Historical Building in Eminönü Became IMM's Again with Court Decision

Istanbul 8th Civil Court of First Instance signed an important decision that will set a precedent. The historical building in Eminönü, which was unlawfully transferred to the General Directorate of Foundations in 2018, while it was the title deed of the İBB, became the property of the İBB again with a court decision. This decision of the court can also be a precedent for Gezi Park and Galata Tower, which were taken from the hands of IMM for the same reason and which are still subject to lawsuit.

The historical building on the shore of the Golden Horn, located at number 13 of Fatih Zindankapı Mahallesi Değirmen Sokak, used by the History Foundation, has again passed into the ownership of IMM with a court decision.

EXPERIENCED PROCESS

The building was transferred to the General Directorate of Foundations in 2008, on the grounds of the provision in Article 30 of the Foundations Law, which entered into force in 2018, “The cultural assets of the foundations, which are acquired through the foundation and become the property of the Treasury, municipality, special administrations or the village legal entity in any way, are transferred to the fused foundation”. handed over.

IMM FILED A CASE IN 2019

IMM filed a lawsuit in July 2019 for the cancellation of the registration process. The court examined the historical records and made evaluations with expert reports. Istanbul 8th Civil Court of First Instance recently announced its decision.

The court reminded that Article 30 of the Foundations Law, which was cited as the reason for the transfer of the historical building to the General Directorate of Foundations, was not sufficient and that it was necessary to prove whether the historical building belonged to the aforementioned Haremeyn and Mirdivani Foundation with information and documents. Deciding in the light of land registry, sketch, zoning status, discovery and expert reports, the court ruled that the conditions of Article 5737 of the Law on Foundations No. 30 were not met.

The court decided to cancel the title deed of Harameyn and Mirdivani Foundation and to register and register the historical building to the plaintiff Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Similarly, the lawsuits regarding Gezi Park and Galata Tower, which were taken from the IMM and transferred to the Foundations, are still ongoing.