6.  The applicant company was set up in 1991 and is based in Sofia. 7.  On 1 October 1991 it entered into a lease agreement with a municipally-owned supermarket chain, under which it rented one of its shops (“the shop”). The term of the agreement was until 1 October 1994. 8.  By a supplementary agreement of 1 September 1992 the term of the agreement was extended until 1 September 1997. 9.  On 29 June 1995 the applicant company submitted a proposal to the Sofia Municipal Council to purchase the shop under the preferential privatisation procedure for lessees of State and municipally-owned properties provided for in section 35(1) of the Privatisation Act (see paragraph 20 below). 10.  By a further supplementary agreement of 2 January 1996 the term of the lease agreement concerning the shop was amended and was set to expire on 2 July 1996. 11.  In a decision of 27 September 1996 the Municipal Council rejected the applicant company’s request of 29 June 1995 on the grounds that the conditions under section 35(1) of the Privatisation Act had not been met because the lease agreement for the shop “bore a date later than 15 October 1993”. 12.  On 24 October 1996 the applicant company appealed against the refusal. 13.  In a judgment of 5 March 1998 the Sofia City Court found in favour of the applicant company, quashed the decision of the Municipal Council of 27 September 1996 and referred to it the matter for re-examination. It found that on 15 October 1993 the applicant company had been a lessee of the shop and that in rejecting its privatisation proposal on the ground that it had not been a lessee the Municipal Council had acted in contravention with the law. 14.  The Municipal Council did not appeal against the judgment and it became final on 2 April 1998. 15.  On 7 May 1998 the applicant company informed the Municipal Council of the judgment in its favour and invited the latter to implement the court’s decision by selling it the shop in accordance with the applicable rules. No action was taken in response by the Municipal Council. 16.  On 4 May 2001 the applicant company once again petitioned the Municipal Council to implement the City Court’s judgment of 5 March 1998. 17.  In response, by letter of 9 July 2001, the Sofia Municipal Privatisation Agency informed the applicant company that on 27 April 1998 the Municipal Council had transformed the municipally-owned supermarket chain and had spun off two companies from it; the shop had been included in the capital of one of these companies which had been privatised on 24 February 1999.