Azad İqtisadiyyata Yardım

4.7. Claims regarding wrong calculation of compensations

Azeryolservis OJSC operating as a department attached to the Ministry of Transport offered 1800 AZN compensation per ha of lands, which are under the protection strip concerned with the construction of the Alat-Astara highway, however, three citizens²² of Salyan region refused to leave their lands, since they considered this compensation to be unsatisfactory. Azeryolservis OJSC lodged a complaint against these citizens in the Salyan District Court demanding the emptying of the land for state needs.

Salyan district inhabitants protested the claim and lodged a reciprocal application to the court claiming that their property had not been evaluated. The Salyan District Court considered the case on all of three claims and satisfied all of the three claims of Azeryolservis OJSC on April 6, 2011. The citizens lodged an appeal complaint against the court resolution, but it was rejected.
The Shirvan Appeal Court refused to satisfy appeal complaints of Akbar Sadig oghlu Gasimov and Mehman Fitat oghlu Muradov with 18 August 2011 resolution.
The appeal complaint of Shahin Yagub oghlu Suleymanov was reviewed on November 25, 2011 and the complaint was rejected by the Shirvan Appeal Court.
After the appeal stage Mehman Fitat oghlu Muradov gave up his complaints due to the material difficulties and had to accept the compensation, which was pre-determined.

Cassation appeal was made from two other cases.

4.8. Land claims of SOCAR
SOCAR was one of the state structure, which got into the most court disputes with citizens in 2011.
According to an unofficial information, Sabail District Court alone made a resolution regarding the destruction of approximately 500 houses on the lands claimed to be owned by SOCAR without any payment of compensation. Whereas the majority of thouse houses have been built at least 10 years ago and had been in use by its owners uninterruptedly, SOCAR and the state being aware of the fact. Destruction works took place in Binagadi, Girmaki, Chakhnaglar, Sulutapa, Mazari, Fatmayi, Shabandagh, Sianshor, Surakhani, Bibiheybat and other territories of Baku.

• 
  Claim against 168 families in the NZS settlement of Baku
  

In December 2011, 168 families living at Babak avenue, Ilham Mammadov street of Baku recieved the copy of the resolutions of the Khatai District Court. According to those resolutions, the inhabitants had to destroy their houses by their own means, clean up the territory and make the payment of 100 AZN of fine each. The Azerneftyagh Oil Refining Factory sued the inhabitants and claimed that, the houses were illegally built on the territory of the factory. The Khatai District Court decided in favour of the claimant.²³

Almost 150 families living in that territory appealed to the Public Union on Human Rights Education regarding the destruction of their family apartments. Regarding this, the public union has organized the appeal of more than 300 citizens to the Presidential Administration, various state structures, international organizations and the Ombudsmans Office²⁴.
Although those houses were not registered in the state register, according to the Civil Code, if a citizen lives in a house for more than 30 years, he gets some right over that house, a court-determined absence of any compensation to the citizens is a violation of law.

Moreover, the Khatai District Court, adopted the resolution regarding the eviction of the citizens, at most without participation of those citizens, thus the citizens lacked a sufficient opportunity to defend their rights in the court²⁵.

• 
  Sulutapa case
  

On 14 December 2011 some inhabitants of the Sulutapa settlement of Binagadi district saw their houses destroyed and their belongings on the streets in the evening after work. Their houses were destroyed by the representatives of the SOCAR Security Department.

Those, who were at home during the day, in order to protect their houses from being destroyed, had to go for a street fight with the representatives of SOCAR, who were in military clothes and armed with batons,.. There were injured on both sides. Police came to the area. SOCAR claims that, houses on that territory are illegal and shall be emptied.
Rahman Taghiyev, a Sulutapa citizen without any unharmed place remainingon his face from injuries said that,

“Security workers of SOCAR beat him up and destroyed his house. The inhabitants stated that, such things occur quite often. SOCAR workers will come to the territory after it gets quiet a bit, and then will suddenly come, destroy a number of houses and leave after the protests escalate.”

The president Ilham Aliyev gave an instruction regarding the registration of the houses without documents, at the meeting held on March 2011. The draft law regarding the registration of such houses was prepared and presented to Milli Majlis, the Parliament.
As it is affirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to which Azerbaijan joined in 1992, a construction being illegal cannot be the reason for demolishing it without the payment of a compensation. If the citizen lives in that territory for a long time, and/or if he has family links to the property, it should be taken into account and the citizen shall receive compensation.

From this perspective, compensation shall be calculated even for living in a carriage.

• 
  Binagadi district
  

1. 
   Javad Sadikh oghlu Mehdi started to build a house on the land he bought in the Binagadi settlement. Representatives of SOCAR Security Department came on April 20, 2011, before the construction was finalized and destroyed it. In June Binagadioil company lodged a complaint to the Binagadi District Court against Mehdi Javad regarding the destruction of the illegal building. Mehdi Javad logded a reciprocal appeal against the company in response with the demand to pay compensation. Currently the proceedings are stopped in order to carry out the investigation of the territory, where the construction is situated.
   

2. 
   SOCAR appealed to the Binagadi District Court against Sanam Kazimova with the demand of the destruction of the illegal construction in Binagadi district, to empty the territory and the leave the illegally constructed building. Sanam Kazimova bought the land on that territory in 1996 and got a license for the registration of her right to ownership over that. Since the construction was not illegal and was registered under S.Kazimova’s name, SOCAR withdrew its appeal.
   

4.9. Lack of access to information
The PAAFEs inquiry addressed to the head of the Baku City EA H.Abutalibov on 6 July 2011 has not so far been responde. This inquiry covers the issues of the necessity of the Winter Boulevard at Fuzuli street, the total area of the boulevard, the existence of the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the eviction of the citizens living in that territory, the total number of the buildings to be destroyed and the total land area to be used and etc. It was expected that the Baku CEA will not respond to the inquiry and that it will not bring clarity to the questions set,regarding the unlawful and groundless violation of the citizen’s right to property.

On January 16, 2012 PAAFE sent an inquiry to to the Baku City EA, State Statistics Committee and SOCAR for the purpose of receiving statistical database information regarding the buildings demolished in Baku. According to the law on Access to Information, the inquiry shall be responded within 7 days of address, but only SSC responded from the aforementioned structures and stated that, it does not possess such information. The lack of such statistical information prevents us from getting more accurate idea about the violation of the right to property in the country.

It should be noted that, the orders of the Baku City and the District EAs mentioned in this report have not been officially published and are not placed in the website of the corresponding structures. These orders were found during the court proceedings held upon citizens’ claims. This is one of the proofs that, the process of the alienation of the citizen’s property occurred in an untransparent manner.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS
PAAFE experts analyzed the cases of violations of right to property in Azerbaijan and prepared the following recommendations to the state structures to prevent such cases:

• 
  It is important to stop any destruction works in the city until the Baku City General Plan and the Regional Development Plan is approved (this recommendation is for the Baku City and District EAs).
  
• 
  It should be considered to increase the amount of compensation since the amount offered in compensation for damages to the citizens is not adequate to the damage occuring to them (Ministry of Finances and Baku City EA).
  
• 
  The appeals and the complaints of citizens regarding destruction of their private property real estate without a court decision shall be reviewed and thoroughly investigated (Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs).
  
• 
  Considering the non-permanent membership of Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council local NGOs shall attempt to raise this issue in front of the UN structures and achieve UN raising this issue before the government (Civil society and human rights defenders).
  
• 
  NGOs shall be active in defending those, whose right to property is violated, shall carry out work toward increasing of confidence of citizens in courts, shall propogate them to appeal to courts to restore their rights (Civil society).
  
• 
  Citizens shall refrain from buying illegal houses and by this decrease the possibility of the violations of right to property in future (citizens of Azerbaijan).
  
• 
  Azerbaijan ratified the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on August 13, 1992. Along with that, Azerbaijan also has international obligations prohibiting forceful eviction and destruction of houses under the jurisdiction of the European Court as a party to the European Convention on Human Rights since April 15, 2002. The state shall observe its international obligations concerned with the effective resettlement and reintegration policy in the context of the respect to justice and human rights during the forced evictions (The Cabinet of the Ministers).
  

Acknowledgment
We would like to express our gratitude to the members of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan Shafa Jamalzada, Sevinj, Aliyeva, Aslan Ismayilov, Irada Javadova, Fariz Namazli and lawyer Emin Abbasov for helping the preparation of this report and to the Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division Rachel Denber for her methodological recommendations.

1^ http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/azerbaijan/

2^ http://cabmin.gov.az/?/az/pressreliz/view/626/

3^ http://youtu.be/4d6W1OT1U8s

4^ http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/24294298.html

5^http://cabmin.gov.az/?/az/pressreliz/view/626/

6^ Prepared in accordance with interwies with lawyers Fariz Namazli and Sevinj Aliyeva

7^ http://www.azadliq.org/audio/Audio/317779.html

8^ http://www.azadliq.org/archive/eurovision_2011/latest/15631/15466.html?id=24262343

9^http://www.musavat.com/new/%C3%96lk%C9%99/118861BAYRAQ_MEYDANINDA_H%C6%8FRB%C3%87%C4%B0_A%C4%B0L%C6%8FL%C6%8FR%C4%B0N%C4%B0_ZORLA_K%C3%9C%C3%87%C6%8FY%C6%8F_T%C3%96KD%C3%9CL%C6%8FR

10^ http://www.azadliq.az/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9356:q-bulvarnda-evlri-camaatn-bana-ucururlar&catid=339:reportaj2&Itemid=542

11^ http://bia.az/gund/3149-qalmaqall-q-bulvarnda-yaz-davas.html

12^ http://bia.az/gund/3149-qalmaqall-q-bulvarnda-yaz-davas.html

13^ Interview with the member of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan Shafa Jamalgizi.

14^ Interview with the member of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan Shafa Jamalzada.

15^ Interview with lawyer Fariz Namazli

16^ http://www.azadliq.az/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13979:bayraq-meydan-razisind-dhtli-mnzr&catid=293:syas&Itemid=457

17^ http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/24498493.html

18^ http://www.bizimyol.info/new/ARA%C5%9EDIRMA/91647-_Biziml%C9%99_it_kimi_davrand%C4%B1lar_

19^ Interview with lawyer Ziya Guliyev

20^ Arzu Allahverdi gizi Bakhshiyeva (Baku, Shuvelan settlement, M.Mushfig street), Vahid Feyruz oghlu Aliyev (Baku, Buzovna settlement, Aghamali 3), Mohubbat Ayyub oghlu Mammadov (Baku, Buzovna settlement, Nizami street)

21^http://www.musavat.com/new/G%C3%BCnd%C9%99m/103710-PREZ%C4%B0DENT%C4%B0N_%C4%B0QAM%C6%8FTGAHINA_G%C3%96R%C6%8F_DAHA_B%C4%B0R_B%C4%B0NA_S%C3%96K%C3%9CL%C3%9CR

22^ Akbar Sadig oghlu Gasimov (Salyan, Kurkand village); Mehman Fitat oghly Muradov (Salyan, Nokhudlu village); Shahin Yagub oghlu Suleymanov ( Salyan, Kurkand village)

23^ http://www.azadliq.org/media/video/24431543.html

24^ http://ehr-az.org/az/news/nzs-qesebesinde-evlerin-sokulmesi-ile-baghli

25^ Interview with lawyer of HRC Emin Abbasov