e State internal debt of the Russian Federation arising from State commodity bonds in the period of 2001 - 2004. Paragraph 2 of the Programme set out that the State commodity bonds were to be redeemed by way of payment of pecuniary compensation.
THE LAW
I. Alleged violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
to the Convention
19. The applicant complained under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention about the quashing of the judgments of 1 and 30 April 2003 in his favour on supervisory review. This Article, in so far as relevant, reads as follows:
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
"Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law."
20. The Government argued that the supervisory review had not breached the Convention. It had been initiated by a party to the proceedings within less than one year from the judgments' entry into force. The supervisory review had aimed at remedying a fundamental defect of the first instance and appeal proceedings. The lower courts were not competent to rule on compliance of the provisions of the Federal Law of 2 June 2000 with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Instead, they should have introduced a request for review of the constitutionality of the Federal Law in question with the Constitutional Court and suspend the proceedings pending delivery of the relevant ruling. However, they failed to make such request, and no suspension of the proceedings took place. Therefore, the examination of the applicants' cases before the lower courts was tarnished by a fundamental defect, namely abuse of power by the courts and jurisdictional error. In these circumstances, the quashing was the only available way to rectify the fundamental defect and to restore legal certainty in the present cases. The Government further reiterated that in July 2002 the applicant received compensation from the Ministry of Finance in the amount established by the domestic law. In their view, his subsequent claim in respect of the full monetary value of the car had been unfounded and therefore he had not had a "possession" within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
21. The applicant maintained his claim arguing that he had been entitled to obtain the full monetary value of the car, but had never received that sum.
A. Admissibility
22. The Court notes that the complaint is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.
B. Merits
23. The Court reiterates that the existence of a debt confirmed by a binding and enforceable judgment constitutes the beneficiary's "possession" within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. Quashing of such a judgment amounts to an interference with his or her right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions (see, among other authorities, {Brumarescu} v. Romania [GC], No. 28342/95, § 74, ECHR 1999-VII, and Androsov v. Russia, No. 63973/00, § 69, 6 October 2005).
24. At the outset the Court notes that in the Government's view the annulment of the judgments on supervisory review was required by the need to rectify a fundamental defect in the initial domestic proceedings. The Court reiterates its constant approach that a jurisdictional error, a serious breach of court procedure or abuses of power may, in principle, be regarded as a fundamental defect and therefore justify the quashing (see, mutatis mutandis, Luchkina v. Russia, No. 3548/04, § 21, 10 April 2008). However, nothing in the text of the Presidium's ruling of 14
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