PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 7755/05) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court on 3 February 2005 under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by three Turkish nationals, Mr Okay Serçinoğlu, Mr Oktay Serçinoğlu and Mr Ahmet Oğuz Serçinoğlu (“the applicants”), born in 1958, 1956 and 1940 respectively. By a faxed letter of 20 May 2008, the Registry was informed of the death of Ahmet Oğuz Serçinoğlu. His second wife and five children (Dilek Serçinoğlu, Vedide Deveci, Orhan Nazif Serçinoğlu, Orhun Serçinoğlu, Ülkü Serçin Serçinoğlu and Tevfik Savaş Serçinoğlu) declared their intention to pursue the application. For practical reasons, Ahmet Oğuz Serçinoğlu will continue to be referred to as an applicant in this judgment, although his family is now to be regarded as such (see Ahmet Sadık v. Greece, 15 November 1996, § 3, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996‑V).

Mr Okay Serçinoğlu represented the applicants. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

On 10 September 2008 the President of the Second Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to rule on the admissibility and merits of the application at the same time (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

On 23 February 1979 thirty-five individuals, including the applicants' father, instituted proceedings before the Söke Land Registry Court, claiming shares in a plot of land that measured approximately 30,000,000 square metres in total. They objected to the registration of the land in question under the name of the local village during the land survey works carried out in the region in 1974 and 1979. On 5 December 1985 the domestic court dismissed their claim. On 30 June 1987 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment.

On an unspecified date the case was transferred to the Söke Land Registry Court, which issued its judgment on 11 July 1991. Both parties appealed. On 29 November 1993 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment.

On 9 October 2002 the Söke Land Registry Court issued its decision, in line with the former one. Following the death of their father, the applicants, as his heirs, appealed to the Court of Cassation on 31 March 2003.

On 18 June 2007 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment. On 7 March 2008 the applicants requested rectification. According to the information in the case file, as submitted by the parties, the case is still pending before domestic courts.