ELCI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 114 observance of any special rules governing professional papers. Moreover, it was claimed that documentation which was not used in the criminal proceedings, such as Mr Elçi's files relating to his clients' cases before the Commission, was not returned to the applicants, despite the Government's declarations to the contrary, such declarations being unsubstantiated by any written proof. In particular, Mr Elçi averred that papers concerning two applications to the Commission (Özkan and 31 others v. Turkey, application no. 21689/93, and Ismail Ertak v. Turkey, application no. 2764/92) were never returned to him. The applicants submitted that even the temporary deprivation of the documents concerned infringed Article 8 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. 2. The Government 689. The Government contended that the search of the homes and offices of certain applicants, and the confiscation of personal items and files, was in accordance with the law, namely Article 11 of the Law on the State of Emergency No. 2935, Article 3 of Decree No. 430 for the state of emergency region and Articles 90 to 97 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. They were necessary under Article 8 § 2 of the Convention in the interests of national security, public safety, for the prevention of disorder and crime, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others from terrorist attack. Furthermore, these matters did not raise any issue under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, as any interference with the applicants' property was justified in the public interest, within the meaning of that provision. In this connection, the Government emphasised that the searches in the present case were part of an operation against the PKK, an illegal terrorist organisation responsible for thousands of atrocious murders and maimings, as well as serious economic and social losses. 690. Those items which were deemed pertinent to possible criminal offences were confiscated by the Prosecutor. The other items were returned to their owners, including the files of Mr Elçi, which were returned to his defence counsel by a decision of the Third State Security Court. If any items had been lost, Mr Elçi could have brought a criminal complaint against the responsible official. Mr Elçi could also have asked for copies of any document in the court's file. He had remedies against any irregularities under Articles 307 and 308 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the possibility of instituting civil proceedings. The applicants did not seek access (consultation and copying), by way of a court order, to any professional documents allegedly retained. 691. All records of searches had to show the consent and signatures of the individuals concerned. In the present case, the applicants gave their consent to the searches, as indicated by the records which they signed. Any alleged irregularities could have been raised by the applicants (all lawyers