Communicated on 9 October 2017
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 31885/10
Abdurrahman KÖKSOY and Haydar KÖKSOY
against Turkey
lodged on 3 May 2010
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns civil proceedings in which the applicants sought the annulment of cadastral survey classifying their plot of land as part of the public forest. During the first-instance proceedings, the civil court found for the applicants. On appeal, the judgment was quashed by the Court of Cassation following a review of documents and information that had not been relied on by the parties during the first-instance proceedings. The applicants complain under Article 6 of the Convention that the Court of Cassation based its decision by relying on documents that were not considered by the first-instance court nor communicated to the parties for their comments. They further complain that their right to a reasoned judgment was infringed on account of the failure of the courts to respond to their submissions concerning the recent amendments in law which had a decisive importance for the proceedings at hand.
QUESTIONS tO THE PARTIES
Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination their civil rights, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention? In particular:
a) Were the principles of adversarial proceedings and equality of arms respected in the proceedings before the Court of Cassation? Specifically, as regards the documents taken into consideration by the Court of Cassation, were the applicants given an opportunity to have knowledge of and comment on them before the Court of Cassation rendered its decision?
b) Did the domestic courts’ failure to provide reasons in response to the applicants’ repeated submissions, concerning the recent amendments in law nos. 4999 and 5841 providing for a procedure for errors committed by the administrative authorities during cadastral applications as well as the time-limits for contesting cadastral records applying to State authorities, violate the applicants’ right to a reasoned judgment (see Deryan v. Turkey, no. 41721/04, § 37, 21 July 2015)?
1. Abdurrahman KÖKSOY is a Turkish national who was born in 1953, lives in Istanbul and is represented by A. Turan
2. Haydar KÖKSOY is a Turkish national who was born in 1959, lives in Istanbul and is represented by A. Turan
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy