Resolution CM/ResDH(2012)185[1]
Tsirikakis, Hatzitakis and Karagiannis and others against Greece
Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
(Applications No 46355/99, 48392/99 and 51354/99, judgments of 23 January 2003,
11 April 2002 and 16 January 2003, final on 9 July 2003, 11 July 2002 and 16 April 2003)
The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);
Having regard to the judgment transmitted by the Court to the Committee once it had become final;
Recalling that the violations of the Convention found by the Court in these cases concern the violation of the applicants’ property rights in the context of land expropriation proceedings (violation of article 1 of Protocol No. 1) and the excessive length of civil proceedings (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1) (see details in Appendix);
Having invited the government of the respondent State to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with its obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to abide by the judgments;
Having examined the information provided by the government in accordance with the Committee’s Rules for the application of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention;
Having satisfied itself that, within the time-limit set, the respondent State paid the applicants the just satisfaction provided in the judgments (see details in Appendix),
Recalling that a finding of violations by the Court requires, over and above the payment of just satisfaction awarded in the judgments, the adoption by the respondent State, where appropriate, of
- individual measures to put an end to the violations and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and
- general measures preventing similar violations;
DECLARES, having examined the measures taken by the respondent State (see Appendix), that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases and
DECIDES to close the examination of these cases.
Appendix to Resolution CM/ResDH(2012)185
Information on the measures taken to comply with the judgments in the cases of Tsirikakis, Hatzitakis and Karagiannis and others against Greece
Introductory case summary
The cases concern the violation of the applicants’ property rights on account of (a) receiving depreciated compensation for expropriation due to the authorities’ failure to take into account the lengthy national court proceedings concerning the applicants’ recognition as owners of the expropriated land, proceedings necessary for the payment of the amount of compensation fixed and (b) the applicants’ inability to use their property (Karagiannis), or the non-expropriated part of the property (Tsirikakis) during that lengthy period (violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1).
The cases also concern excessive length of civil proceedings (Tsirikakis and Karagiannis cases) (violation of Article 6, paragraph 1)
I.Payment of just satisfaction and individual measures
a)Details of just satisfaction
Name and application number
Pecuniary damage
Non-pecuniary damage
Costs and expenses
Total
TSIRIKAKIS
16 795 EUR
35 000 EUR
3 000 EUR
54 795 EUR
Paid on 23/09/2003
HATZITAKIS
10 000 EUR
34 000 EUR
4 700 EUR
48 700 EUR
Paid on 08/10/2002
KARAGIANNIS and others
200 000 EUR
20 000 EUR
10 000 EUR
230 000 EUR
Paid on 11/01/2005
b)Individual measures
The pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage suffered by the applicants has been compensated by the just satisfaction awarded by the Court (Tsirikakis judgment on just satisfaction par. 11-12, Hatzitakis judgment par. 57, Karagiannis and others judgment on just satisfaction paragraph 13).
II.General measures
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
The European Court’s judgment, translated into Greek, was widely disseminated to all competent judicial authorities and it was also published on the website of the Legal Council of the State ()
The authorities indicated that the following measures have been adopted in line with the Court’s findings:
(a) previous legislation governing expropriation procedures (law No 797/1971) is no longer in force. New law No. 2882/2001 has introduced significant reforms. Simplified and strict rules are set for the deadlines in judicial proceedings for recognition of land ownership;
(b) standard case-law provides for a global evaluation of expropriation issues in a single set of proceedings (see in detail Resolution CM/ResDH(2011)217, Azas, Athanasiou and others, Biozokat A.E., Efstathiou and Michailidis and Cie Motel Amerika, Interoliva A.B.E.E., Konstantopoulos A.E. and others, Organochimika Lipasmata Makedonias A.E., Ouzounoglou and Zacharakis against Greece); therefore recognition of land ownership and fixing of compensation amount is decided together. This measure is expected to contribute significantly to accelerating the payment of compensation to be awarded to land owners;
(c) the possibility of acquiring additional compensation in cases of delay in the compensation procedure is also foreseen.
Violation of Article 6, paragraph 1
The measures taken or envisaged by the Greek authorities are supervised by the Committee of Ministers in the context of the Manios group of cases.
III.Conclusions of the respondent State
The government considers that the measures adopted have fully remedied the consequences for the applicants of the violation of the Convention found by the European Court in these cases, that these measures will prevent similar violations and that Greece has thus complied with its obligations under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
[1] Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 6 December 2012 at the 1157th Meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies.
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