Communicated on 16 September 2019
FIFTH SECTION
Application no. 10843/14
GBM METAL EOOD and NOREX TK OOD
against Bulgaria
lodged on 30 January 2014
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The applicant companies own land in the outskirts of Sofia. At the time they purchased it – between 1997 and 2002 – it was earmarked for the construction of low-rise buildings. With the adoption of a General Spatial Plan of Sofia in 2007 the land was designated as a public park. The applicant companies applied for a modification of that plan, but were unsuccessful. In 2013 they also applied for the judicial review of the plan, in so far as it affected them, but their application was dismissed since domestic law does not allow the judicial review of such plans. The application to the Court concerns complaints about the interference with the applicant companies’ right to property and the lack of access to court.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been an interference with the applicant companies’ peaceful enjoyment of possessions, within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1? If so, is that interference necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest? Does the interference impose an excessive individual burden on the applicant companies?
2. Is the restriction of the applicant companies’ right to access to a court to challenge the General Spatial Plan of Sofia in so far as it concerns them in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?
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