SECOND SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 67461/11
Hasan KARASAKAL and others
against Turkey
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 2 October 2018 as a Committee composed of:
Ledi Bianku, President,
Jon Fridrik Kjølbro,
Ivana Jelić, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 22 September 2011,
Having regard to the declaration submitted by the Government and the applicants’ acceptance of its terms,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
1. A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.
2. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.
3. The applicants complained under Article 3 of the Convention that they had been subjected to ill-treatment during a demonstration.
4. On 26 February 2018 the Government submitted to the Court the following unilateral declaration and requested the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases:
“The Government regret the occurrence of individual cases of ill-treatment, as in the circumstances of the present case, notwithstanding existing Turkish legislation and the resolve of the Government to prevent such actions.
The Government admit that the treatment to which the applicants were subjected and the investigations conducted into their allegations did not meet the standards enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention. The Government undertake to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the prohibition of ill-treatment – including the obligation to carry out effective investigations – is enforced more effectively in the future.
The Government of Turkey declare that with a view to resolving the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights on the basis of a unilateral declaration, they offer to pay to the applicants Hasan Karasakal, İbrahim Şenol and Ulaş Alkan EUR 10,000 (ten thousand euros), EUR 8,000 (eight thousand euros), EUR 8,000 (eight thousand euros) respectively to cover any and all non-pecuniary damage and to jointly pay the applicants EUR 3,000 to cover all the costs and expenses including the lawyer’s fee plus any tax that maybe chargeable to the applicants.
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.”
5. By a letter of 5 April 2012 the applicants’ lawyer informed the Court that her clients had agreed to the terms of the Government’s declaration.
THE LAW
6. The Court considers that the applicants’ express agreement to the terms of the declaration made by the Government can be considered as an implied friendly settlement between the parties (see, for example, Bakal and Others v. Turkey (dec.), no. 8243/08, 5 June 2012).
7. The Court 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. 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 in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.
Done in English and notified in writing on 25 October 2018.
Hasan BakırcıLedi Bianku
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Appendix
Hasan KARASAKAL is a Turkish national who was born in 1958, lives in Istanbul and is represented by F. Karakaş Doğan Ulaş ALKAN is a Turkish national who was born in 1979, lives in Istanbul and is represented by F. Karakaş Doğan İbrahim ŞENOL is a Turkish national who was born in 1986, lives in Istanbul and is represented by F. Karakaş Doğan
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy