Communicated on 27 August 2018
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 36545/06
Petru OPREA and Others
against the Republic of Moldova and Russia
(see list appended)
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A list of the applicants and the basic information concerning each applicant are set out in the appendix. They are represented before the Court by Mr A. Postică and Mr I. Manole, lawyers practising in Chișinău.
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
The applicants live in the village of Molovata-Nouă (Dubăsari district), situated on the left bank of the Nistru river and under Moldovan control. At the time of lodging their application, they all owned plots of land near their village. In all cases the land is situated across a road (Tiraspol – Dubăsari -Râbnița route) which links the northern and southern regions of the self‑proclaimed “Moldovan Republic of Transdniestria” (the “MRT”) and in Moldovan controlled enclaves within the territory controlled by the “MRT”. The applicants’ main source of income is the working of the land owned by them.
Between 1992 and 1998 the applicants used the land they owned without interference. In 1998 the “MRT” authorities installed checkpoints in order to verify the movement of agricultural products across the “border”, coinciding with the above-mentioned road. According to the applicants, the impugned checkpoints enabled the “MRT” authorities to subject them to various forms of harassment, such as impeding them from transporting the necessary tools, agricultural machinery, equipment and fuel for the exploitation of their land. The harvesting and transportation of the agricultural production became extremely problematic, the applicants and their family members being often humiliated when stopped at the checkpoints. From then on the applicants also had to pay various taxes and fees to “MRT” authorities, which they accepted since their livelihood depended on working their land.
On 28 January 2000 the so-called “MRT” government issued a decision “on regulation of land relations in Dubăsari district” compelling the owners of the plots of land situated across the Râbnița - Dubăsari route to conclude rental contracts with the Dubăsari administration.
In October 2004 the “MRT” authorities declared that the land owned by the applicants was the property of the “MRT”. The applicants could continue working it, on condition of renting it from the local “MRT” authorities.
In February 2005, the applicants were prevented by the “MRT” authorities from exploiting and cultivating their land. As a consequence, they sustained losses owing to their inability to use the land at the beginning of the agricultural season. Moreover, the land was not worked in the following years, which made it difficult to bring it back to its former capacity.
According to the applicants, they have been exposed to threats of being fined, sanctioned or arrested by the “MRT” authorities, unless they could produce proof of signed rental contracts with the Dubăsari administration. The applicants reported cases of seizure of the agricultural machines belonging to those who tried to work their land. The landowners’ plots of land were under the supervision of the “MRT” military, border guards and militia who would sanction any attempt to work the land.
The applicants made numerous complaints to the local “MRT” authorities, asking for a right of passage to their land and requesting permission to cultivate and harvest, but this was refused since those authorities considered the land in question to be property of the “MRT”.
The applicants also complained to the Moldovan authorities, who replied that they had no means to compel the “MRT” authorities to allow them free passage. They asked the Moldovan Prosecutor General’s Office to start a criminal investigation against the people responsible for blocking the applicants’ access to their land.
The applicants complained to the Russian embassy in Moldova and to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (“the OSCE”), to no avail. On 26 April 2005 a group of landowners, including some of the applicants, protested in front of the Russian embassy in Moldova, asking the authorities of that State to intervene as a guarantor of peace and stability in the region. A similar protest took place on 11 May 2005.
In 2006 the Moldovan authorities managed to negotiate with the “MRT” authorities a temporary “MRT” registration mechanism for the landowners in the impugned area, which allowed them to access their land and transport the harvest. Despite the existing mechanism, the applicants maintain that they lack genuine free access to their land.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complain under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention that they lost access to their property and to the fruits of their labour.
They also complain under Article 13 of the Convention that they do not have any remedies in respect of their complaint under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Did the applicants come within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Moldova and/or the Russian Federation within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention as interpreted by the Court, inter alia, in the cases of Ilaşcu and Others v. Moldova and Russia [GC], no. 48787/99, ECHR 2004-VII, and Catan and Others v. Moldova and Russia [GC], nos. 43370/04 and 2 others, §§ 102-23, ECHR 2012 (extracts), on account of the circumstances of the present case?
2. Do the facts of the case disclose a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention?
3. Did the applicants have at their disposal effective remedies in respect of their complaint under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, as required under Article 13 of the Convention?
APPENDIX
No.
Firstname LASTNAME
Birth date
Nationality
Place of residence
Petru OPREA
26/02/1949
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Ana AGATIEVA
22/11/1950
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Elizaveta ALEXANDROVA
24/05/1930
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Alexei ALEXEEV
23/04/1968
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Victor ALEXEEV
23/06/1964
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Victoria ALEXEEV
29/12/1979
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Maria ALEXEEVA
14/08/1930
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Parascovia ALEXEEVA
05/04/1935
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Tamara ALEXEEVA
08/05/1961
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Iurie ANDREEV
24/04/1964
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Mariana BARABAȘ
31/07/1990
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Liuba BEȘLEAGA
07/03/1929
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Ana BUȘNIȚA
05/03/1954
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Ala CARPOV
23/09/1967
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Raisa CARPOV
16/11/1964
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Anna CEBOTARI
07/11/1934
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Vladimir CEBOTARI
07/04/1965
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Andrei CELONENCO
10/12/1959
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Iulia CELONENCO
01/01/1939
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Mihail CELONENCO
10/10/1927
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Olga CELONENCO
18/11/1939
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Liuba CIBOTARI
10/04/1951
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Profira COBZARI
05/06/1954
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Simion COBZARI
12/09/1951
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Liubovi CONDROVA
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Lidia CUCIUC
07/06/1951
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Vasile CUCIUC
20/03/1966
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Stepan DRIGA
15/08/1958
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Parascovia FLOREA
02/10/1935
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Valentin FLOREA
06/06/1952
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Vasile GAȚCAN
26/05/1949
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Elizaveta GAȚCAN
01/07/1947
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Anatalia GAVRILAȘ
16/08/1930
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Maia GAVRILIȚA
09/05/1964
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Alexandra GAZEA
10/08/1933
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Anatoli GAZEA
05/11/1960
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Dumitru GAZEA
13/03/1966
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Maria GAZEA
13/01/1936
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Maria GAZEA
10/10/1939
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Victor ISACOV
18/05/1939
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Eudochia JITARI
23/04/1972
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Tatiana MARDARI
29/03/1962
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Boris NEDOSTUP
07/08/1970
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Oleg NEDOSTUP
18/04/1974
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Eudochia OPREA
04/06/1973
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Nicolae OPREA
03/03/1953
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Valentina OPREA
10/08/1969
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Eugenia REUL
01/05/1938
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Veronica REUL
05/02/1949
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Vladimir ROȘCA
28/11/1953
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Nicolae SMOCHINA
15/09/1976
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Liubovi TIHNEAN
05/12/1950
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Dumitru TIMUȘ
27/08/1956
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Valentin TIMUŞ
23/06/1972
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Liubovi URSUL
29/10/1963
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Nicolae VOINSCHI
20/11/1959
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
Nadejda VOINSCHII
27/02/1963
Moldovan
Molovata Noua
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