On 6 June, the Committee ended its supervision of the execution of the ECHR judgment in the case of Hakan Ari, concerning the violation of the applicant’s right to peaceful enjoyment of his property due to the designation of his plot of land for public service in the town planning scheme, without any formal expropriation decision and compensation (“virtual expropriation”). Following the ECHR judgment, the domestic courts changed their practice and necessary legislative amendments were undertaken. In particular, the Plenary of the Court of Cassation in Civil Matters held that virtual expropriation should be considered as de facto expropriation and thus compensation must be paid to landowners concerned. Similar decisions were further adopted by the Supreme Administrative Court. The Constitutional Court also delivered several decisions in cases concerning virtual expropriations, closely following the case-law of the European Court. Moreover, Law no. 2942 on Expropriation was amended, thus making it possible for landowners to request from administrative authorities’ compensation for virtual expropriation.
