CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 20 janvier 2005

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s9A223E1B { width:11.03pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s595A57E4 { width:85.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s3CED24E9 { width:27.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s121ECC92 { width:116.25pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   015 20.01.2005   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING ZHIGALEV v. RUSSIA   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Chamber hearing today Thursday 20 January 2005 at 9.00 a.m., on the admissibility and merits in the case of Zhigalev v. Russia (application no. 54891/00).   The applicant   The case concerns an application brought by a Russian national, Vladimir Alexeyevich Zhigalev, who was born in 1949 and lives in Nemcha Village in the Kursk Region of Russia. He is a farmer.     Summary of the facts   Mr Zhigalev set up a farm during the privatisation process which followed the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1992. Kursk Region Bolshesoldatskiy District Council (the local council) issued a resolution under which the farm was allocated 31 ha and was leased a further 315 ha.   The land certificate, issued by the local land authority following the local council’s resolution, allocated 30.9 ha of land as the applicant’s property, and 315   ha as his “lifetime inheritable possession”, referring to the applicant as the sole owner of both plots of land.   On 23 July 1997 the local council declared the land certificate void, as being in breach of the law and the interests of the other five members of the farm. The applicant was successful in challenging that decision before a court. The proceedings ended with a decision finding that the local council did not have authority to annul the land certificate, as the law only allowed this to be done by way of court proceedings.   On 16 February 1999 such proceedings were brought by the public prosecutor, who filed an action for nullity against the land certificate and the council’s original resolution. The applicant tried to contest the public prosecutor’s action on the ground that it was time-barred, but his request was not examined because he had only third party status in the proceedings. The courts quashed the land certificate.   A new land certificate was subsequently issued which divided the land equally between all six farm members.         Complaints   The applicant complains, under Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights, that, as a “third party”, he was unable to have examined by a court his claim that the prosecutor’s action was time-barred, while this was open to the plaintiff and the defendants (the land authority and the local council). He also complains, under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), that land he lawfully owned was taken away from him without compensation.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 28 January 2000.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Christos Rozakis (Greek), President , Loukis Loucaides (Cypriot), Peer Lorenzen (Danish), Nina Vajić (Croatian), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), Anatoli Kovler (Russian), Khanlar Hajiyev (Azerbaijani), judges , Dean Spielmann (Luxemburger), Sverre Erik Jebens (Norwegian), substitute judges , and also Søren Nielsen , Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Pavel Laptev , Representative of the Russian Federation at the Court,   Yury Berestnev , Counsel ,   Mikhail Vinogradov , Adviser ;   Applicant :   Maria Voskobitova, Karinna Moskalenko, Counsel.     The applicant will also attend the hearing.     ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. A decision on admissibility followed if appropriate by a judgment, will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.