Περιουσιακές διευθετήσεις στον Πόντο

Turkey has agreed to a “friendly settlement” in a 50-year-old land dispute with the residents and their descendants of a small neighborhood in Samsun following mediation from the European Court of Human Rights.

Ankara will pay 5,000 euros to three of the complainants, as well as 3,500 euros to the other 100 complainants in the land case that dates from 1961. Turkey has also agreed to pay 3,000 euros in lawyers’ fees, bringing the total compensation figure to 368,000 euros.

By agreeing to the “friendly settlement,” Turkey will avoid another potential case being decided against it at the European court in Strasbourg. It is also expected that the settlement could form a precedent for similar cases in the future.

The case, which was originally opened by residents from Yörükler, a neighborhood in the Black Sea province’s Ondokuzmayıs district, was taken to the European court in 2006 after lawyers argued that the inhabitants’ right to a fair trial was violated by the failure of judicial authorities to settle a land registry case for a 3,782-hectare piece of land “within a reasonable period of time.”

The European court first asked Ankara in September 2009 whether it would prefer to settle out of court rather than be sentenced again.

Turkey has received some of the most convictions among all European countries bound by the Strasbourg-based court.

The court accepted the application in 2009 and asked Ankara in September whether they wanted a “friendly settlement” with the other side. By choosing the “friendly settlement” option with the complainants through the court, Ankara was able to avoid receiving a sentence for violating the right to a fair trial in front of the European court. The decision by Ankara serves as a model for the right holders who are in similar conditions in the region.

In the lobbies of the European court, when the judicial opinion of the court concerning a fair trial was taken into consideration, it was signaled that every other choice except a friendly settlement meant a conviction for Ankara.

On the subject of the length of time it takes to process a court case, Turkey carries the trait of being the second-most European country sentenced by the European court, following Italy.

Source : Hurriyet Daily News