Eminent domain

Residents of the Serb-majority northern Kosovo municipality of Leposavic have been taking shifts since February, camping in a tent on a road that leads to the village of Dren, trying to stop heavy machinery from restarting construction of a police station on expropriated land in the village.

The Albanian Road Authority, in a written statement to BIRN, acknowledged the arrears but blamed previous administrations and property registration problems, adding that it had asked the government to increase its budget for compensation in the next two years.

Ever since the United States became an empire after the Spanish-American War in 1898, US companies and US citizens have been acquiring property and interests in foreign countries, particularly in Central and South America. Nationalist and socialist governments gradually took power in these countries.

The Government will adopt the start of expropriation procedures for the second section of the Craiova-Pitesti expressway on Wednesday, according to Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. "We are moving fast with key projects that we have also discussed with business representatives investing in the areas of Craiova and Pitesti.

Local authorities have in their possession expropriated properties - some dating back decades - whose total value comes to tens of billions of euros, and there appears to be no intention of dealing with the problem.

Thousands of property owners across Greece have for years been hostage to state or local authorities that have ordered their assets expropriated, as in the often case with the Culture Ministry, which ties down properties for the protection of antiquities.

Preparations for the opening of the Dherynia crossing are nearing completion while the call for tenders to complete the piece of road in the green line is expected to be issued shortly.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that a "rushed expropriation" decision, made despite the Council of State's decision for a stay of execution, for the Pembelik Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Perisuyu River in the eastern province of Elazığ, is a violation of property rights. 

An Istanbul man who served over 11 years in prison before being acquitted will receive just under 9 Turkish Liras (less than $3) in compensation, after the legal expert calculated the amount based on the minimum wage of the period when he was jailed, daily Habertürk reported on April 12.

The Commission for confiscation of property acquired via criminal activity has expropriated real estate properties, cars and company shares to the amount of BGN 73 M, reported bTV.