Alif Ahmadov and others v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 22619/14). [4 May 2023]

 

 

Judicial decisions ordered the applicants to vacate their houses and demolish them at their own expense because they were built on public property that was assigned to an oil extraction company. The applicants did not prove to the domestic courts that they had a legal title to the property or that they had become owners of the property by way of an extraordinary usufruct. They brought a complaint alleging a violation of the right to property and the right to respect for the home.

With regard to the right to property, the ECtHR found that the applicants had not provided the national courts with evidence establishing the legal title to their homes. It found that the applicants’ property status was not sufficiently documented and strong to amount to “possession” within the meaning of Article 1 of the First Additional Protocol. It therefore dismissed the application as inadmissible on this point.

 

As regards the right to respect for the domicile, the ECtHR found that the domestic courts focused solely on the fact that the applicants had no legal title and did not consider the fact that they would be living on the street. The majority of the ECtHR held that there would be a violation of Article 8 ECHR if the eviction order was executed without the national courts having carried out an adequate proportionality test in the light of the applicants’ personal circumstances, and held that the recognition of the violation constituted in itself just satisfaction.