7.  The first applicant was born in 1937, the second applicant was born in 1930, the third applicant was born in 1934, the fourth applicant was born in 1945, the fifth applicant was born in 1930, the sixth applicant was born in 1954, the seventh applicant was born in 1926 and the eighth applicant was born in 1929. They all live in Vilnius.
8.  On various dates in 1991 the first, second, third, sixth, seventh and eighth applicants applied for restoration of their property rights to land which had been nationalised by the Soviet regime. The fourth and fifth applicants did so in 2000.
9.  Between 1995 and 2001 the administrative authorities or courts acknowledged that the first, second and third applicants had the right to have their property rights restored in respect of plots of land in Gudeliai, and that the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth applicants had the right to have their property rights restored in respect of plots of land in Kriaučiūnai. Gudeliai and Kriaučiūnai were former villages which had become part of the Vilnius city municipality in 1996.
10.  In 2005 and 2006 the Vilnius County Administration (hereinafter “the VCA”) restored the applicants’ property rights by giving them the following plots:
- the first, second and third applicants – a total of ten hectares in Gudeliai;
- the fourth and fifth applicants – a total of two hectares in Kriaučiūnai;
- the sixth and seventh applicants – a total of 8.149 hectares in Kriaučiūnai;
- the eighth applicant – 4.6663 hectares in Kriaučiūnai.
11.  On various dates in 2008 the prosecutor of the Vilnius Region (hereinafter “the prosecutor”) lodged claims with the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, seeking to have the applicants’ property rights to some of the land given to them annulled. The prosecutor submitted that part of the applicants’ land was covered by forests. Since those forests were situated in a city, they were considered forests of national importance (valstybinės reikšmės miškai) and could therefore only be owned by the State (see the relevant domestic law cited in Beinarovič and Others v. Lithuania, nos. 70520/10 and 2 others, §§ 86-89, 12 June 2018). As a result, the prosecutor argued that the VCA’s decisions restoring the applicants’ property rights to such forests had to be declared unlawful and their effects annulled.
12.  In all of the applicants’ cases, the courts upheld the prosecutor’s claims. The final decisions were taken by the Supreme Administrative Court between January and March 2010. By virtue of those decisions, the applicants’ property rights were annulled with respect to the following plots:
- the first, second and third applicants – 3.66 hectares;
- the fourth and fifth applicants – 0.52 hectares;
- the sixth and seventh applicants – 1.22 hectares;
- the eighth applicant – 1.2 hectares.
13.  In 2010 and 2011 the fourth and fifth applicants sent several letters to the VCA and subsequently to the National Land Service (the institution which took over the relevant functions of the VCA after an administrative reform – hereinafter “the NLS”), asking that their rights to 0.52 hectares be restored by new land in Kriaučiūnai being given to them or, if that was not possible, land of equivalent value in a different area in Vilnius. It does not appear that they received any answers from those institutions.
14.  On 9 November 2011 the NLS adopted a decision to restore the seventh applicant’s property rights by giving her 0.251 hectares of agricultural land. The decision stated that her rights to the remaining 0.78 hectares would be restored later. However, the seventh applicant submitted to the Court that that decision had not been related to her property rights annulled by the domestic courts (see paragraph 12 above), and the Government did not argue otherwise.
15.  In February 2012 all the applicants received letters from the NLS confirming that, after the courts had annulled their property rights, they had retained the right to have those property rights restored. The applicants were informed of the forms of restitution provided for by the domestic law (ibid., § 92) and asked to inform the authorities of their preferred form of restitution. The applicants again received similar letters from the NLS in July 2012 stating that there were 4,806 other candidates waiting to receive plots for the construction of an individual home in the Vilnius city area, and thus the restitution process would take a long time. The applicants were asked to consider alternative forms of restitution, such as being given a plot of land in a rural area, a plot of land for the construction of an individual home in a different city, or monetary compensation (ibid.).
16.  On 25 May 2012 the NLS adopted a decision to restore the eighth applicant’s property rights by giving her 0.4419 hectares of agricultural land. The decision stated that her rights to the remaining 0.7581 hectares would be restored later.
17.  In July 2012 the fourth applicant received a letter from the NLS informing her that a plot of land was being prepared for her in Medininkai, in the Vilnius Region. The fourth applicant replied to that letter by stating that she had never agreed to be given land in that area, and asked the NLS to stop any preparation in that regard.
18.  In August 2012 all the applicants sent letters to the NLS in which they asked, inter alia, to be allocated plots of land for the construction of individual homes in Vilnius in the order of priority, or to receive compensation in respect of the pecuniary damage which they had sustained as a result of the annulment of their property rights.
19.  On 26 May 2016 the NLS held a meeting for candidates to receive plots of land in certain areas around Vilnius, including Kriaučiūnai. The eighth applicant’s representative took part in that meeting and chose two plots. The fifth applicant took part in that meeting but did not choose any plots.
20.  On 3 June 2016 the NLS adopted a decision to restore the eighth applicant’s property rights by giving her 0.24 hectares of agricultural land. The decision stated that her rights to the remaining 0.5181 hectares would be restored later.
21.  On 17 June 2016 the NLS informed the first, second and third applicants (or their heirs – see paragraphs 5 and 6 above) that their property rights to 3.66 hectares would be restored by monetary compensation of 2,646 euros (EUR). However, the applicants did not agree to this proposal, and it was not carried out.
22.  In February 2017 the NLS sent a letter to the seventh applicant, asking her to indicate the area in which she wished to receive a plot. The seventh applicant’s heir (see paragraph 3 above) replied that same month, indicating her choice.
23.  On 29 November and 14 December 2017 the NLS held meetings for candidates to receive plots of land in certain areas around Vilnius, including Kriaučiūnai. The fifth, sixth and eighth applicants took part in those meetings but did not choose any plots. During the latter meeting, the fifth applicant stated that she would not choose any plots because her complaint was being examined by the European Court of Human Rights.
24.  On 9 January 2018 the NLS held a meeting for candidates to receive plots of land in certain areas around Vilnius, including Kriaučiūnai. The seventh applicant’s heir (see paragraph 3 above) took part in that meeting but did not choose any plots.
25.  In January 2018 the first, second and third applicants (or their heirs – see paragraphs 5 and 6 above) sent a letter to the NLS stating that they had expressed their wish for their property rights to be restored in kind and not by monetary compensation. They informed the NLS that their complaint was being examined by the European Court of Human Rights, and that the NLS should refrain from any unilateral actions which might make the Court’s decision impossible to implement.
26.  At the date of the latest information provided to the Court (12 October 2018), the applicants’ property rights had still not been restored with respect to the following plots:
- the first, second and third applicants – 3.66 hectares;
- the fourth and fifth applicants – 0.52 hectares;
- the sixth and seventh applicants – 1.22 hectares;
- the eighth applicant – 0.5181 hectares.