Individual Application

Violation of the freedom of expression due to the demolition of a monument

The applicant, a sculptor, constructed the impugned monument on the basis of the contract he executed with the relevant municipality upon obtaining the necessary approval. However, following its construction, the Municipal Council issued an order for the demolition of the said structure as new findings had been obtained. The applicant then obtained a decision on the stay of execution of the order. However, after it had been lifted, the demolition process was started. The applicant’s action for annulment of the demolition work was dismissed. The Council of State ultimately upheld the dismissal decision. Finding a violation, the Constitutional Court concluded that the relevant authorities failed to display the sensitivity required for the protection of a work of art, which had constituted a part of humanity’s intellectual heritage that was open to everyone’s access as it had become public.