4.
In the instant case a number of reasons militate in favour of exempting the applicants from the requirement of exhaustion of domestic remedies. However, granting exemption has the unfortunate consequence of putting an extra burden on the Strasbourg institutions, namely the task of acting as the primary fact-finder in cases concerning Convention complaints, which they are neither designed nor equipped to perform. Under the Convention system that role is to be exercised primarily by the national authorities, notably the courts. An international tribunal is incapable of assuming that protective role alone but must be able to rely on the domestic system of human rights protection. It is therefore preferable to encourage the domestic system in becoming more effective and efficient, even if that system suffers from certain weaknesses in the specific circumstances.
5.
In view of the above considerations, I consider that the applicants should have at least tried to approach the domestic system for the protection of their rights before lodging a complaint with the Strasbourg institutions; but they failed to do so.
6.
By following such an approach, which implies a stricter application of the requirements of Article 26 of the Convention than the one adopted by the majority, the Court could pinpoint defects in the proper functioning of the domestic administration of justice, instead of confining its findings to the individual case. In other words, a hungry man would be better served by being trained to catch fish rather than merely being given fish.
7.
As to the alleged violations of Article 8 of the Convention, it is difficult to ascertain the full truth about what really happened in the village of {Saggoz} at the relevant time. It is understandable that a number of inconsistencies may be noted in the evidence, whether for the applicants or the Government. However, I cannot agree with the majority's view that the facts as established by the Commission have been proved beyond reasonable doubt as far as the first three applicants' allegations are concerned. The description of the decisive events in paragraph 175 of the Commission's report appears to be a legal construction of a social reality which may or may not correspond to what really happened.
On the other hand, the deficiencies in the establishment and assessment of the facts in this case are not, in my view, to be attributed to any shortcomings on the part of the Strasbourg institutions, but to the inherent inability of those institutions to investigate facts in the manner of a domestic "first instance" tribunal.
8.
Otherwise, with the exception of the issue raised under Article 13, I subscribe to most of the arguments put forward by Judges Matscher and De Meyer in their respective opinions.