4.  The applicants were born in 1960 and 1959 respectively and live in Vilnius.
5.  In 1991 the applicants’ grandfather, P.S., applied for restoration of his property rights to land which had been nationalised by the Soviet regime. In 1994 the administrative authorities acknowledged that P.S. had the right to have his property rights restored.
6.  On 28 September 2004 the Vilnius County Administration (hereinafter “the VCA”) restored P.S.’s property rights by giving him 8.17 hectares of land, consisting of several plots in Kryžiokai and Naujaneriai, areas in the Vilnius city municipality.
7.  On 25 May 2005 P.S. sold a plot of 0.50 hectares out of the 8.17 hectares given to him to S.M. On 30 June 2005 P.S. sold a plot of 1.27 hectares to Ž.J. Both sale agreements were certified by a notary.
8.  On 26 July 2005 P.S. died. The applicants were issued with a certificate of inheritance in respect of his estate on 21 December 2005.
9.  On 28 July 2008 the prosecutor of the Vilnius Region (hereinafter “the prosecutor”) lodged a claim with the Vilnius Regional Court, seeking to have P.S.’s property rights to 2.50 of the 8.17 hectares given to him annulled. The prosecutor submitted that 2.50 hectares of the plot was covered by forest. Since that forest was situated in a city, it was considered a forest of national importance 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). In view of the circumstances, the VCA’s decision had to be declared unlawful and its effects annulled. The prosecutor asked that after annulling P.S.’s property rights to that part of the land, the applicants’ property rights to it also be annulled.
10.  The applicants and the VCA disputed the prosecutor’s claim. However, on 21 October 2009 the Vilnius Regional Court allowed it. On 24 May 2010 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicants, and on 10 December 2010 the Supreme Court dismissed their appeal on points of law, upholding the lower courts’ decisions in their entirety.
11.  On 15 December 2008 the prosecutor lodged a further claim with the Vilnius Regional Court, seeking to have P.S.’s property rights to 0.15 hectares of the 8.17 hectares given to him annulled, on the grounds that it was covered by a forest of national importance, as well as to have the applicants’ property rights to that part of the plot annulled. Since the 0.15 hectares had been sold to S.M. (see paragraph 7 above), the prosecutor asked that after annulling P.S.’s property rights, the sale agreement between him and S.M. be annulled in respect of that part of the land.
12.  The applicants disputed the prosecutor’s claim. However, on 10 December 2009 the Vilnius Regional Court allowed it. The court annulled P.S.’s property rights to the 0.15 hectares, as well as the sale agreement between P.S. and S.M. with respect to that amount of land. It stated that the applicants, as P.S.’s heirs, had to take over his legal obligations, and ordered them to return to S.M. what he had paid for the 0.15 hectares – 49,500 Lithuanian litai (LTL, approximately 14,340 euros (EUR)).
13.  On 23 September 2010 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicants, and on 11 April 2011 the Supreme Court dismissed their appeal on points of law, upholding the lower courts’ decisions in their entirety.
14.  The Court has not been informed whether the applicants have paid the amount of LTL 49,500 (approximately EUR 14,340) to S.M.
15.  On 14 November 2008 the prosecutor lodged yet another claim with the Vilnius Regional Court, seeking to have P.S.’s property rights to 0.87 hectares of the 8.17 hectares given to him annulled, on the grounds that it was covered by a forest of national importance, as well as to have the applicants’ property rights to that part of the plot annulled. Since the 0.87 hectares had been sold to Ž.J. (see paragraph 7 above), the prosecutor asked that after annulling P.S.’s property rights, the sale agreement between him and Ž.J. be annulled in respect of that part of the land.
16.  The applicants disputed the prosecutor’s claim, but on 8 March 2010 the Vilnius Regional Court allowed it. The court annulled the VCA’s decision to restore P.S.’s property rights in the part concerning the 0.87 hectares, as well as the sale agreement between P.S. and Ž.J. in respect of that amount of land. It ordered the applicants, as P.S.’s heirs, to return to Ž.J. what she had paid for the 0.87 hectares – LTL 188,730 (approximately EUR 54,660).
17.  The applicants appealed against the first-instance court’s decision, but on 12 July 2011 the Court of Appeal upheld it in its entirety. The applicants then lodged an appeal on points of law, but on 19 September 2011 the Supreme Court refused to examine it on the basis that it raised no important legal issues.
18.  On 22 August 2013 the applicants paid to Ž.J. the amount of LTL 188,730 (approximately EUR 54,660), as well as LTL 6,440 (approximately EUR 1,865) in bailiff’s expenses.
19.  On 23 February 2012 the applicants received a letter from the National Land Service (the institution which took over the relevant functions of the VCA after an administrative reform – hereinafter “the NLS”) confirming that, after the courts had annulled P.S.’s property rights to 3.52 hectares of land, he 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. It is unclear whether the applicants replied to this letter.
20.  On 24 July 2012 the applicants received another letter from the NLS which stated that there was a possibility for the applicants to receive a plot of land for the construction of an individual home in the Vilnius city area, but as there were 4,806 other candidates waiting to receive plots in the area, the restitution process would take a long time. The applicants were asked to consider an alternative form 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.). They were also informed that there remained about 0.10 hectares of vacant land in Kryžiokai, so if they wished to receive a plot in that area, their request would be considered when the land plan was being prepared.
21.  On 21 August 2012 the applicants sent a letter to the NLS. They submitted that the annulment of their property rights to 3.52 hectares of land had caused them pecuniary damage in the amount of LTL 627,630 (approximately EUR 181,770), consisting of the value of the 2.50 hectares of land which had been taken away from them (see paragraph 9 above), according to a private assessment, as well as the amounts which the applicants had been ordered to pay to S.M. and Ž.J. (see paragraphs 12 and 16 above). In the applicants’ view, being put on the list with 4,806 other candidates and being made to wait for an undetermined period of time for restitution was unacceptable. The applicants asked to be allocated a plot of land for the construction of an individual home in Vilnius in the order of priority, and if that was not possible, to be informed how many plots were available in Vilnius and when they might expect to receive one. They also stated that they would agree to receive a plot of land in Kryžiokai but would first want to know its exact location. The applicants stated that they did not wish to choose any other form of restitution.
22.  On 14 December 2012 the NLS approved the list of candidates to receive plots of land in several areas around Vilnius, including Kryžiokai. The applicants were included in that list as candidates to receive 3.52 hectares of land. On 31 December 2012 the NLS held a meeting at which candidates were offered plots in the relevant areas. The applicants took part in that meeting and chose four plots, measuring a total of 0.8035 hectares. As regards the remaining land, they stated that they would wait for the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in their case.
However, as it appears from the information at the Court’s possession, those four plots were eventually not given to the applicants, for reasons not provided to the Court.
23.  On 21 August 2014 the NLS adopted a land plan of the aforementioned areas around Vilnius, as well as the list of individuals who would be allocated plots in those areas. The applicants were included in the list and were entitled to receive two plots of land, measuring a total of 0.203 hectares. The applicants later submitted to the Court that those two plots included installations and buildings belonging to third parties.
24.  On 21 April 2015 the applicants sent a letter to the NLS, asking it to temporarily suspend the planning of the two aforementioned plots “while court proceedings [were] ongoing” (kol vyksta teismai). The Government submitted that the applicants’ letter must have been referring to the proceedings before the Court, as no relevant domestic proceedings had been ongoing at that time.
25.  On 25 May 2016 the applicants took part in another candidates’ meeting and chose three plots, measuring a total of 0.23 hectares. It does not appear that they were offered any more plots at that meeting.
26.  In another candidates’ meeting held on 10 July 2018 the applicants were offered a plot of 0.1239 hectares in joint ownership with a third party, but they refused it on the grounds that such joint ownership would not be financially beneficial to them.
27.  On 11 October 2018 the NLS adopted a decision to restore P.S.’s property rights by giving him 0.23 hectares of land. The decision stated that his rights to the remaining 3.29 hectares would be restored at a later date.
28.  At the date of the latest information provided to the Court (15 October 2018), the applicants’ property rights to 3.29 hectares of land had still not been restored.