Practice of the European Court of Human Rights about use Article 1 of the First Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms provides grounds for concluding that the courts for resolution of disputes relating to government interference to the property should use three main criteria. Based on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the author covers these criteria — the legitimacy of the interference, the existence of public interest and the principle of proportionality of the interference. The author analyzes the problems in the application by the Ukrainian courts the decision of ECHR in the case «Stretch v. United Kingdom» (on the example of disputes concerning the return of property (including land) to state or municipal ownership) and the decision of ECHR in the case «Ismailov v. Russian Federation» (on the example of disputes relating to confiscation as an administrative penalty for violation of customs regulations). According to the author, should not be considered a justified use of the ECHR decision, if the court cites to some of it’s only, but in fact takes out of context some finding of the ECHR decision and takes it as the absolute. Decisions of the ECHR should be applied required by the Ukrainian courts, but such use must be justified, reasonable and not formal.