Published on 4 March 2024
FIRST SECTION
Application no. 62222/14
Giuseppe DIMO and Others against Italy
and 11 other applications
(see list appended)
communicated on 16 February 2024
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applications concern the adequacy of the compensation awarded to the applicants for the expropriation or “voluntary transfer” (cessione volontaria) of their land in favour of local authorities. Under Italian law, when a compulsory purchase order is issued, the owner has the choice to avoid an expropriation procedure by way of voluntarily agreeing to the transfer, while only retaining the possibility to challenge before the courts the sums offered as compensation.
Invoking Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, the applicants complain about the domestic courts’ failure to adjust the compensation for inflation, which in their view rendered the compensation for the dispossession of their property inadequate.
The applicants in application nos. 62222/14 and 4458/17 also submit that they have yet to receive the payment of the compensation.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
Has there been a violation of the applicants’ right to property contrary to Article 1 of Protocol No. 1? In particular, were the applicants made to bear a disproportionate and excessive burden on account of the failure to adjust the compensation awarded to them for inflation (see Chinnici v. Italy (no. 2), no. 22432/03, §§ 44-46, 62-63, 14 April 2015)?
In replying to the foregoing questions, the parties are invited to specify:
(i) the market value of the land as established by the final domestic decision;
(ii) the years elapsed from the date of the transfer of property, due to the voluntary transfer or the expropriation decree, and the final domestic decision establishing the amount of compensation due to the applicants, as well as the reasons for any delays in the proceedings (see Aka v. Turkey, 23 September 1998, §§ 49-50, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1998-VI; Akkuş v. Turkey, 9 July 1997, § 21, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1997-IV);
(iii) the date of payment of the compensation;
(iv) the rate of inflation recorded for each year from the transfer of property to the final domestic decision establishing the amount of compensation (Chinnici v. Italy (no. 2), cited above, § 45) as well as the rate of statutory interest in force each following year based on Article 1284 Civil Code (vesting in the Minister of Justice the power to update the interest rate “taking into account the rate of inflation recorded during the year”);
(v) the sums obtained by the applicants as regards statutory interest in relation to the same period;
(vi) the sums corresponding to inflation adjustment in relation to the same period;
(vii) whether the applicants obtained any other sums, including in form different from statutory interest and/or inflation adjustment, to compensate them for the passage of time.
The parties are also invited to specify whether the applicants in applications nos. 62222/14 and 4458/17 have received payment of compensation and, in the affirmative, to provide evidence thereof.
APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality
Represented by
Invoked Articles
1.
62222/14
Dimo and Others v. Italy
08/09/2014
Giuseppe DIMO
1959
Lecce
Italian
Valeria DIMO
1983
Gallipoli (LE)
Italian
Maria SARCINELLA
1970
Gallipoli (LE)
Italian
Iolanda DE FRANCESCO
Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
2.
7719/15
Trapani Lombardo and Others v. Italy
05/02/2015
Antonio TRAPANI LOMBARDO
1949
Rome
Italian
Luigi DONATO
1955
Soriano del Cimino (VT)
Italian
Antonio TRAPANI LOMBARDO
1952
Reggio Calabria
Italian
Maria Concetta TRAPANI LOMBARDO
1953
Rome
Italian
Maria Concetta TRAPANI LOMBARDO
1954
Perugia
Italian
Vincenzo TRAPANI LOMBARDO
1950
Reggio Calabria
Italian
Nicolò PAOLETTI
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
3.
39536/15
Immobiliare Bergamella Prima di Carlo Mariani & C. S.a.s. v. Italy
31/07/2015
IMMOBILIARE BERGAMELLA PRIMA DI CARLO MARIANI & C. S.A.S.
1964
Milan
Italian
Rocco MANGIA
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
4.
4458/17
Zeppilli v. Italy
03/01/2017
Annunzio ZEPPILLI
1940
Rome
Italian
Catia ZEPPILLI
1964
Rome
Italian
Clara ZEPPILLI
1948
Rome
Italian
Nicolò PAOLETTI
Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
5.
47693/18
Garrafa and Others v. Italy
28/09/2018
Michele GARRAFA
1973
Cosenza
Italian
Ghita GARRAFA
1976
Cosenza
Italian
Maria Pia GARRAFA
1942
Brescia
Italian
Vincenza GARRAFA
1945
Roges di Rente(CS)
Italian
Virginia GARRAFA
1970
Rome
Italian
Basiliola IANNOTTA
1944
Cosenza
Italian
Fabio GULLOTTA
Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
6.
37680/19
Bardazzi and Bigagli v. Italy
27/06/2019
Marcella BARDAZZI
1955
Prato
Italian
Sauro Egisto BIGAGLI
1955
Prato
Italian
Franco Bruno CAMPAGNI
Articles 6 of the Convention and 1 of Protocol No. 1
7.
12578/20
Gengari and Società Imprese Costruzioni Edili S.r.l. v. Italy
27/02/2020
Antonio GENGARI
1934
Foggia
Italian
SOCIETÀ IMPRESE COSTRUZIONI EDILI S.R.L.
1900
Foggia
Italian
Costantino VENTURA
Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
8.
29620/20
Viscardi and Others v. Italy
13/07/2020
Pietro VISCARDI
1942
Monza
Italian
Antonio VISCARDI
1972
Milan
Italian
Tommaso VISCARDI
1974
Milan
Italian
Gaetano
ALFARANO
Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
9.
29716/20
Brazzale v. Italy
06/07/2020
Maurizio BRAZZALE
1963
Thiene (VI)
Italian
Daniela BRAZZALE
1973
Thiene (VI)
Italian
Italo BRAZZALE
1965
Thiene (VI)
Italian
Loretta BRAZZALE
1976
Marcon (VE)
Italian
Daniela ANDRIOLO
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
10.
2629/21
Cipriani v. Italy
29/12/2020
Antonio CIPRIANI
1969
Prato
Italian
Franco Bruno CAMPAGNI
Articles 6 of the Convention and 1 of Protocol No. 1
11.
36440/21
Bartoletti v. Italy
29/06/2021
Laura BARTOLETTI
1957
Prato
Italian
Franco Bruno CAMPAGNI
Articles 6 of the Convention and 1 of Protocol No. 1
12.
43868/22
Coppini and Ciappelli v. Italy
05/09/2022
Tiziano COPPINI
1954
Prato
Italian
Sandra CIAPPELLI
1954
Prato
Italian
Franco Bruno CAMPAGNI
Articles 6 of the Convention and 1 of Protocol No. 1