FIRST SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 8956/09
Ivane LAZARASHVILI
against Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting on 15 September 2020 as a Committee composed of:
Aleš Pejchal, President,
Pauliine Koskelo,
Tim Eicke, judges,
and Renata Degener, Deputy Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 3 February 2009,
Having regard to the decision of 24 August 2011 to give notice of the applications to the Russian Government (“the Government”) for information,
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
1. The applicant, Mr Ivane Lazarashvili, is a Georgian national, who was born in 1974 and lives in Gori. He was represented before the Court by Ms T. Gabisonia and Ms A. Tvaradze, lawyers practising in Tbilisi.
2. The applicant submitted various complaints in the context of events relating to the conflict in August 2008 (see Dzhioyeva and Others v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 24964/09, 20548/09 and 22469/09, § 14, 20 November 2018).
COMPLAINTS
3. The applicant complained under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and Article 13 of the Convention about the destruction of his movable and immovable property in the village of Khviti (undisputed Georgian territory). To support his claims, the applicant submitted to the Court certificates confirming ownership of a part of the property concerned.
THE LAW
4. The Court has already dealt with similar complaints and made findings regarding the issue of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention and a duty incumbent on applicants to substantiate their grievances by supplying evidence in support of their claims in the previous cases against Georgia which concerned events relating to the conflict of August 2008 (see Dzhioyeva and Others v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 24964/09, 20548/09 and 22469/09, §§ 23-30, 20 November 2018; Naniyeva and Bagayev v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 2256/09 and 2260/09, §§ 19‑26, 20 November 2018; and Kudukhova v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 8274/09 and 8275/09, §§ 21-28, 20 November 2018). These considerations also apply in the present case.
5. In particular, the Court would reiterate that it is not a tribunal of facts and cannot, without appropriate assistance on the part of the applicants, establish the factual account of complex events, such as situations of armed conflict (see Naniyeva and Bagayev, cited above, § 39).
6. In the light of the above, the Court considers that it was for the present applicant to submit documents showing that the property allegedly destroyed or damaged was his possession within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention and, at the same time, that the property suffered damage as a result of the relevant events (see Dzhioyeva and Others, cited above, § 32). Furthermore, the Court will have particular regard to the fact that village concerned is located on the territory of Georgia to which the applicant must have unlimited access (see paragraph 4 above).
7. Against this background, the Court notes that the applicant, represented by lawyers, did not submit any evidence to demonstrate that his property had been affected by the events of the conflict (see paragraph 3 above). Nor did he advance any explanation for his failure to submit any prima facie evidence in that regard (see Dzhioyeva and Others, cited above, § 30).
8. As regards Article 13 of the Convention, this provision only applies to “arguable” complaints (see Kudła v. Poland [GC], no. 30210/96, § 157, ECHR 2000‑XI). Accordingly, and given the Court’s conclusion regarding Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, the complaint under Article 13 of the Convention is likewise inadmissible.
9. Consequently, the Court considers that the application is unsubstantiated and must be rejected as manifestly ill-founded, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.
For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,
Declares the application inadmissible.
Done in English and notified in writing on 8 October 2020.
Renata DegenerAleš Pejchal
Deputy RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy