SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 44066/07
Şükriye CANGİR and others against Turkey
and 7 other applications
(see list appended)
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 3 September 2013 as a Committee composed of:
Peer Lorenzen, President,
András Sajó,
Nebojša Vučinić, judges,
and Atilla Nalbant, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications, indicated in the Appendix,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
A list of the applicants is set out in the Appendix. Additionally, the case and decision numbers of the impugned proceedings appear in the Appendix.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
On various dates, the applicants initiated actions before various civil courts or civil proceedings were brought against them before the civil courts. Certain procedures lasted several years, however some proceedings are still pending before the domestic courts.
B. Relevant domestic law
A description of the relevant domestic law may be found in Müdür Turgut and Others ((dec.), no. 4860/09, §§ 19-26, 26 March 2013).
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that the proceedings before the national courts had not been concluded within a reasonable time.
Certain applicants alleged violations of Article 13 of the Convention that there was no effective remedy under Turkish law.
Certain applicants also complained under Article 1 of Protocol no. 1 to the Convention, the amounts awarded to them lost their value due to the length of the proceedings.
THE LAW
I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS
The Court first considers that in accordance with Rule 42 § 1 of the Rules of Court, the applications should be joined, given the similarity of the facts and of the legal issues raised.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION
The applicants complained that the length of the proceedings had been incompatible with the “reasonable time” requirement, laid down in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which reads as follows:
“In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ..., everyone is entitled to a ... hearing within a reasonable time by a ... tribunal...”
The Court observes that the applicants asserted that the length of the proceedings had been incompatible with the principle of the “reasonable time” requirement in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. The Court found in Müdür Turgut and Others ((dec.), cited above, §§ 58 and 60) that the Compensation Commission established by Law no. 6384, insofar as it is, a priori, accessible and capable of offering a reasonable prospect of redress for complaints concerning the length of proceedings. Accordingly, the applicants should avail themselves of the new remedy offered by Law no. 6384.
It follows that these complaints must be rejected under Article 35 §§ 1 and 4 of the Convention for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies.
III. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 13 OF THE CONVENTION
Some applicants also complain that there was no effective remedy under Turkish law. They rely in this regard Article 13 of the Convention, which provides:
“Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.”
The Court recalls that it has also held that the Compensation Commission established by Law no. 6384 provides for a remedy to the applicants within the meaning of Article 13 of the Convention to complain about the length of proceedings to purposes of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention relating to all applications pending before the Court, not yet communicated to the respondent Government submitted before 23 September 2012 (Müdür Turgut and Others (dec.), cited above, § 59).
It follows that this part of the application is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
IV. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL NO. 1 OF THE CONVENTION
Having carefully examined certain applicants’ complaints in the light of all the material in its possession, and in so far as the matter complained of is within its competence, the Court finds that it does not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention or its Protocols.
It follows that these parts of the applications are manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to join the applications;
Declares the applications inadmissible.
Atilla NalbantPeer Lorenzen
Acting Deputy RegistrarPresident
APPENDIX
No
Application No.
Lodged on
Applicant
Date of birth
Place of residence
Represented by
Notes
44066/07
25/09/2007
Şükriye CANGİR
04/03/1962
Mardin
Halise ERTAŞ
03/03/1956
Mardin
Ayini KURTAY
08/10/1941
Mardin
Lamia CEYLAN
02/02/1947
Mardin
Sultani KURTAY
01/01/1941
Mardin
Abdulkahar KURTAY
Mardin
Halef KURTAY
Mardin
Nedye KURTAY
Mardin
Eylem KURTAY
Mardin
Nurullah KURTAY
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Kızıltepe Cadastral Court, E: 1975/6, K: RE: 2007/1.
2872/10
18/12/2009
Vahap KARABOĞA
06/04/1978
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Mardin Assize Court E: 2002/245
2874/10
18/12/2009
İhsan KARABOĞA
11/10/1955
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Mardin Assize Court E: 2002/245
12386/10
19/02/2010
Vatha YILMAZ
01/10/1962
Mardin
Apta YILMAZ
01/01/1938
Mardin
Emine SAĞLAM
01/10/1964
Mardin
Mehmet YILMAZ
04/10/1959
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Kızıltepe Cadastral Court, E: 1964/193.
58831/10
09/08/2010
Zeynep HAZAR
Mardin
Zübeyde SAVCI
Mardin
Zahra DÜZGÖREN
Mardin
Selahattin HAZAR
Mardin
Mustafa HAZAR
Mardin
Meryem KORHAN
Mardin
Mehmet SAVCI
Mardin
İbrahim SAVCI
Mardin
Mahsun HAZAR
Mardin
Hıdır SAVCI
10/08/1969
Mardin
Fatma DÜZGÖREN
Mardin
Hatice TALAYHAN
Mardin
Fatma HAZAR
Mardin
Emine İLBOĞA
Mardin
Ayşe HAZAR
04/02/1964
Mardin
Ahmet HAZAR
Mardin
Ahmet SAVCI
Mardin
Abdurrezak HAZAR
01/02/1963
Mardin
Abdulvahit HAZAR
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Kızıltepe Cadastral Court, E: 1978/70.
46199/11
16/06/2011
Kemal OLĞAÇ
03/01/1932
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Mardin Civil Court of General Jurisdiction, E: 2010/498
6961/12
27/12/2011
Bedir NAS
15/05/1947
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Mardin Administrative Court, E: 2010/599, K: 2011/160
6972/12
27/12/2011
İsmail ÖZZENGİN
25/01/1980
Mardin
Ali AYDEMİR
Mardin Administrative Court, E: 2010/592, K: 2011/1411
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