5.  The applicants were born in 1962 and 1951 respectively and live in Lunga and Corjova, in the Transdniestrian region of Moldova.
6.  The background to the case, including the Transdniestrian armed conflict of 1991-1992 and the subsequent events, is set out in Ilaşcu and Others v. Moldova and Russia ([GC], no. 48787/99, §§ 28-185, ECHR 2004‑VII), and in Catan and Others v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia ([GC], nos. 43370/04, 8252/05 and 18454/06, §§ 8-42, ECHR 2012).
7.  The present case concerns the confiscation and/or fining of the applicants for their failure to observe customs rules imposed by the authorities of the self-proclaimed “Moldavian Republic of Transdniestria” (the “MRT”).
8.  Both applicants used cars registered with the authorities of the Republic of Moldova and had Moldovan registration plates. Like many other inhabitants of the “MRT”, the applicants refused to use registration plates issued by the “MRT” authorities, which are not recognised by any country and which means that cars registered with them cannot leave the territory of Moldova. In November 2004, the “MRT” authorities adopted new rules, according to which any car with non-MRT registration plates could only enter the territory of the “MRT” after the payment of customs duties for temporary entry into the “MRT”. Failure to observe the new rules was punished with a fine which could be as high as the full value of the car.
9.  On 27 January 2005 the applicant was driving a car (the first car) from his village to the right bank of the Dniester river when he was stopped by a customs officer of the “MRT”, who seized his car on the grounds that such a car with Moldovan plates had not been registered with the “MRT” customs authorities and no customs duties had been paid for its temporary use on the territory of the “MRT”. By a decision of 9 February 2005 by the chief of the Dubasari (“MRT”) customs office, the applicant was ordered to pay a fine of 2,725 Transdniestrian roubles, equal to twenty percent of the value of the car, in order to be able to recover it.
10.  On an unspecified date, the applicant borrowed a car from a friend (the second car), which also had Moldovan number plates, and registered it with the “MRT” customs authorities by paying customs duties. The registration was due to expire on 30 August 2005. On the day of the expiry, since the applicant was ill, he sent his son to prolong the car’s registration period with the “MRT” customs authorities. However, registration of the car was refused on the grounds that the applicant had to be present in person. The applicant went the next day, only to have his car seized for failure to register it within the allocated time-limit. By a decision of 12 October 2005 of the Dubasari customs office the applicant was ordered to pay 4,275 Transdniestrian roubles, an amount which was equal to fifty percent of the value of the car, in order to be able to recover it.
11.  The applicant challenged the decision of 9 February 2005 before the courts of the “MRT” and argued, inter alia, that he had been going through the customs check-point since 2002 and that nobody had informed him about the need to pay any customs duties. Moreover, the last time he had crossed the customs check-point had only been two days prior to the confiscation of his car.
12.  By a decision of 8 December 2005 the Dubasari district court rejected the first applicant’s challenge to the decision of the Dubasari customs office of 9 February 2005 concerning his first car. As a result, the applicant decided not to challenge the decision of 12 October 2005 in the “MRT” courts.
13.  The applicant also complained to the Moldovan authorities, which initiated criminal proceedings in respect of the unlawful seizure of his car. According to the materials submitted by the Moldovan Government, the criminal investigation was suspended on 14 December 2009 because the perpetrators could not be identified.
14.  It appears from the case file that the applicant never recovered his cars from the “MRT” authorities.
15.  The applicant had his car seized on 28 February 2007 on the grounds that he had failed to leave the territory of Transdniestria before the registration with the “MRT” customs authorities had expired. He was obliged to pay the equivalent of some 30 euros (EUR) in order to be able to recover his car. The applicant paid the money and had his car returned on 30 March 2007. He did not contest the decision of the “MRT” customs authorities before the “MRT” courts.
16.  The applicant also complained to the authorities of Moldova. It appears that on 6 March 2007 the Dubasari chief police officer addressed a letter to the co-chair of the Joint Control Commission (“the JCC”) (see paragraph 18 below), informing him about the incident of 28 February 2007, and that the Moldovan initiative to examine the matter of the second applicant’s car had been ignored by the other members of the JCC, including the Russian representative.
17.  In a letter dated 13 March 2007, the Reintegration Minister of the Republic of Moldova informed the second applicant about the refusal of the Transdniestrian and Russian members of the JCC, to examine the incident relating to the seizure of his car. The second applicant was also informed that the Ministry of Reintegration had brought the applicant’s case to the attention of the United States, European Union and Ukrainian ambassadors to Chisinau. A general issue concerning respect for human rights in Transdniestria was raised by the Moldovan representative to the OSCE on 8 March 2007.
18.  In a letter dated 7 March 2007, the applicant was informed by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova that it did not have the necessary means to solve the problem of the seizure of his car by the “MRT” authorities.
19.  On 21 July 1992 the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova signed an agreement in Moscow to put an end to the military conflict in the Transdniestrian region of Moldova. Under the agreement, a security zone was created between the conflicting parties and a Joint Control Commission was set up to monitor the implementation of the agreement in the security zone. The JCC is composed of representatives of Russia, the Republic of Moldova and the self-proclaimed Republic of Transdniestria. Any decisions made by the JCC must have the consent of all the parties (for more details, see Ilaşcu and Others v. Moldova and Russia [GC], no. 48787/99, §§ 87-91, ECHR 2004‑VII).
20.  In Catan and Others v. the Republic of Moldova and Russia ([GC], nos. 43370/04, 8252/05 and 18454/06, §§ 64-73, ECHR 2012 (extracts)) the Court summarised the content of various reports by intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations concerning the situation in the Transdniestrian region of Moldova and the Russian military personnel and equipment stationed there between 2003 and 2009. It also summarised the relevant provisions of international law (ibid., §§ 74-76).