ECHR Awards Over €75,000 in Compensation for Demolished Property in Ganja

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Azerbaijan to pay more than €75,000 in compensation to the Verdiyev family over the unlawful demolition of their property in the city of Ganja.

The family’s property, located in Ganja’s Kapaz district, was demolished in 2013 following a decision by the Kapaz District Executive Authority.

The Verdiyevs initially filed a lawsuit against the local executive authority and the police, seeking approximately 770,000 Azerbaijani manats in compensation. However, domestic courts dismissed the claim, arguing that the applicants had failed to provide sufficient evidence.

After several rounds of appeals, the Ganja Court of Appeal awarded the family 50,000 manats based on an expert assessment. The Supreme Court later added 2,000 manats in compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

Unsatisfied with the outcome, the applicants brought their case before the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that they had been unlawfully deprived of their property and had not received adequate compensation. They also stated that they had been unable to use the land on which the property had stood.

The Strasbourg Court found that the demolition violated the applicants’ property rights and concluded that the compensation awarded by the domestic courts was inadequate.

In its judgment, the Court criticized the domestic authorities for relying solely on a one-page expert opinion that referred only to the State Property Register without explaining the valuation methodology used.

The ECHR ultimately awarded the Verdiyev family €71,750 for pecuniary damage and €3,700 for non-pecuniary damage, bringing the total compensation to more than €75,000.