SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Applications nos. 4401/09 and 3816/10
Mehmet Nuri KARA against Turkey
and Cemil İBİN against Turkey
(see appended table)
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 25 March 2021 as a Committee composed of:
Branko Lubarda, President,
Carlo Ranzoni,
Pauliine Koskelo, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above applications lodged on the various dates indicated in the appended table,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the cases,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
The list of applicants is set out in the appended table.
The present applications concern the property damage sustained by the applicants following a large underground explosion that took place in Batman on 3 May 2004, caused by a leak from an oil refinery.
The first applicant (application no. 4401/09) mainly complained of the violation of his right to a fair trial under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention on account of the domestic courts’ failure to provide sufficient reasons when dismissing his compensation claims in respect of the damage caused by the oil leak, as well as the violation of his right to property under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 resulting from the leak. The second applicant (application no. 3816/10) mainly complained under Article 6 § 1 of his inability to access the civil courts to claim damages on account of the allegedly erroneous application of the time-limit rules, and under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the alleged violation of his property rights as a result of the leak.
The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 were communicated to the Turkish Government (“the Government”).
By a letter dated 5 February 2020, the Government informed the Court of the death of the applicant Cemil İbin (application no. 3816/10) on 15 June 2012. On 27 May 2020, the applicant’s representative informed the Court of the wish of the heirs to pursue the application and submitted the certificate of inheritance and the authority forms.
The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicant in application no. 4401/09 and heirs of the applicant in application no. 3816/10 agreed to waive any further claims against Turkey in respect of the facts giving rise to these applications, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amounts detailed in the appended table. These amounts will be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable on the date of payment and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay these amounts within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from the 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 cases.
THE LAW
Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.
The Court takes note of the death of Mr Cemil İbin and of the wish of his heirs (as indicated in the table attached below) to pursue the proceedings he had initiated. It finds that Mr Cemil İbin’s heirs have standing to continue the present proceedings in the applicant’s stead.
The Court 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 the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the applications.
In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the cases out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Decides to join the applications;
Holds that Mr Cemil İbin’s heirs (as indicated in the table attached below) have standing to pursue the proceedings in his stead;
Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 15 April 2021.
Viktoriya Maradudina Branko Lubarda
Acting Deputy Registrar President
APPENDIX
List of applications raising complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention
No.
Application no.
Date of introduction
Applicant’s name
Year of birth
Representative’s name and location
Date of receipt of Government’s declaration
Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses
(in euros)[1]
4401/09
14/01/2009
Mehmet Nuri KARA
1936
Erken Mehmet Masum
Batman
13/01/2021
12/02/2021
9,000 to the applicant
3816/10
17/12/2009
Cemil İBİN
1934
Deceased on 15/06/2012
Heirs:
Gülistan İbin (1946)
Veysi İbin (1969)
Mehmet Mehdi İbin (1970)
Mehmet Ali İbin (1970)
Mahmut İbin (1972)
Mustafa İbin (1974)
Necmeddin İbin (1976)
Metin İbin (1980)
Nurcan Özbey (1985)
Yusuf İbin (1990)
Çakan Abdulhamit
Batman
29/01/2021
04/01/2021
10,000
jointly to the heirs of the applicant
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
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