CASE OF METALLA AND OTHERS v. ALBANIA
Violation of Article 13 - Right to an effective remedy (Article 13 - Effective remedy);Violation of Article 6 - Right to a fair trial (Article 6 - Enforcement proceedings;Article 6-1 - Access to court);Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Protection of property (Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Peaceful enjoyment of possessions)
George Nicolaou;Krzysztof Wojtyczek;Yonko Grozev
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE 4. On 9 August 1995 the Shijak Commission recognised the applicants’ inherited title to a plot of land measuring 1,020 sq. m of which 747 sq. m were restored. Since the remaining plot of land measuring 272 sq. m was occupied, the applicants would be compensated in one of the ways provided for by law. 5. The Commission decision remains unenforced. 6. On 8 February 1995 the Shkodër Commission recognised the applicant’s and other heirs’ inherited title to a two-storey building and to a plot of land surrounding the building measuring 500 sq. m. Since the plot of land measuring 500 sq. m was occupied, the applicant and the heirs would be compensated in one of the ways provided for by law. It was also decided that the building should be restored to them. 7. The applicant claimed that in 1995 and 1997 he instituted two legal actions against a third party for the vacation and restoration of his property. However, he decided to discontinue those actions, having regard to pending judicial proceedings in other cities. It would appear that the third party has built unauthorised constructions on the applicant’s plot of land. 8. The Commission decision remains unenforced. 9. On 12 May 1994 the Shijak Commission recognised the applicants’ inherited title to a plot of land measuring 5,527 sq. m of which 5,000 sq. m were restored. Since the remaining plot of land measuring 527 sq. m was occupied, the applicants would be compensated in one of the ways provided for by law. 10. The Commission decision remains unenforced. 11. On 13 August 2007 the Durrës Commission recognised the applicants’ inherited title to a plot of land measuring 65,000 sq. m of which 60,000 sq. m were restored to them. Since the remaining land measuring 5,000 sq. m consisted of arable land, roads and channels (“e llojit arë, rrugë e kanale”) was occupied, the applicants would be compensated in one of the ways provided for by law. 12. The Commission decision remains unenforced. 13. The relevant domestic law and practice have been described in detail in, inter alia, Manushaqe Puto and Others v. Albania (nos. 604/07, 43628/07, 46684/07 and 34770/09, §§ 23-53, 31 July 2012) and Ramadhi v. Albania (no. 38222/02, 13 November 2007). 14. On 6 March 2013 and 30 July 2014 the Government approved and issued new property valuation maps, which included the reference price per square metre throughout the country (Council of Ministers’ decisions (“the CMD”) nos. 187 of 6 March 2013 and 514 of 30 July 2014). 15. Subsequent to the events described in Karagjozi and Others v. Albania [Committee], nos. 25408/06, 37419/06, 49121/06, 1504/07, 19772/07, 46685/07, 49411/07, 27242/08, 61912/08 and 15075/09, §§ 36-38, 8 April 2014, the Committee of Ministers gave a decision on 6 March 2014 on the execution of judgments concerning the Albanian authorities’ failure to enforce final domestic judicial and administrative decisions awarding compensation in one of the ways provided for by law to the applicants in lieu of the physical restoration of their plots of land. This decision, which was adopted at its 1193th meeting, stated, in so far as relevant, the following: “The Deputies (...) 2. considered the actions taken since September 2013 and the measures foreseen for the coming weeks and months as encouraging; regretting, however, that the deadline fixed by the pilot judgment will not be met, underlined that in order to fulfill the obligations imposed by the European Court and to introduce the required compensation mechanism without further delay and within the time frame proposed by the action plan, the political commitment expressed in the action plan must be followed by concrete and substantial actions at the domestic level, in particular in the fields identified by the Committee in its Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2013)115; (...).” 16. The Committee of Ministers’ decision of 5 June 2014 on the execution of judgments concerning the Albanian authorities’ failure to enforce final domestic judicial and administrative decisions awarding compensation in one of the ways provided for by law to the applicants in lieu of the physical restoration of their plots of land, which was adopted at its 1201st meeting, stated, in so far as relevant, the following: “The Deputies 1. welcomed the formal adoption by the Albanian Council of Ministers of the action plan for the establishment of an effective compensation mechanism, thereby rendering the action plan binding, and noted with satisfaction that the measures foreseen are being adopted in conformity with the previsions in that plan; 2. in view of the overall deadline foreseen for the implementation of this mechanism, strongly encouraged the authorities to intensify their efforts with a view to reducing this time-frame as much as possible; (...).” 17. The Committee of Ministers’ decision of 11 June 2015, which was adopted at its 1230th meeting, stated, in so far as relevant, the following: “The Deputies 1. welcomed the commitment showed by the Albanian authorities in the search for an effective and sustainable solution to the important structural problem at stake in this group of cases; welcomed in this regard their presentation of the draft law and their co-operation with the Council of Europe, as well as the close consultations held with the Department for Execution, particularly in Tirana on 23 April 2015; 2. noted that, as requested by the Committee of Ministers and by the pilot judgment Manushaqe Puto, the authorities have conducted a careful review of all of the legal and financial implications and have estimated the overall cost of compensation in order to have a concrete basis for considering the necessary legislative changes; 3. invited the Albanian authorities to submit, as soon as possible, explanations and additional information on the solutions proposed in the draft law ... (...)”