CASE OF SIERPINSKI v. POLAND

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF SIERPIŃSKI v. POLAND

(Application no. 38016/07)

JUDGMENT

(Merits)

STRASBOURG

3 November 2009

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Sierpiński v. Poland,

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:

Nicolas Bratza, President,

Lech Garlicki,

Ljiljana Mijović,

David Thór Björgvinsson,

Ján Šikuta,

Päivi Hirvelä,

Mihai Poalelungi, judges,

and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 13 October 2009,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in an application (no. 38016/07) against the Republic of Poland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") by a Polish national, Mr Wojciech Sierpiński ("the applicant"), on 21 August 2007.

2. The applicant, who had been granted legal aid, was represented by Ms M. Gąsiorowska, a lawyer practising in Warszawa. The Polish Government ("the Government") were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Wołąsiewicz of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. The applicant alleged, in particular, that he was deprived of a fair trial on account of the Supreme Court's refusal to examine his cassation complaint (Article 6); he also complained about the alleged breach of his property rights (Article 1 of Protocol No. 1).

4. On 11 December 2007 the Court decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

5. The applicant, but not the Government, filed observations on the admissibility and merits of the application (Rule 59 § 1).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

1. Background to the case

6. The applicant was born in 1933 and lives in Warszawa.

7. The applicant's family owned a plot of land situated in Warsaw. The applicant is the heir of the owners of that property.

8. By virtue of the Decree of 26 October 1945 on the Ownership and Use of Land in Warsaw ("the 1945 Decree") the ownership of all private land was transferred to the City of Warsaw.

9. The applicant's predecessors requested to be granted the right of temporary ownership (własność czasowa) of the plot of land pursuant to section 7 of the 1945 Decree. On 27 December 1966 the Board of the Warsaw National Counci...

If you are already a vLex customer, Access Here