Constitutional Court issues landmark ruling on inheritance

The Constitutional Court (AYM) has decided to remove an individual application from its docket because the heirs of the applicant, who passed away after filing the application, failed to notify the court of their intent to continue the proceedings within the required timeframe.

In Batman, 39 individuals whose land was expropriated for road construction filed a compensation lawsuit against the Batman Municipality and the General Directorate of Highways for expropriation without due process. Following the trial, the court partially accepted the case and awarded compensation in favor of the plaintiffs. The decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Cassation.

Following this, the 39 plaintiffs filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court, alleging a violation of their rights. The High Court reviewed the application, ruled that the right to property had been violated, and ordered the payment of 34 thousand lira in compensation to the applicants collectively. However, it was decided that the application regarding Hüseyin Saraç, who passed away during the judicial process, should be removed from the docket.

The High Court's reasoned decision included the following statements:

"In the concrete case, it is understood that the applicant, Hüseyin Saraç, passed away on June 1, 2024, after the date of the individual application. It should be noted that no notification regarding the applicant's death was made to the Constitutional Court by his attorney. On November 7, 2024, the Constitutional Court issued a notification to the deceased applicant's attorney, requesting that they inform the court whether the heirs intended to continue the individual application, and stating that if they intended to do so, they must submit a certificate of inheritance and powers of attorney granted by the heirs within fifteen days.

On November 21, 2024, the attorney stated that the deceased applicant had bequeathed the receivables arising from the lawsuit subject to the individual application via a will, that the case regarding the opening of the will was ongoing, that it was not yet clear who held the rights and receivables stemming from the case file, and therefore, the finalization of the case regarding the opening of the will should be awaited. It was observed that thirty-eight people were listed as heirs in the preliminary report of the case regarding the opening of the will, which was attached to the statement. Beyond this, it must be noted that as of the review date of the current individual application, no information regarding the aforementioned judicial process has been provided.

In light of all these findings, it is necessary to decide to remove the application from the docket regarding Hüseyin Saraç, who is understood to have passed away after the date of the individual application. It should be noted that if his heirs demonstrate their intent to pursue the individual application within a reasonable time, the examination of the application will continue. Furthermore, in this concrete case, there are no grounds requiring the continuation of the examination of the application pursuant to Article 80, paragraph (2) of the Internal Regulations."

News Source: 12punto