Turkish court rules that Treasury must return properties of 2 Armenian foundations

By Serdar Acil and Ismet Karakas

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of two Armenian foundations whose properties had been taken over by the Treasury, bringing a legal battle they had been waging for years to a close.

The court said the refusal of the request for the return of the properties violated the right to property.

The decision was published in the Official Gazette on Friday.

The Samandağ Vakıflı Village Armenian Orthodox Church Foundation and the Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation filed applications with the Constitutional Court in 2018 seeking the return of 41 properties in all.

The Hatay-based Samandağ association had been unable to get back its properties due to the province not being included in Türkiye's borders in 1936, the year a declaration on minority foundations was issued.

The Surp Pırgiç Foundation's properties were confiscated due to a 1974 decision by the Court of Cassation which said that minority foundations cannot acquire immovable properties by will.

The foundations took legal action after a foundations law was enacted in 2008 allowing minority foundations in Türkiye to get back some of their properties.

Their applications were rejected by courts, so they filed applications with the Constitutional Court.