the Applicant’s school under condition that manifestly lacks due process is an
interference that is not in accordance with the Law. The Court therefore holds
that the Respondent is in violation of the right to property of the Applicant as
guaranteed in Article 14 of the Charter.
c) Proof that the encroachment was for public purpose or general interest
of the community.
88. Even though the requirement for legality is stated as the last condition
under the Article 14, the Court has earlier stated that the application of the 2
provisos in the Article is cumulative. That is, a violation of one is a violation
of the entire provision. In this regard, the Court aligns itself with the opinion
below which prioritises legality of the law over the other condition:
“Should the Court establish that the interference with the property right
was not in accordance with the Law, it does not need to consider legitimacy
of the state objectives or the issue of proportionality. In this case, there will
automatically be a violation of Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the Convention
which is (pari material with Article 14 of the Charter) and it will be
unnecessary for the Court to even consider whether such unlawful
interferences pursued a legitimate purpose” (Right to Property under the
European Convention on Human Rights- Human Rights Handbook no 10
page 15)
89 Based on the above, and having held that the interference by the
Respondent is unlawful and thus not in accordance with the Law, the Court
will accordingly not proceed to examine whether it meets the requirement of
public purpose.
90. Issue 6- Whether the expropriation of the Applicant’s properties
without a fair and prior compensation violates the Applicant’s right to
property.
The case of the Applicant is that following the expropriation of its properties
no compensation was paid prior to and thereafter the act, consequently it
claimed that its right to property was violated by the Respondent who did not
controvert this allegation.
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