KAVAK (ERSAK) AND OTHERS v. TÜRKİYE

SECOND SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 61869/17
Süreyya KAVAK (ERSAK) against Türkiye
and 7 other applications
(see appended table)

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 13 June 2024 as a Committee composed of:

 Diana Sârcu, President,
 Davor Derenčinović,
 Gediminas Sagatys, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above applications lodged on 13 July 2017,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.

The applicants were represented initially by Mr M. Akkurt, lawyer in Ankara, then, after his death, by Mr A. Battal, a lawyer also practising in Ankara.

The applicants’ complaints under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention concerning the excessive length of civil proceedings were communicated to the Turkish Government (“the Government”), who submitted observations on the admissibility and merits. The observations were forwarded to the applicants, who were invited to submit their own observations by 23 February 2021. No reply was received to the Registry’s letter.

By letter dated 23 March 2023, sent by registered post, the applicant’s representative, Mr M. Akkurt, was notified that the period allowed for the submission of the applicants’ observations had expired and that no extension of time had been requested. The applicants’ attention was drawn to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, which provides that the Court may strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to the conclusion that the applicant does not intend to pursue the application.

On 12 June 2023 the Registry received a letter from Mr A. Battal, a lawyer in Ankara, informing the Court about the death of the applicants’ former legal representative.

It was decided, in the circumstances, to grant the applicants a new time‑limit for submitting their comments on the Government’s observations, which were forwarded to their new legal representative, Mr A. Battal, on 25 January 2024 by post and via the Court’s Electronic Communication Service (eComms). The applicants’ attention was again drawn to Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention. However, no response has been received.

A reminder with another strike-out warning was sent on 17 April 2024, via eComms. No response has followed.

It has been noted that Mr A. Battal, although connected to his eComms account since 18 January 2024, has never downloaded any of the documents published on it by the Court.

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.

In the light of the foregoing, and in the absence of any special circumstances regarding respect for the rights guaranteed by the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Court, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention, considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the applications.

Accordingly, the applications should be struck out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Decides to strike the applications out of its list of cases.

Done in English and notified in writing on 4 July 2024.

 Viktoriya Maradudina Diana Sârcu
 Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications