European Court of Human Rights

FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

PILOT-JUDGMENT PROCEDURE

Application no. 319/05
by Krystyna SAMUJŁO
against Poland

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 23 September 2008 as a Chamber composed of:

Nicolas Bratza, President,
Lech Garlicki,
Giovanni Bonello,
Ljiljana Mijović,
David Thór Björgvinsson,
Ján Šikuta,
Päivi Hirvelä, judges,
and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 5 December 2004,

Having regard to the decision to apply the pilot-judgment procedure and to adjourn its consideration of applications deriving from the same systemic problem identified in the case of Broniowski v. Poland (no. 31443/96),

Having regard to the decisions to strike the applications Wolkenberg and Others v. Poland (no. 50003/99) and Witkowska-Toboła v. Poland (no. 11208/02) out of the Court's list of cases,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, Ms Krystyna Samujło, is a Polish national who was born in 1930 and lives in Szczecin.

A.  Historical background to Bug River cases before the Court

(See E.G. v. Poland, no. 50425/99, §§ 2-5).

B. Particular circumstances of case no. 319/05

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

On 19 July 1978 the Szczecin District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) gave a decision declaring that the applicant had acquired her late parents' estate.

On 26 March 2001 the applicant lodged a claim for compensation for the Bug River property against the State Treasury. The applicant sought compensation for the original property. The action was unsuccessful.

The applicant's subsequent attempts to acquire State property were unsuccessful. The only possibility of enforcing the claim was to participate in competitive bids for the sale of State property. However, the State authorities throughout Poland officially acknowledged the acute shortage of State-owned land designated for the realisation of the Bug River claims.

This fact and the fact that at the material time it was the authorities' common practice to desist from organising auctions for Bug River claimants or to openly deny them the opportunity to enforce their entitlement through the statutory bidding procedure was established by the Court in the Broniowski judgment (see Broniowski, cited above, §§ 48-61, 69-87 and 168-176).

On 8 May 2006 the Zachodniopomorski Governor (Wojewoda) issued a decision. He refused to confirm that the applicant had the right to compensation for the property abandoned by her parents. On 24 June 2006 the Ministry of Treasure upheld this decision. On 17 January 2007 the Regional Administrative Court (Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny) dismissed the applicant's complaint. The applicant failed to inform the Court whether she had lodged an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny).

C.  Relevant domestic law and practice in respect of Bug River claims

(See E.G. v. Poland, no. 50425/99, §§ 16-17).

COMPLAINT

(See E.G. v. Poland, no. 50425/99, § 18).

THE LAW

(See E.G. v. Poland, no. 50425/99, §§ 19-29).

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Lawrence Early Nicolas Bratza
Registrar President