CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 1 février 2001

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sD4B5322E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s97EB40D9 { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s8B6C6D43 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law 27 February 2001 Ayuntamiento de Mula v. Spain (dec.) - 55346/00 Decision 1.2.2001 [Section IV] Article 34 Non-governmental organisation Application brought by town council: inadmissible The applicant, a municipality, complained of a Supreme Court judgment granting a private individual ownership rights over a property which allegedly belonged to the municipality itself. Inadmissible under Article 6 § 1: Local authorities had consistently been regarded by the Convention institutions as public-law bodies performing tasks entrusted to them by the Constitution or by statute. As such, they were “governmental organisations”, a term used to designate any national authority – whether central or decentralised – that discharged public duties. Nor could a municipality be treated as a person or a group of individuals. Such an interpretation would be incompatible with the distinction drawn in Article 34 between non-governmental organisations and persons or groups of individuals. Lastly, the fact that municipalities, like natural persons or non-governmental organisations, were entitled to take part in court proceedings to protect their property rights was not a sufficient reason to afford them equivalent treatment where Article 34 was concerned: inadmissible ratione personae .   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes