PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 29059/02) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Turkish national, Mr Abdülkerim Ağrakçe (“the applicant”), on 10 May 2002.

The applicant was represented by Mr Ö. Öneren, a lawyer practising in Ankara. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

On 5 November 2007 the President of the Second Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Diyarbakır.

On 16 September 1980 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody for his suspected involvement in terrorist activities. Subsequently, he was remanded in custody until 6 April 1984, when, in the course of the criminal proceedings brought against him, he was released. On 15 May 1990 he was acquitted of all charges. The applicant submits that since this decision was not duly notified to him, he learned of his acquittal only in 1996.

On 24 May 1996 the applicant applied to the Diyarbakır Assize Court, seeking compensation pursuant to Law no. 466. That Law provides, inter alia, for an award of damages to any person who has been unlawfully deprived of his or her liberty, or who, after being lawfully detained, was not subsequently committed for trial or was acquitted after standing trial. The applicant claimed 20,000,000,000 Turkish liras (TRL) (approximately 256,706 US Dollars) for non‑pecuniary damage.

On 27 February 1998 the first-instance court awarded a certain amount of compensation. The Court of Cassation quashed that ruling on 30 December 1998 and remitted the file to the Diyarbakır Assize Court for a more comprehensive examination.

On 16 June 1999 the assize court dismissed the case on the ground that the applicant had failed to respect the statutory time-limit. This judgment was also quashed by the Court of Cassation on 2 May 2000.

On 4 October 2000 the first-instance court handed down its third ruling where it awarded a certain amount of compensation. On 27 March 2001 the Court of Cassation quashed this judgment on the ground that the amount awarded was too low.

On 6 September 2001 the assize court awarded the applicant TRL 3,000,000,000 (approximately EUR 2,400) in respect of non-pecuniary damage.

On 5 March 2002 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the first-instance court.

In the course of the proceedings the assize court held investigatory sittings on a regular basis. Only on four occasions did it decide to notify the applicant’s lawyer of the date of its next session (30 April 1997, 10 February 1999, 1 June 2000 and 6 June 2001). However, no session was postponed on account of the applicant’s lawyer’s failure to attend.