{"id":2946,"date":"2019-05-03T08:22:42","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T08:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=2946"},"modified":"2019-11-06T14:02:35","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T14:02:35","slug":"sevim-and-others-v-turkey-european-court-of-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=2946","title":{"rendered":"SEVIM AND OTHERS v. TURKEY (European Court of Human Rights)"},"content":{"rendered":"

SECOND SECTION
\nDECISION<\/p>\n

Application no. 3685\/10
\nNihari SEV\u0130M and Others
\nagainst Turkey<\/p>\n

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 18\u00a0December 2018 as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n

Ledi Bianku, President,
\nJon Fridrik Kj\u00f8lbro,
\nIvana Jeli\u0107, judges,
\nand Hasan Bak\u0131rc\u0131, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n

Having regard to the above application lodged on 14 December 2009,<\/p>\n

Having regard to the declaration submitted by the respondent Government on 27 March 2018 requesting the Court to strike the application out of the list of cases and the applicants\u2019 reply to that declaration,<\/p>\n

Having deliberated, decides as follows:<\/p>\n

FACTS AND PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0The Turkish Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) were represented by their Agent.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0On 17 September 1989 the bodies of the first fifteen applicants\u2019 relatives Tahsin Sevin\u00e7, Hasan Utan\u00e7 and Hasan Caner were found at the side of a road near a village. They had all been shot in the head, allegedly by agents of the State.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0The remaining two applicants\u2019 relative Mehmet K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7 was a dual Iraqi and Turkish national who, according to the applicants, was kidnapped in 1989 and handed over by a member of the Turkish military to the authorities in Iraq where he was allegedly hanged.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0In 1999 a number of persons accused of killing the relatives of the fifteen applicants, as well as of the kidnapping of the relative of the remaining two applicants, were put on trial. According to the information provided by the applicants, the trial was still continuing in 2014.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0The application had been communicated to the Government.<\/p>\n

THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0The applicants complained under, inter alia, Article 2 of the Convention that the respondent State had been responsible for the deaths of their relatives and alleged that no effective investigation had been conducted into the deaths.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0After the failure of attempts to reach a friendly settlement, by a letter of 27 March 2018 the Government informed the Court that they proposed to make a unilateral declaration with a view to resolving the issue raised by the application. They further requested the Court to strike out the application in accordance with Article\u00a037 of the Convention.<\/p>\n

The declaration provided as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cI declare that the Government of the Republic of Turkey offers to pay the following amounts to the applicantsto cover any and all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and all costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants:<\/p>\n

\u2013 EUR 25,000 (twenty five thousand euros) jointly to Nihari Sevim, Harun Sevim and Bi\u015far Sevim;<\/p>\n

\u2013 EUR 30,000 (thirty thousand euros) jointly to Han\u0131m Utan\u00e7, H\u00fcsn\u00fc Utan\u00e7, Ramazan Utan\u00e7 and K\u0131yaseddin Utan\u00e7;<\/p>\n

\u2013 EUR 30,000 (thirty thousand euros) jointly to Hezar Caner, Hayat Caner, Haci\u00a0Caner, Mehmet Caner, Lale \u0130\u015flek, Fatma Caner, \u00d6mer Caner and Ali Caner; and<\/p>\n

\u2013 EUR 30,000 (thirty thousand euros) jointly to Safiye K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7 and Hekima K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7.<\/p>\n

These sums will be converted into Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court to strike the case out of its list of cases. In the event of failure to pay these sums within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on them, from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.<\/p>\n

The Government considers in the present case, the investigation conducted into the deaths of the applicants\u2019 four relatives did not meet the standards enshrined in Article\u00a02 of the Convention. The Government undertakes to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the obligation to carry out effective investigations is respected in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0By a letter of 15 May 2018, the applicants indicated that they were not satisfied with the terms of the unilateral declaration on the ground that their application concerned very serious human right violations and, as such, respect for human rights and justice required the Court to continue the examination of the merits of their allegations.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0\u00a0The Court reiterates that Article\u00a037 of the Convention provides that it may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike an application out of its list of cases where the circumstances lead to one of the conclusions specified, under (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph 1 of that Article. Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c) enables the Court in particular to strike a case out of its list if:<\/p>\n

\u201cfor any other reason established by the Court, it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application\u201d.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0\u00a0It also reiterates that in certain circumstances, it may strike out an application under Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c) on the basis of a unilateral declaration by a respondent Government even if the applicants wish the examination of the case to be continued.<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0\u00a0To this end, the Court has examined the declarationin the light of the principles emerging from its case-law, in particular the Tahsin Acar judgment (Tahsin Acar v. Turkey (preliminary objections) [GC], no.\u00a026307\/95, \u00a7\u00a7 75-77, ECHR 2003-VI; see also Jeronovi\u010ds v. Latvia [GC], no. 44898\/10, 5 July 2016).<\/p>\n

13.\u00a0\u00a0The Court has reiterated in a number of cases, including in cases brought against Turkey, the obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to carry out an effective investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force (see, inter alia, Mustafa Tun\u00e7 and Fecire Tun\u00e7v.\u00a0Turkey [GC], no. 24014\/05, \u00a7 169, 14 April 2015 and the case cited therein; see also Gasyak and Others v. Turkey, no. 27872\/03, \u00a7\u00a7 77-81, 13\u00a0October 2009). In a number of its judgments the Court has also held that an excessive delay in an investigation or in a trial in itself render that investigation or trial ineffective for the purposes of Article 2 of the Convention (see Cerf v. Turkey, no. 12938\/07, \u00a7\u00a7 80-81, 3 May 2016 and \u0130ncin v. Turkey, no. 3534\/06<\/a>, \u00a7\u00a7 31-32, 9 January 2018).<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0\u00a0Having regard to the nature of the admissions contained in the Government\u2019s declaration, as well as the amounts of compensation proposed \u2013 which are consistent with the amounts awarded in similar cases \u2013\u00a0the Court considers that it is no longer justified to continue the examination of the application (Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c)). The Court stresses that its decision is without prejudice to the possibility for the applicants to exercise any other available remedies in order to obtain redress (see\u00a0Jeronovi\u010ds v. Latvia (dec.), no. 547\/02, \u00a7 54, 10 February 2009, and, mutatis mutandis, Jeronovi\u010ds, cited above, \u00a7\u00a7 116-118). \u00a0In this connection the Court notes that the trial concerning the deaths of the applicants\u2019 relatives is still open (see paragraph 5 above).<\/p>\n

15.\u00a0\u00a0In the light of the foregoing, and in particular given the clear and extensive case-law on the topic, the Court is satisfied that respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto does not require it to continue the examination of the application (Article 37\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01 in\u00a0fine).<\/p>\n

16.\u00a0\u00a0Finally, the Court emphasises that, should the Government fail to comply with the terms of their unilateral declaration, the application could be restored to the list in accordance with Article\u00a037 \u00a7 2 of the Convention (Josipovi\u0107 v. Serbia (dec.), no. 18369\/07, 4\u00a0March 2008).<\/p>\n

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,<\/p>\n

Takes note of the terms of the respondent Government\u2019s declaration under Article 2 of the Convention and of the modalities for ensuring compliance with the undertakings referred to therein;<\/p>\n

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article\u00a037\u00a0\u00a7\u00a01\u00a0(c) of the Convention.<\/p>\n

Done in English and notified in writing on 24 January 2019.<\/p>\n

Hasan Bak\u0131rc\u0131\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ledi Bianku
\nDeputy Registrar\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 President<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Appendix<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
No.<\/strong><\/td>\nFirstname LASTNAME<\/strong><\/td>\nBirth year<\/strong><\/td>\nNationality<\/strong><\/td>\nPlace of residence<\/strong><\/td>\nRepresentative<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nNihari SEV\u0130M<\/td>\n1930<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHarun SEV\u0130M<\/td>\n1974<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nBi\u015far SEV\u0130M<\/td>\n1969<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHan\u0131m UTAN\u00c7<\/td>\n1956<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nH\u00fcsn\u00fc UTAN\u00c7<\/td>\n1981<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nRamazan UTAN\u00c7<\/td>\n1988<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nK\u0131yaseddin UTAN\u00c7<\/td>\n1985<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHezar CANER<\/td>\n1960<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHayat CANER<\/td>\n1990<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHaci CANER<\/td>\n1988<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nMehmet CANER<\/td>\n1987<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nLale \u0130\u015eLEK<\/td>\n1978<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nFatma CANER<\/td>\n1975<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00d6mer CANER<\/td>\n1980<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nAli CANER<\/td>\n1982<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nSafiye KILI\u00c7<\/td>\n1949<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nHekima KILI\u00c7<\/td>\n1984<\/td>\nTurkish<\/td>\n\u015e\u0131rnak<\/td>\nM.N. Girasun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n