CASE OF KOVACHEV v. BULGARIA
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Protection of property (Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Peaceful enjoyment of possessions)
Carlo Ranzoni;Khanlar Hajiyev
4. The applicant was born in 1955 and lives in Yambol. 5. The applicant and his brother co-owned a house with a yard and a garage in Yambol. 6. By a decision of the mayor of 31 January 1983 the property was expropriated with a view to constructing a residential building. The decision, based on section 98 (1) of the Territorial and Urban Planning Act of 1973 (Закон за териториалното и селищно устройство – “the TUPA”), stated that the applicant and his brother were to be compensated with flats in a building which the municipality intended to construct. 7. On an unspecified date the flats were constructed and delivered to the applicant and his brother. 8. On 13 July 1994 the mayor modified the decision of 31 January 1983, stating that the two brothers were also to be compensated with a common garage. The applicant’s brother informed the mayor that he renounced his right to compensation with a garage in the applicant’s favour. 9. By a supplementary decision of 30 May 1995, based on section 100 of the TUPA, the mayor held that the applicant was to be compensated with the right to build a garage on a municipal land and determined the exact location of the future garage. The applicant did not appeal against that decision and apparently prepared to start the construction works. 10. By a decision of 9 October 2002 the mayor modified the previous decision of 30 May 1995, indicating another municipal plot of land where the future garage was to be built, as it had turned out that the previous one was not owned by the municipality. That decision was not appealed against by the applicant, but was eventually set aside by the Yambol regional governor after it had been contested by third persons. 11. On an unspecified date in 2010 the applicant brought a tort action against the Yambol municipality, claiming a wrongful failure on its part to provide him with a garage. The action was dismissed, the final judgment being given by the Supreme Administrative Court on 30 March 2011. The domestic courts held that no unlawful inactivity on the part of the authorities had been established, neither had it been shown that the applicant had sustained any damage. 12. In June 2011 the applicant agreed to receive compensation in cash in lieu of the garage due to him. It appears that the municipality had been offering such a solution since 2007. The compensation in cash was paid to the applicant on 4 April 2012.