Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 154
July 2012
Manushaqe Puto and Others v. Albania - 604/07, 34770/09, 43628/07 et al.
Judgment 31.7.2012 [Section IV]
Article 13
Effective remedy
Lack of effective remedy to secure enforcement of final administrative decisions concerning compensation of property owners: violation
Article 46
Pilot judgment
General measures
Respondent State required to introduce effective remedy to secure enforcement of final administrative decisions concerning compensation for property owners
Facts – In a series of decisions between 1994 and 1999 commissions hearing property claims recognised the applicants’ title to various plots of land and ruled that they were entitled to compensation. Although some of the applicants did recover part of their land, they have not received financial compensation in lieu for the remainder.
Law – Article 13: The Court found that there was no effective domestic remedy that allowed for adequate and sufficient redress on account of the prolonged non-enforcement of commission decisions awarding compensation. Although a significant number of legal acts had been enacted since the Court’s judgment in Ramadhi and Others,* the position remained unsatisfactory. The non-financial forms of compensation that had been envisaged were found not to be effective in the absence of any evidence that any such awards had been made or, in the case of State bonds, were even contemplated by the legislation.
As to financial compensation, the authorities’ decisions recognised such a right only where the commission concerned had awarded compensation in respect of the entire property, not in cases concerning partial restitution or other forms of compensation; the decisions provided for a maximum amount of financial compensation equal to the value of 200 square metres of land; unsuccessful claimants in a given year were required to re-submit their claims in a subsequent year; and the awards did not take into account any non-pecuniary damage incurred as a result of the delays in enforcement. This form of compensation was, therefore, not effective either.
Conclusion: violation (unanimously).
