Following a ruling by the High Court in London last year, which was hailed as a victory for Linda and David Orams, the high profile Apostolides case has now been sent to the European Court of Justice.
The London judgment overturned a ruling from the Nicosia court in October 2004, which found for the Greek Cypriot former owner of the land (Meletios Apostolides), and ordered the Orams to pay compensation to Apostolides, to demolish their £160,000 villa and to return the land to him (which would have resulted in them losing their own home in the UK). Mr Justice Jack ruled that Article 10 of the EU Treaty of Accession of Cyprus to the EU meant that the Nicosia judgment was unenforceable in England and, furthermore, that the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus does not extend to property located in the TRNC (in "de facto control" of the north).
While the judge gave Apostolides permission to appeal, he also ordered him to pay 75% of the Orams' £863,000 costs. London's Court of Appeal said that the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg must give guidance on the case before the UK can decide whether to enforce a demolition order, according to Bloomberg.
Nicholas Phillips, the UK's most senior judge, was quoted by the analyst as saying: “The principle issues of this case are of importance to some 14,000 people who claim to own homes in Northern Cyprus, and also to Greek Cypriots who lay rival claims to the ownership of those houses.”
TRNC solution ‘recognised’
While the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not recognized by the EU, recent reports suggest that its solution to land dispute, the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), is about to be officially accepted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Hasan Erçakıca, a spokesman for the Turkish Cypriot president told the Turkish Daily News (TDN) that a landmark ruling, whereby an exchange formula was used to deal with Greek Cypriot complaint, “could enhance the international legitimacy of the property commission in the north”. He added that property disputes can only be settled “not through courts but through negotiations between the parties involved”.
Thus far, the commission is reported to have dealt with property claims ‘through compensation and restitution’ but Greek Cypriots have always opposed the exchange of land – a solution outlined in the rejected Annan plan. This plan has been updated to include the payment of a small proportion of the compensation in addition to the exchange of land.
With Ankara now awaiting the ECHR’s official recognition of this solution, TDN highlights a report in Greek Cypriot daily Politis which claims that the ECHR has sent letters to Turkey, a Greek Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot administration supporting the exchange formula solution; with official approval expected in ‘upcoming days’.
Source: OPP
