Alleged violation due to failure to provide restitution for property, inadmissible as materially unsubstantiated

Facts

The authors are German nationals who claimed that Estonia violated their rights under articles 2, 14 and 26 of the Covenant due to the state party's denial to provide restitution for their property, or to provide equivalent compensation. 

The author's grandparents were citizens of Estonia and owned property in the country, which was illegally expropriated in the 1940s as part of the Soviet occupaiton. The property was later returned in 1992, however the City Commission annulled it's decision in 1999. The annullment was declared unconstitutional by the Estonia Supreme Court in 2002, however the City has refused to return the property.

Admissibility

The Committee noted that the authors did not clarify the period of time during which the administrative proceedings took place, and have not provided any details as to the conduct of domestic proceedings. The Committee therefore is not in a position, on the basis of the material at its disposal, to conclude that the State party’s authorities unreasonably prolonged the domestic proceedings.

Accordingly the Committee determined the case inadmissible as the material facts were insufficiently substantiated.