Communicated on 25 February 2019
SECOND SECTION
Application no. 9541/13
Ali TÜRKOĞLU
against Turkey
lodged on 6 December 2012
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The application concerns compensation proceedings brought by the applicant against the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (Tasarruf Mevduatı Sigorta Fonu). The applicant sought 10,000,000 Turkish Liras (TL) for pecuniary damage and 8,000 TL for non-pecuniary damage, reserving his right to increase his claims in the course of the proceedings[1]. He paid the court fees on the basis of 10,000 TL only and requested partial exemption from the court fees concerning the remaining amount of his claims. The first‑instance court rejected the applicant’s request for partial exemption in so far as he had failed to submit supporting documents concerning his financial standing as required by Article 465 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it therefore gave the applicant forty-five days to pay the outstanding court fees. The applicant objected to that decision and reiterated its request for legal aid. Alternatively, it asked the court to continue with the proceedings for the amount of the claim for which he had already paid the court fees. The applicant’s request for legal aid was dismissed again and the court held that it could not continue the proceedings for the amount for which the applicant had paid the court fees on the ground that the case he brought could not be classified as partial litigation (kısmi dava). It therefore discontinued the proceedings as a whole.
The applicant complains, relying in substance on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, about the allegedly unlawful refusal of the domestic courts to continue the proceedings for the amount of the claim for which he had paid the court fees.
QUESTION tO THE PARTIES
Has there been a breach of the applicant’s right of access to a court, as guaranteed by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, for the portion of the applicant’s claims in respect of which he had paid the court fees?
In the light of the example case-law provided by the applicant in the case-file, the parties are invited to explain in detail the domestic law and practice for situations in which a plaintiff requests the court to continue the proceedings only for a portion of the claim.
[1]. Approximately 5,235,000 and 4,200 Euros (respectively) at the material time.
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