2011/5379, D.
2011/15196.
16. The
request for correction was rejected with the writ of the same Chamber dated
26/3/2012 and numbered M.2011/21571, D. 2012/5735.
17. Based on
the aforementioned Court decision, the applicants initiated, on 19/10/2010,
before the appeal, an execution proceeding based on a writ against Esenyurt
Municipality with the purpose of the collection of 198.949,30 TL, composed of
the main receivable of 151.012 TL, interest accrued, counsel fee, interest and
trial expenses, with 9% interest to be applied to the main receivable in the
file of 2nd Enforcement Office of Küçükçekmece numbered M.2010/10753 and an
enforcement order was sent to the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt Municipality.
18. The
applicants applied to the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt Municipality on 4/12/2012
and requested the notification of when and in what order the payment of their
receivables relying on finalized Court decisions would be made.
19. It was
notified by the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt Municipality with the letter dated
11/12/2012 and numbered 5056 that the claims in both of the enforcement
proceeding files were queued pending payment as per article 34 of the Public
Financial Management and Control Code dated 10/12/2003 and numbered 5018, and
it was indicated that the receivables of the applicants had not been paid and
that they were in the 30th and 31st places among those to whom payments would
be made in the enforcement payment list.
20. The
mentioned letter was notified to the applicants on 18/12/2012.
B. Relevant
Law
The Decision of the Grand General Assembly on Unification of
Case Law of the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 16/5/1956 and numbered 1956/1-6
is as follows:
“As the owner whose immovable property
has been confiscated without expropriation can file a case for the prevention
of confiscation, so shall s/he have the right to request the price of the
immovable property in the event that s/he consents to the situation with this
action. In the event that the owner of the immovable property files a case by
requesting the price of the confiscated immovable property, a decision shall be
delivered to determine and collect the price of the immovable property on the
date of the case, which is the date on which s/he consents to the transfer of
the right of ownership, not its price on the date of confiscation.”
21.
Paragraphs one and two of article 34 of the Code numbered 5018 with the side
heading of ''Expenses which cannot be paid
and budgeted debts'' are as follows:
“The amounts that are
not paid despite having been attached to a payment order document shall be
registered to the budget as expense, taken into escrow accounts and paid from
here. However, the amounts in escrow accounts, which are not claimed until the
end of the fifth year following the financial year during which the good is
purchased or the service is delivered, shall be registered to the budget as
revenue. The amounts that have been registered as revenue shall be paid upon
court decision.
In the event that public administrations' cash on hand
cannot cover all payments, the expenses shall be paid according to the order in
which they have been included in the accounting records. However; taxes,
duties, charges, premiums, fund charges, shares and other similar amounts that
need to be paid to other public administrations as per their codes,
tariff-bound payments, debts relying on a writ, debts that would bring
additional burden such as past due fee or interest in the event that they are
not paid and amounts in the escrow accounts that are requested to be paid shall
be respectively prioritized.”
22. Paragraph
one of article 45 of the Code numbered 5018 with the side heading ''Acquiring movables and immovables"
is as follows:
“In circumstances made compulsory by public services,
public administrations within the scope of general administration can acquire
movables and immovables of required quantity and quality, within the country or
outside the country, by paying their prices in advance or in installments or
through financial leasing. Public administrations can carry out actions of
purchasing or expropriating immovables via another public administration by
means of the delegation of authority. The immovables acquired by public
administrations within the scope of general administration shall be registered
in the name of the Treasury, the immovables belonging to other public
administrations shall be registered in the name of their legal entities to the
title deed registry. The immovables that are registered in the name of the
Treasury shall be managed by the Ministry of Finance. These registration
actions shall be notified to the relevant units of the administration, in whose
name the registration has been done, that are located in the place where the
immovable is found.”
23. Paragraph
1 of article 82 of the Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy dated 9/6/1932 and
numbered 2004 with the side heading ''Assets
and Rights the Seizure of Which is Not Permissible' is as follows:
“The
following things cannot be seized:
1. State property and the assets the seizure of which is
shown to be not permissible in
their private laws, …”
24. The last
paragraph of provisional article 6 with the side heading ''Compensation due to confiscation without
expropriation'' added to the Code of Expropriation dated 4/11/1983
and numbered 2942 with the Code Concerning the Amendment of the Code of
Expropriation dated 18/6/2010 and numbered 5999 is as follows:
“The assets, rights and receivables of administrations
cannot be seized due to the collection of the compensation to be paid as per
this article."
25.
Paragraphs eight and eleven of provisional article 6 with the side heading ''Determination of price of immovables set aside for
public service without being expropriated'' of the
Code numbered 2942 amended with the Code Concerning the Amendment
of Certain Codes and the Decree in the Force of Code numbered 375, dated
24/5/2013 and numbered 4687 are as follows:
“A share of two percent of the allowances foreseen for
capital expenditures in the budgets of administrations that are included in the
central administration budget (of the allowances set aside for the acquisition
of goods and services geared towards security and defense and construction
expenses in the budgets of the Ministry of National Defense, the Gendarmerie
General Command and the Coast Guard Command), at least two percent of the sum
of latest finalized budget revenues for municipalities, special provincial
administrations and their subordinate administrations, of latest finalized
budget expenditures for other administrations shall be set aside, in the event
that there is a need, to be used in payments as per this article based on
finalized court decisions. In the event that the total sum of finalized
receivables exceeds the total sum of the allowance that has been set aside,
payments shall be made pro rata and in installments over following years.
Budgetary capabilities and the receivable amounts shall be taken into
consideration in installments. The legal interest as per the Code numbered 3095
shall also be paid during the payment in installments. Other reconciliation
methods indicated in paragraph three can also be proposed by the administration
instead of cash payment as per court order and a conduct can be carried out according
to the provisions of this paragraph that concern reconciliation. ….
26. “The
assets, rights and receivables of administrations cannot be seized due to the
collection of the price to be paid as per this article."
26. The last
paragraph of article 15 of the Municipality Code dated 3/7/2005 and numbered
5393 with the side heading "Authorities
and privileges of municipalities" is as follows:
“Revenues obtained by a municipality through
project-based borrowing, conditional donations and assets that are actually
used in public services as well as tax, duty and charge revenues collected by
the municipality cannot be seized.”
IV. EXAMINATION
AND JUSTIFICATION
28. The
individual application of the applicants dated 11/1/2013 and numbered 2013/711
was examined during the session held by the court on 3/4/2014 and the following
are ordered and adjudged:
A. Claims
of the Applicants
29. The
applicants alleged that their right to property and right to a fair trial were violated
by indicating that their immovable property, which they had purchased from the
Mayor's Office of Esenyurt Municipality and which is registered in their name
in the title deed registry, was confiscated without expropriation, that a
decision was delivered to collect the price of the immovable property from the
Municipality as a result of the cases they filed against the Municipality at
the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance of Büyükçekmece, that the ruled upon
amounts were not paid despite the enforcement proceeding based on a writ
carried out at the 1st and 2nd Enforcement Offices of Küçükçekmece for the
purpose of enforcement of the Court decisions, that the Municipality avoided
payment by relying on legal provisions to the effect that the public assets of
the Municipality cannot be seized, that the right of ownership of the immovable
property had been transferred to the Municipality and that the price was not
paid despite this and requested the determination of violation and that 395.000
TL in material compensation and 100.000 TL in moral compensation be ruled upon
as the current value of the 158.012 TL in compensation ruled upon by the Court,
which had not been paid, due to the increase in the value of the immovable
property.
B. Evaluation
1. In Terms
of Admissibility
30. The
complaint of the applicants regarding the non-payment of the price of the
immovable property ruled upon by the Court is not clearly devoid of basis, nor are
there any other reasons of inadmissibility for this complaint. Therefore, it
should be decided that the application is admissible.
2. In Terms
of Merits
31. The
applicants alleged that their rights to property and to a fair trial were
violated by indicating that the amounts ruled upon at the end of the cases
pertaining to the payment of the price of the immovable property that had been
confiscated without expropriation were not paid.
32. In its
opinion letter, the Ministry of Justice indicated that the allegations of the
applicants pertaining to the point that the enforcement of finalized and
enforceable court decisions had not been ensured needed to be evaluated within
the framework of the allegations that their rights to a fair trial and to
property were violated.
33. The
applicants indicated, against the opinion of the Ministry of Justice, that
their rights to property and to a fair trial were violated and that they
repeated the matters in their application petition.
34. According
to the provisions of paragraph three of article 148 of the Constitution and
paragraph (1) of article 45 of the Code on the Establishment and Trial
Procedures of the Constitutional Court dated 30/3/2011 numbered 6216, in order
for the merits of an individual application lodged to the Constitutional Court
to be examined, the right, which is claimed to have been intervened in by
public force, must fall within the scope of the Convention and the additional
protocols to which Turkey is a party, in addition to it being guaranteed in the
Constitution. In other words, it is not possible to decide on the admissibility
of an application, which contains a claim of violation of a right that is
outside the common field of protection of the Constitution and the Convention
(App. No: 2012/1049, 26/3/2013, § 18).
35. The last
paragraph of article 138 of the Constitution is as follows:
“Legislative and executive organs and the
administration are obliged to abide by court judgments; such organs and the
administration can in no way change court judgments and delay their execution.”
36. The
claims of violation of the applicant have been evaluated under two separate
headings.
a. Claim as
Regards the Violation of the Right to a Fair Trial
37. Paragraph
one of Article 36 of the Constitution with the side heading "Freedom to claim rights" is as
follows:
"Everyone has the right to make claims and defend
themselves either as plaintiff or defendant and the right to a fair trial
before judicial bodies through the use of legitimate ways and means."
38. The relevant
part of article 6 of the Convention with the side heading "Right to a fair trial" is as
follows:
“In the determination of his civil rights and
obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a
fairand public hearing within a reasonable time by an independentand impartial
tribunal established by law.”
39. The
sub-principles and rights, which stem from the text of the Convention and the
judgments of the ECHR and are concrete manifestations of the right to a fair
trial, are also elements of the right to a fair trial stipulated under article
36 of the Constitution. In many decisions where it carried out the examination
as per article 36 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court refers, within
the scope of article 36 of the Constitution, to the principles and rights that
are either contained within the wording of the Convention or incorporated in
the right to a fair trial through the case law of the ECtHR by interpreting the
relevant provision in the light of article 6 of the Convention and the case law
of the ECtHR (App. No: 2012/13, 2/7/2013, § 38).
40. In
addition to being one of the most effective assurances that ensure the proper
enjoyment of other fundamental rights and freedoms and the protection thereof,
the freedom to claim rights, which is stipulated under article 36 of the
Constitution, is a tool of the individual for finding justice, obtaining what
is his/her right and preventing unjustness, which also strengthens societal
peace. The freedom to claim rights and the right to a fair trial are a right
that covers not just the right to make claims and defenses as plaintiff and
defendant before judicial instances but also obtaining what is one's right at
the end of the trial (CC, M.2009/27, D.2010/9, D.D. 14/1/2010).
41. One of
the elements of the right to a fair trial is the right to access to court. The
right to access to court also covers the right to take a dispute before a court
and the right to request the implementation of the decision delivered by the
court as well. The implementation of court decisions is an element that
complements the trial process and ensures that the trial bears consequence. If
the decision is not implemented, the trial will not have any meaning (see Hornsby v. Greece, App. No: 18357/91,
19/3/1997, § 40).
42. The
implementation of decisions of the judiciary is evaluated within the framework
of “the right to access to court”.
As a result, it is not sufficient for a court to have delivered a decision at
the end of the trial; this decision must also be implemented in an effective
fashion. In the event that the legal system contains regulations that render
final court decisions unimplementable in such a way as to create consequences
to the detriment of one of the parties or the enforcement of court decisions is
prevented in any way, “the right to access
to court” also loses its meaning (App. No: 2012/144, 2/10/2013, §
28).
43. The ECHR
underlines that in the event that a finalized and binding court decision cannot
be executed despite the fact that the party in whose favor the decision has
been delivered is damaged, the right to access to court guaranteed by article 6
of the Convention will not carry any meaning. Regardless of the issuing
judicial instance, the execution of a judicial decision or judgment is
considered as a complementary element of “the
case” as per article 6 (see
Burdov v. Russia, App. No:59498/00, 7/5/2002, § 34).
44. The
effective protection of the individual, who is a party to the case, and
ensuring lawfulness require the compliance of the administration with final
judicial decisions that can be delivered regarding it. If the administration
refuses or neglects to implement judicial decisions or delays the
implementation thereof, in this case, the assurances envisaged under article 6
of the Convention, from which the individual who is a party in the case has
benefited during the phases of the case, lose all of their reason of existence
(see Süzer and Eksen Holding Inc. v. Turkey,
App. No: 6334/05, 23/10/2012, § 115).
45. The ECHR
has acknowledged that the right to access to a judicial instance within the
framework of article 6 of the Convention protects not just the theoretical
granting of this right but also a legitimate expectation as to the enforcement
of the final decision obtained from that judicial instance (see Apostol v. Georgia, App. No:40765/02,
28/2/2007, § 54).
46. The State
cannot assert the lack of economic resources as an excuse not to perform its
debt as laid out by a final and binding court decision delivered against one of
its institutions (see Burdov v. Russia, App.
No:59498/00, 7/5/2002, § 35).
47. In
circumstances pertaining to a final decision delivered to the detriment of the
State, in favor of the individual, the individual cannot be forced to carry out
a separate enforcement proceeding (see
Manushaqe Puto and Others v. Albania, App. No: 604/07, 34770/09,
43628/07, 31/7/2012, § 71).
48. In the
incident that is the subject of the application, a decision was delivered to
collect the price of the immovable property from the Municipality as a result
of the case filed against the Municipality with the claim that the immovable
property had been confiscated without being expropriated and without paying its
price, and there is no doubt that the concrete trial activity, which was
conducted with a view to the solution of this problem, is a trial that takes
civil rights and liabilities as its subject.
49. The
applicants alleged that their right to a fair trial was violated by stating that
a decision had been delivered to collect compensation from the Municipality as
a result of the cases they had filed against the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt
Municipality at the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance of Büyükçekmece, that the
ruled upon amounts were not paid despite the enforcement proceedings based on a
writ carried out at the 1st and 2nd Enforcement Offices of Küçükçekmece for the
purpose of the enforcement of the Court decisions, that the Municipality
avoided payment by relying on legal provisions to the effect that the public
assets of the Municipality cannot be attached despite the fact that the right
of ownership of the immovable property had been transferred to the
Municipality.
50. Despite
the fact that the decision delivered by the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance
of Büyükçekmece in favor of the applicants is enforceable and that the
applicants used all of the application remedies regulated within the legal
system, the price of the immovable property, which was ruled upon by the Court,
was not paid by the Administration without providing any reason and in this
manner, the Court decision was not implemented in such a way as to bear
consequence to the detriment of the applicants.
51. When
monetary depreciation is taken into consideration, the abnormal delays in the
payment of the price of the immovable property ruled upon by the Court can lead
to material losses by leaving the individuals, whose immovable property was
confiscated, in uncertainty. So much so that, even if the court rules on
interest, this interest amount may not suffice to cover all of the material
damages (see Akkuş v. Turkey, App.No:19263/92,
9/7/1997, § 29).
52. Paragraph
eleven of provisional article 6 added to the Code numbered 2942 contains the
provision that the assets, rights and receivables of administrations cannot be
seized with the purpose of collecting compensations ruled upon by courts due to
confiscations without expropriation between the dates of 9/10/1956 and
4/11/1983. The Code envisages setting aside a certain share from the budgets of
administrations to this end and making payments out of these shares, and in the
event that the set aside share does not cover the amount of ruled upon
compensation, making payments in installments and pro rata by spreading them
over years to come. The payment of legal interest in the event of payment in
installments has also been rendered conditional on a rule (CC, M.2010/83,
D.2012/169, D.D. 1/11/2012). However, the right to access to court within the
framework of the right to a fair trial is violated in the event that the
administration, which has unlawfully intervened in the individual's right to
property, insists on not paying the receivables or compensations ruled upon via
finalized court decisions. The mentioned arrangement cannot be a reason not to
pay receivables or compensations ruled upon via finalized court decisions.
53. The
failure to implement or execute finalized court decisions amounts to the
violation of the right to a fair trial. The Court decisions delivered in favor
of the applicants in the concrete incident were not fulfilled by the
Municipality for a period in excess of four years without providing
justification despite the fact that the applicants took all kinds of
initiatives for the execution of these decisions. When the nature of the
decisions in question is taken into account, it is clear that this period is
not reasonable.
54. It has
been understood that the Municipality violated the applicants' right to access
to court by failing to take the necessary measures to ensure the execution of
finalized and executable judicial decisions delivered to its detriment and that
therefore, it rendered article 36 of the Constitution devoid of substance with
a view to its effective consequences, and it should be decided that the
applicants' right to a fair trial was violated.
b. Claim as Regards the
Violation of the Right to Property
55. Article
35 of the Constitution with the side heading of ''Right of Ownership'' is as follows:
"Everyone has the right to property and inheritance.
These rights may be restricted by law only for the purposes
of public interest.
The exercise of the right to property cannot be contrary to
public interest."
56. Paragraph
one of article 1 of the Additional Protocol 1 to the Convention with the side
heading ''Protection of property"
is as follows:
"Every natural or legal person is entitled to the
peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his
possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions
provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.
The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way
impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to
control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to
secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties."
57. Article
35 of the Constitution and article 1 of the Additional Protocol 1 relate to the
right to property with parallel arrangements.
58. Article 1
of the Additional Protocol 1 to the Convention consists of three fundamental
rules. The first rule is the principle of peaceful enjoyment of property in
general or respect to property. This matter is regulated in the first sentence
of paragraph one. The second rule regulates the deprivation of property and
renders this dependent on certain conditions. This is regulated in the second
sentence of the same paragraph. The third rule grants the states' right to
control the use of property in accordance with public interest and through the
use of codes to the extent that is required by this purpose, this is included
in paragraph two (see Sporrong and Lönnroth
v. Sweden, App. No: 7151/75, 7152/75, 23/9/1982, § 61).
59. In
parallel to the regulation in article 1 of the Additional Protocol 1 to the
Convention, article 35 of the Constitution grants the right to property in
paragraph one, and it stipulates the restriction of the right to property and
the criteria for this restriction in paragraphs two and three
60. The ECHR
considers delays in the execution of judicial decisions as an intervention to
the right to “peaceful enjoyment of property”
(see Burdov v. Russia, App.
No:59498/00, 7/5/2002, § 40).
61. As is the
case with the concrete incident, the failure of the administration, which
confiscated without expropriation the immovable property belonging to the
individuals, to pay the receivable or compensation ruled upon as a result of
the case filed against it due to this action, amounts to the violation of the
principle of peaceful enjoyment of property or respect to property.
62. If an
intervention has been made by the State to the right of an individual to
property or if his/her rights over his/her assets have been rendered unusable
in compliance with article 35 of the Constitution, the rights of that
individual need to be protected. This can only take place through the payment
of the value of the asset that is the subject of ownership. As a rule, the
value of the asset, which is confiscated by the state, is expected to be
automatically paid by the state(see
Carbonara and Ventura v. Italy, App. No: 24638/94, 30/5/2000, § 67)
63. The asset
values, which can be included within the scope of the right to property, need
to be determined. As an existing property can fall within the scope of the benefits
covered by the field of protection of article 35 of the Constitution and
article 1 of the Additional Protocol 1, so can receivable rights that are
defined in a definitive way (CC, M.2000/42, D.2001/361, D.D. 10/12/2001; CC,
M.2006/142, D.2008/148, D.D. 24/9/2008).
64. A
receivable that stems from a court judgment can be considered as asset and
property in the event that it is proven to be executable (see Burdov v. Russia, App. No:59498/00,
7/5/2002, § 40). There is no
doubt that the court decision, which concerns the payment of the price of the
immovable property that was confiscated without expropriation, is executable.
65. Referring
to the principle of the rule of law in a democratic society, the ECHR
acknowledges that the right to property is also violated due to the failure to
implement judicial decisions that demonstrate the existence of a receivable
right (see Süzer and Eksen Holding Inc. v.
Turkey, App. No:6334/05, 23/10/2012, § 155).
66. On the
other hand, article 6 of the Convention and article 1 of the Protocol attribute
to the state the liability of establishing a system that is effective with the
intent of the implementation of judicial decisions (see Fuklev v. Ukraine, App. No: 71186/01, 30/11/2005, § 84). If the public instances that are tasked
to implement a court decision prevent the implementation of this decision or do
not display the necessary care for the implementation of the decision, this
situation amounts to the violation of articles 35 and 36 of the Constitution.
67. It was decided,
through the Court decisions that are the subject of the application, that the
price of the immovable property that had been confiscated by the Municipality
without expropriation be collected from the Municipality, and the price of the
immovable property, which was adjudicated, demonstrate that the applicants have
receivable rights. Therefore, these rights, which are based on a court
decision, are evaluated within the framework of the right to ''property''.
68. The
principle of ''good governance'' requires public authorities to act in a timely
manner, with an appropriate method and, first and foremost, consistently when
it comes to a subject that falls within the scope of public benefit (see Krstic v. Serbia, App. No: 45394/06,
10/12/2013, § 78).
69. As
explained above (see §§ 26-27), the assets, rights and receivables of
administrations cannot be seized for the purpose of collecting compensations
ruled upon by courts due to confiscations without expropriation. The purpose of
this rule is the protection of resources that are necessary for the conduct of
public services, which the administrations are tasked to fulfill. The
uninterrupted fulfillment of public services, which are compulsory for the
continuation of societal life in a constant, orderly and systematic manner,
depends on the possession of certain assets in cash and in kind by the
administrations. It is clear that these services will be interrupted or will
not be fulfilled at all in the event that the assets required by the
administrations to fulfill public services are seized. Even though individuals
will be able to collect their compensation receivables later due to the
inability of seizing the assets, rights and receivables of administrations, a
reasonable balance is tried to be achieved between public benefit and the
rights of individuals through the payment of legal interest for this delay. As
a result, it cannot be claimed that this restriction imposed upon the rights of
the individual with the intent of ensuring the uninterrupted fulfillment of
public services is disproportionate (CC, M.2010/83, D.2012/169, D.D.
1/11/2012).
70. However,
the avoidance of administrations from paying the price of immovable property
confiscated without expropriation, which has been ruled upon by the court and finalized,
by using the rule that the assets, rights and receivables of administrations
cannot be seized as a pretext can disrupt the balance between public benefit
and the rights of the individual to the detriment of individuals. This
situation is considered to have the quality of the violation of the right to
property from the standpoint of the individual, the price of whose immovable
property ruled upon by the Court was not paid despite the fact that his
immovable property had been confiscated.
71. In the
incident that is the subject of the application, the decision dated 26/11/2008
issued as a result of the case filed by the applicants against the Mayor's
Office of Esenyurt Municipality on 14/5/2008 at the 3rd Civil Court of First
Instance of Büyükçekmece was finalized on 8/4/2010, which is the date on which
the request for correction was dismissed by the 5th Civil Chamber of the
Supreme Court of Appeals. Based on the mentioned decision, the applicants
initiated an enforcement proceeding based on a writ on 4/2/2010 at the 1st
Enforcement Office of Küçükçekmece against the Municipality.
72. The
decision dated 15/9/2010, which was issued as a result of the case that was
also filed by the applicants against the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt
Municipality on 11/5/2010 at the 3rd Civil Court of First Instance of
Büyükçekmece, was finalized on 26/3/2012, which is the date on which the
request for correction was dismissed by the 5th Civil Chamber of the Supreme
Court of Appeals. Based on the mentioned decision, the applicants initiated an
enforcement proceeding based on a writ on 19/10/2010 at the 2nd Enforcement
Office of Küçükçekmece against the Municipality.
73. Despite
the enforcement proceedings, which the applicants initiated based on both
decisions, no payment was made by the Municipality to the applicants, it was
merely indicated that the payment was queued.
74. That the
enforcement proceeding, which the applicants undertook against the
Administration with the intent of the collection of their receivables based on
Court decision and acknowledged within the framework of the right to property,
lasted long and the existence of ambiguity in terms of accessing the receivable
rendered the decision issued by the Court devoid of substance in terms of its
effective consequences.
75. For the
explained justifications; it should be decided that the applicants' right to
property guaranteed under article 35 of the Constitution was violated due to
the lack of payment by the Municipality of the price of the immovable property
ruled upon by the Court.
3. In Terms
of Article 50 of the Code Numbered 6216
76. The
applicants requested the determination that their right to property and to a
fair trial was violated due to the lack of payment of their receivables based
on Court decision, and the payment of 395.000 TL in material compensation,
100.000 TL in moral compensation.
77. In the
opinion of the Ministry of Justice, no assessment was made as regards the
request of compensation of the applicants.
78. Paragraph
(2) of Article 50 of the Code numbered 6216 with the side heading of ''Decisions" is as follows:
"If the determined violation arises out of a court
decision, the file shall be sent to the relevant court for holding the retrial
in order for the violation and the consequences thereof to be removed, In cases
where there is no legal interest in holding the retrial, the compensation may
be adjudged in favor of the applicant or the remedy of filing a case before the
general courts may be shown. The court, which is responsible for holding the
retrial, shall deliver a decision over the file, if possible, in a way that
will remove the violation and the consequences thereof that the Constitutional
Court has explained in its decision of violation."
79. The
applicants requested material and moral compensation with a view to remedying
the right violation. It has been understood that the rights of the applicants
to property and to a fair trial were violated as a result of the lack of
payment of their receivables based on court decision. The damage incurred by
the applicants relates to the lack of payment of the compensation, which they
were supposed to receive on the date on which the courts of instance issued
final decisions. When it is taken into consideration that the enforcement
phase, which lasted 4 years 1 month and 29 days from the date of 4/2/2010 on
which the applicants initiated the enforcement of the Court decisions until the
date on which a decision was issued by the Constitutional Court, is not
reasonable and that the applicants' right to property and to a fair trial have
been violated, it should be decided that a discretionary moral compensation of
6.650,00 TL be paid to each of the applicants in exchange for their moral
damages that cannot be rectified with a mere determination of violation.
80. The
applicants also made a request for material compensation by indicating that the
current value of the immovable property increased, that it appreciated to a
point that is higher than its current value at the time of the case, and that
it was not possible to cover the difference in value through interest. Ruling
on compensation with a view to covering material damage is conditional on the
applicants' proving that there is a causal link between the violation and the
material loss. In the decisions that are the subject of the application, it was
decided by the Court to collect the price of the immovable property that was
confiscated without expropriation along with its legal interest, and a request
was also made by the applicants for collection with legal interest in their
enforcement proceedings. The applicants alleged that the real current value of
the immovable property was determined as of the date of the case and that the
determined value was appropriate as of that date, that however, the current
value of the immovable property increased substantially during the period that
elapsed in the meantime, that the difference in current value could not be
covered with interest, but they did not bring forward an allegation of material
loss due to another reason. Even though it has been determined that articles 35
and 36 of the Constitution were violated in the incident that is the subject of
the application, when it is taken into consideration that the applicants did
not bring forward a claim of damage resulting from the difference between the
interest and the rate of inflation, that the value of the immovable property
was determined with a Court decision and that the ownership changed hands, it
should be decided that their request for material compensation, which they
requested due to the increase in the current value of the immovable property,
be rejected.
81. It should
be decided that the trial expenses of 1,698.35 TL in total composed of the fee
of 198.35 and the counsel's fee of 1,500.00 TL, which were made by the
applicants and determined in accordance with the documents in the file, be paid
to the applicants.
82. Taking
into consideration the fact that the decisions issued at the end of the trial
that is the subject of the application were not executed and that this matter
violated the applicants' right to property and to a fair trial, with a view to
preventing the continuation of the damage incurred by the principle of
confidence in the law, justice and court, it should be decided that a copy of
the decision be sent to the relevant Municipality to ensure the fulfillment of
the Court decisions in the shortest period possible.
V. JUDGMENT
In the light
of the reasons explained, it is UNANIMOUSLY
decided on 3/4/2014 that;
A. That the application IS ADMISSIBLE with a view to the complaint
pertaining to the lack of payment of the receivable right as a result of the
non-fulfillment of the court decisions,
B. That the rights to property and to a
fair trial guaranteed under articles 35 and 36 of the Constitution WERE VIOLATED,
C. That 6.650,00 TL in moral compensation BE PAID separately to the applicants, that
the other requests of the applicants BE
DISMISSED,
D. That the trial expenses of 1,698.35 TL
in total composed of the fee of 198.35 and the counsel's fee of 1,500.00 TL,
which were made by the applicants BE PAID TO
THE APPLICANTS,
E. That the payments be made within four
months from the date of application of the applicants to the State Treasury following
the notification of the judgment; if there happens to be a delay in payment,
legal interest be accrued for the period elapsing from the date when this
duration ends until the date of payment,
F. That a copy of the decision be sent to
the Mayor's Office of Esenyurt Municipality,