EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
444
2.9.2005

Press release issued by the Registrar

European Court of Human Rights – September hearings

The European Court of Human Rights will be holding the following hearings in
September 2005.

Tuesday 20 September 2005

Chamber Hearing on the merits

9 a.m. Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi v.Turkey (no. 34478/97) and
Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi v. Turkey (nos. 50147/99
and 51207/99)

Both applicants are foundations under Turkish law that were established
at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi
was set up to provide educational facilities at the Greek Higher
Secondary School in Fener (Istanbul). Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni
Hastanesi Vakfi is the foundation for the Armenian hospital Surp
Pirgic in Yedikule. The status of both foundations complies with the
provisions of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 affording protection to
foundations that provide public services for religious minorities.

In accordance with Law no. 2762 of 13 June 1935, by virtue of which
they obtained legal personality, the applicant foundations filed a
declaration in 1936 of their aims and of their immovable property.

In 1952 the Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi Foundation received a gift
of part of a building in Istanbul. It purchased another part of the
building in 1958. The Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi
Foundation received gifts of two properties in Istanbul in 1943 and
1967, one in Beyoglu, the other in Kadikoy.

In 1992 the Treasury applied to the Turkish courts for an order
setting aside the applicants’ title to the properties and deleting
their names from the land register. In three judgments (on 7 March
1996 in the case of Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi and on 30 October
1997 and 24 February 1998 in the case of Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni
Hastanesi Vakfi), the Istanbul High Court granted the Treasury’s
applications. Referring to a decision of the Court of Cassation of
8 May 1974, it held that the foundations, whose membership was made
up of religious minorities as defined by the Treaty of Lausanne
and whose constitutive documents did not contain a statement that
they had capacity to acquire immovable property, were precluded
from purchasing or accepting a gift of such property. Accordingly,
their immovable property was restricted to that set out in their
constitutive documents and finalised in the declaration made in 1936,
so that they were precluded from acquiring immovable property.

On appeals on points of law by the applicants, the Court of Cassation
upheld the judgments of the Istanbul High Court in decisions of 9
December 1996, 22 September 1998 and 20 October 1998.

In October 2000 Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi applied to the Foundation
Commissioners for permission to amend its status to permit it to
acquire immovable property. However, its application was turned down.

In both cases, the applicants complain of the orders setting aside
their title to the properties. They argue that the Turkish legislation
as interpreted by the domestic courts deprives foundations established
by religious minorities within the meaning of the Lausanne Treaty of
all capacity to acquire immovable property. In their submission,
that incapacity amounts to discrimination when their position
is compared to that of other foundations. The applicants rely on
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), and Article
14 (prohibition of discrimination) taken together with Article 1 of
Protocol No. 1. Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi further
complains under Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) that it did not
receive a fair hearing in the Turkish courts.

***

Decisions, judgments and further information about the Court can be
found on its Internet site ().

Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Press contacts: Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)
  Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)
  Stephanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54)
Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91
The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council
of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950
European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a
full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States
party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of
applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in
exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s
judgments.
1 Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three
months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in
exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand
Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers
whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or
application of the Convention or its protocols, or a serious issue of
general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final
judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the
request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber
judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if
the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.

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