ECHR judgment of 09 July 2019 in the case of Olkhovskiy v. Russia (application No. 53716/17).
The case has successfully examined the application that the applicant, who was a bona fide purchaser of the apartment, was deprived of his property due to the fact that the person who sold him the apartment did not have rights to it, which was established only after the applicant’s ownership of the apartment was registered by authorized authorities. The case has violated Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (right to protection of property).
In 2017, the applicant was assisted in preparing the application. Subsequently, the application was communicated to the Russian Federation.
In his application, the applicant, who was a bona fide purchaser of the apartment, complained that he was deprived of his property due to the fact that the person who sold him the apartment did not have rights to it. This fact was established only after the applicant’s ownership of the apartment was registered by the authorized authorities.
On July 9, 2019, on an application filed by the applicant, the Court unanimously ruled that in the present case the Government violated the requirements of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention (the right to protection of property) and ordered the respondent Government to pay the applicant EUR 2,600 in as compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The European Court also ruled that the authorities of the Russian Federation are obliged to ensure the full return to the applicant of his ownership of his share in the apartment within three months; if this is not possible, they should provide the applicant with the right to own equivalent property.