The seizure of products by a company and the disappearance of the seized items without payment of damages violates the right to property protection
JUDGMENT
OOO KD-Konsalting v. Russia 29.05.2018 (no. 54184/11)
SUMMARY
Seizure of product as evidence by the authorities. Disappearance of the seized and no compensation. Infringement of Article 1 of the First Protocol regarding the Infringement Property Rights
PROVISION
Article 1 of the First Protocol
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant company, OOO KD-Konsalting, is a limited-liability company based in Moscow.
The case concerned the seizure and retention by the authorities of several tonnes of zinc belonging to the applicant company to serve as evidence in criminal proceedings, and the disappearance of the seized zinc from the depot where it had been stored.
Relying on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), the applicant company complained of interference with its right of property owing to the seizure and retention of its goods, which it alleged had been unjustified, the authorities’ failure to safeguard its storage and the refusal of the domestic courts to compensate it for the alleged damage.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
Just satisfaction: The Court held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant company. It awarded the company EUR 34,000 for pecuniary damage(echrcaselaw.com editing).