SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 10161/12
Zehra ÇEDİK
against Turkey
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 30 March 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Aleš Pejchal, President,
Egidijus Kūris,
Carlo Ranzoni, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 20 December 2011,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 3 December 2020 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicant’s reply to that declaration,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. The applicant, Ms Zehra Çedik, is a Turkish national, who was born in 1960 and lives in Bursa. She was represented before the Court by Mr F. Şengür, a lawyer practising in Bursa.
2. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.
3. The applicant complained that her son had died as a result of the negligence of the police officers who had not provided him with prompt medical care and that the ensuing criminal investigation into the incident had been in breach of Article 2 of the Convention.
4. The application had been communicated to the Government.
5. After the failure of attempts to reach a friendly settlement, by a letter of 3 December 2020 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issue raised by the application. They further requested the Court to strike out the application in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention.
6. The declaration provided as follows:
“The Government regret that the circumstances surrounding the death of the applicant’s son and the investigation conducted into the death did not meet the standards enshrined in Article 2 of the Convention. The Government undertake to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the right to life - including the obligation to carry out effective investigations - is respected in the future.
I declare that the Government of Turkey offer to pay to Zehra Çedik with a view to securing a unilateral declaration of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights EUR 18,000 (eighteen thousand euros) to cover any and all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,500 (two thousand five hundred euros) to cover any and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant.
These sums will be converted into Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from expiry of that period until settlement. at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case before the European Court of Human Rights.”
7. On 23 February 2021 the Court received a letter from the applicant informing the Court that she had agreed to the terms of the Government’s declaration.
THe LAW
8. The Court finds that following the applicant’s express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government the case should be treated as a friendly settlement between the parties.
9. It therefore takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.
10. Moreover, the Court notes that the relevant parts of the Code of Criminal Procedure were amended in July 2018. According to the amendment, applicants in Turkey now have the opportunity to ask the relevant prosecutors to reopen the investigations not only in cases in which the Court has found a violation of the Convention on account of a failure to carry out an effective investigation, but also if their applications have been struck out by the Court on the basis of friendly settlements or on the basis of unilateral declarations submitted by the Government.
11. In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases pursuant to Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 29 April 2021.
{signature_p_2}
Hasan Bakırcı Aleš Pejchal
Deputy Registrar President
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy