CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 12 décembre 2007

.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 } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sADADF4A7 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   912 12.12.2007   Press release issued by the Registrar   Bug River Cases Resolved     The European Court of Human Rights struck out 40 Polish cases yesterday, finding that Poland has successfully put in place an effective compensation scheme available to the nearly 80,000 people forced to abandon their properties between 1944 and 1953 in the eastern provinces of pre-war Poland, the so-called “Bug River” cases ( sprawy zabużańskie ).   On 4 December 2007 in its decisions in the cases Wolkenberg and Others v. Poland , application no. 50003/99 and Witkowska-Tobola v. Poland , no. 11208/02), the Court established that the new Bug River compensation scheme meets the requirement set out in its Grand Chamber judgment in the pilot case Broniowski v. Poland of 22 June 2004. Forty further Bug River cases were struck out yesterday and the Court will consider whether to strike out the remaining cases (about 230) in January 2008. This would mark the end of the Court’s “pilot-judgment procedure” (to deal with systemic problems) in the case. It is the first time this procedure has been adopted.   In its Grand Chamber Broniowski v. Poland judgment, the Court held that Poland was to take steps to ensure Bug River claimants in general were properly compensated as well as finding that there had been a violation of Article   1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on Human Rights in the applicant’s case.   In July 2005 the Polish Government passed a new law setting the ceiling for compensation for Bug River property at 20% of its original value and the Court is now satisfied that the new law and compensation scheme is effective in practice.     ***   Further information about the Court can be found on its Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Press contacts Emma Hellyer (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15) Stéphanie Klein (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Paramy Chanthalangsy (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 54 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.