5.  The applicants were respectively born in 1938, 1943 and 1948 and live in Rome. 6.  The applicants' father was the owner of a flat in Rome, which he had let to V.D.C. 7.  In a writ served on the tenant on 24 January 1984, the applicants' father informed the tenant that he intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term and summoned him to appear before the Rome Magistrate. 8.  By a decision of 17 April 1984, which was made enforceable on 2 May 1984, the Rome Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 16 April 1985. 9.  On 2 May 1984, the applicants' father served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises. 10.  On 3 April 1987, he informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 12 May 1987. 11.  Between 12 May 1987 and 29 March 2001, the bailiff made forty-six attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicants' father was not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession. 12.  In the meanwhile, on 14 February 1992, the applicants' father died and the applicants inherited the flat. 13.  On 18 July 1998, they became party to the eviction proceedings as heirs. 14.  On an unspecified date of April 2001, the applicants recovered possession of the flat with the assistance of the police.