CASE OF ROMANKEVIČ v. LITHUANIA
No violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Protection of property (Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1 - Peaceful enjoyment of possessions)
András Sajó;Egidijus Kūris;Guido Raimondi;Helen Keller;Jon Fridrik Kjølbro;Nebojša Vučinić
6. In 1998 the applicant’s property rights to a previously nationalised part of his late father’s land near Vilnius were restored. On 5 June 2002 the Vilnius Region Administration restored his rights – restitution in natura – to the remainder of the land measuring 0.53 hectares, situated in the village of Gineitiškės. This plot of land was then entered in the land registry in the applicant’s name. 7. In January 2005, having discovered that the decision of 5 June 2002 was based on erroneous data prepared by a State-hired land surveyor and had possibly breached the rights of other former landowners, the General Prosecutor’s Office instituted administrative proceedings to have the applicant’s title to the plot annulled. The applicant was a third party to those proceedings and argued that the restoration process had been lawful, without, however, raising the question of an adequate compensation in the event that his title to the plot was extinguished. Shortly before the initiation of the case, the Vilnius Region Administration had admitted that its decision had been unlawful and had informed the applicant that it needed to rectify the error; however, it appears that the latter had disagreed. 8. On 8 September 2005 the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court dismissed the prosecutor’s complaint. However, on 12 December 2005 the Supreme Administrative Court remitted the case for re-examination. 9. On 20 April 2006 the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court granted the claim and annulled the decision of 5 June 2002. Finally, on 15 January 2007 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decision of the lower court. The courts established that the original plot of land to which the applicant had ownership rights was actually situated in another, albeit nearby, area of Gilužiai village. Thus, the return of the plot in 2002 was declared unlawful as it breached the Law on the Restoration of Citizens’ Ownership Rights to Existing Real Property. 10. Following the courts’ decisions, the plot of land was taken away from the applicant and returned to the State. No compensation was awarded to the applicant. However, he reserved the right to have his ownership rights restored. 11. By a decision of 2 February 2009 the Vilnius Region Administration restored the applicant’s ownership rights in natura by granting a new plot of land measuring 0.53 hectares in Gilužiai village.